Thomas Creek Class Five IPA

Brewed by Thomas Creek Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Greenville, South Carolina USA

Bottle courtesy of lithy – another new state – thanks Justin! Pours clear amber with a 2 finger beige head that results in decent lacing. The nose is malt and light floral hops. The taste is caramel malt and tart citrus hops. Medium mouthfeel. Pretty mellow in the hops department, but not bad.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy, deep amber body with a thin, white head. Smell: Sweetish caramel malt nose marked by mild hop notes of spice and lemon zest. Taste: The lightly sweet, initial maltiness is predominated by a distinct taste of caramel cubes. Very minor grain hint. Spicy, citrus zest hop flavors with a medium, easy-going bitterness. Finishes dry with just the lightest touch of remaining hop bitterness. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: A decent India Pale Ale. Certainly a bit more malt-forward than many other examples of the style, so, if you prefer less-malty, punchier IPA’s, you may want to look elsewhere.

Butter’s 4th cellar reduction. Clear amber and a white head. Thick citrus and honey aroma with a mild hop and sweet taste. Slightly thin for and IPA but decent enough.

Bottle at the Fourth Butters’ Cellar Clearance Event. Old and musty. Some hop profile is apparent, but overshadowed by the malty backbone. Kinda weak actually, but the bottle could be old. Lingering bitter finish.

12 oz bottle at Butters’ 4th Cellar Reduction. Pours a lacing off-white head with a clover honey color body. Smells of mellow, thick, sweet, hops. I think this bottle has some good age on it...about a year. Tastes thin but like a barleywine. Good mellow hops with a bold sweetness.

Thanks to Lithy for the bottle!
Red-amber, small white head gone quick. Nose is initially creamy hop but then falls to heavy sweetness with burnt caramel. Rather bitter and dry, not quite as fresh and juicy as I’d like, and some more burnt malt notes throughout. Small body and short finish. Overall ok, definitely different, but not a favorite.

Pours like a DF 90 minute. Darkened caramel pour with ruby tinges. Huge, tan frothy head. Very sticky lace. Looks damn good so far. Pine, grapefruit and orange zest with a slight toastiness. Resinous and sappy flavor muddled with sweetened ruby red grapefruit. Sweet, but slightly scorched, caramel flavors abound throughout the flavor palate. It does however finish with a lingering, earthy bitterness. Nice balance, kinda reminiscent of a West Coast brew but lacks a fuller body.

Hazy amber. Thick head. Fairly straightforward fruity-hoppy aroma. Slight crystal malt accent. Fairly toasty flavour profile with earthy hop notes.