Sonoran Victorian IPA

Brewed by Sonoran Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Phoenix, Arizona USA

Brass colored beer with a fairly nice ivory head. Aroma is more malty than most of the style...caramel, toffee, and perhaps a slight hint of pine. Flavor is initially honey-baked biscuit, leading to sugary midpalate, and citrus finally finding its way in the finish. Medium mouthfeel...not a bad beer.

Bottle courtesy of rustychiles. Pours copper with a rocky white head. Smells of hay, wildflowers, some dough, perfume. Tastes resiny with a doughy hint and a nice caramelly backbone. Very good!

Granted its British style, but this didn’t seem like much of an IPA to me. Appearance: Rich bright light copper color, I’ve seen jewelry that wasn’t as bright as this beer! Very light head and lacing. Aroma: Malt, and maybe somewhere a tiny little touch of hops. It could be more malt though. Flavor: Light caramel malt flavor with a bit of biscuit in the aftertaste, very little bitterness, very little hops. Smooth easy drinking but a bit boring. Mouthfeel: Lighter flavored but full body and mouthfeel, very clean flavor profile. Overall: This is an IPA? Wheres the hops?

A solid pour produces a three-finger thick, light tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is a brilliantly clear, nicely red-tinged, dark copper hue that shows a stunningly brilliantly clear, full copper color when held up to the light. The aroma is nice and hoppy, but more herbal focused than the typical American IPA; light garlic chives, a touch of hemp oil, concentrated pine needles and lots of green, freshly cut herbal notes (nettle perhaps). There is a backdrop of fruity hop notes that can be quite drowned out by the more herbaceous notes at times; when noticeable I get note so lychee, ruby-red grapefruit, and orange zest. There is also just a hint of toasty malt noticeable in the finish.

Fairly light bodied as it first hits my tongue, but it does pick up a bit of malt heft as it flows past. Some chewy, biscuit-like malt notes provide a nice, though soft grain character, but this beer is all about the hops. The herbal notes once again are the most dominant note, but this time the fruity hop notes play a much bigger role. Flavors of , sharply bitter herbs, pine needles and a touch of chive mix with fruity notes of lychee, apricot, ruby-red grapefruit and tangelo up front, while the finish has a hemp like oily character to it that lingers along with a decent, but biting bitterness. This is a bit sweet, both from the malt as well as a boost from the fruity hop notes.

I like that the malt character provides a distinct note to the finish of this beer, that toasty, biscuit-like note is a welcome addition. Definitely on the pungent side, though the flavor is more balanced with fruity hop notes. Not bad and in fact this is definitely enjoyable.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Beautiful clear light copper color with thin white head. Aroma of slightly spicy hop and some sweetness. Flavor is spicy hop and a bit of a malt balance. Not heavy, kind of on the thinner side, but a nice alcohol level. Glad to see these beers down here in Tucson.

22oz bottle: last but not least after the Burning Bird and White Chocolate.... piney citrus marries together with the sweeter malt body to create a unique fruity sensation of dried apricots and after-the-rain-forest... flavor is not the typical in your face IPA hop bitterness, but the hop bittering and spice on the tongue is present throughout the length of the whole beer... it’s more an aggressive bitter than IPA in feel, but that shouldn’t make a difference, it’s plain good!!

On Tap @Made in the shade festival Flagstaff AZ. Pours a nice orange / copper color with a nice white head. Aroma is citrus, hops and pine. Flavor is very hoppy with a decent malt backbone to balance it out. Good IPA. 9 4 9 4 16 Re-Rate from very fresh batch from recent bottling. Pours a nice orange / copper with a soapy white head. Aroma is citrusy hops, english malt, pine. Flavor is resinous oily fresh hops, with a nice malty backbone. Slicky oily mouthfeel is very nice. Really nice IPA.

served on tap. pours a perfect amber color with a fluffy white head which sticks a bit to the glass and leaves a foamy film. aroma is citrus fruity with slight pine and grass along with some spiciness and earth. alcohol burns a bit in the nose. flavor is mostly malt and caramel with subdued pine followed by citrus hops. the earthy finish is rather dry. medium bodied but it has a full creamy mouth feel.