Thomas Creek Class Five IPA

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

Draft, Barley’s Taproom, Greenville SC. Light gold with white head. Mildly hoppy nose, mostly bright citrus. Flavor is nicely crisp and hoppy, but just a bit light overall. Pretty refreshing and tasty, but just not where I want my IPA’s to be.

Name: IPA
Date: 04/05/2003
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Athens

Appearance: Hazy dark yellow, thin head,
Aroma: light hoppy aroma,
Flavor: nice sweet hop flavor, short bitter finish

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *4
-------- /> Date: 04/06/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Brewfest, Classic City

Appearance: clear amber, creamy beige head,
Aroma: sweet crystal and caramel aroma with lots of citrus hops,
Flavor: sweet crystal malt flavor, touch of carame sweetness, lots of hop flavor, touch of citrus, light astrengency blends into a bitterness, lasting bitter finish,
Overall: mostly about the sweet malts and hops but the bitterness comes on a bit too strong and gives it that astrengent edge,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Thomas Creek Woodstock IPA–on tap-pours a white head and amber color. Aroma is citrus hops, sweet. Taste is citrus hops, sweet, medium malt-caramel. OK carbonation.

Draught. Thomas Creek makes consumable ales at best for the most part, so I wasn’t expecting much out of this one, even though their Irma IPA was a pleasant surprise. However, this is a pretty clean, nice tasting take on the style. The pour is rather light with a very firm, tall head. The nose is sprucy, piney, clean, and defined, with just a bit of a musty, yeasty aroma. No wet hay or chalk here (yay!). The mouthfeel is thinner than the aroma would have me believe, but their is a pretty decent citrus flavor to compensate for the low malt density. Notes of lemon drops and a light sappines make the brew interesting. I wish their other brews were at least this good.
[October 7, 2008]
Bottle. Pours a deep amber color with a fairly attractive white head. I took a few sips from the bottle before I poured this one into a snifter, and having tasted it first I was surprised at the lackluster aroma. It’s muddled and semi sweet with hints of toffee, earth, peaches, and citrus. The flavor packs a lot more hops with distinct drying bitterness, sharp wood, and hints of grapefruit. The whole thing is pretty decent. I could use more emphasis on the American hops qualities in the flavor and more dry hopping could enhance the aroma. Still, this is a decent effort from Thomas Creek. It’s probably their best bottled brew.

Most of the Thomas Creek beers fail to excite me, although they typically brew very drinkable beers. This one surprised me though. Pours a clear amber. The aroma is big piney hops. Aggressive bitterness. Just enough malt. Surprisingly aggressive beer.

Draught. Pours orange-gold with medium white ehad. The aroma is a bit sweet and dominated by mild, piney hops. The flavor is hoppier than the aroma, with woody hops, faint zest, and even bitterness throughout. Pretty decent beer.

Old notes from Decatur Beerfest 05. Copper orange pour, medium head. Fairly big nose of citrus grapefruit and grassy hops. More hop similar hop flavors, but the amount seemed a little pale compared to the aroma. Some sweet caramel malts underneath, somewhat balanced for the level of hop flavors, but again, a bit of a letdown after the fragrant aroma. Easy to drink, medium body.

Draft at the 2005 Knoxville Brewer’s Jam. Poured an amber color with an average sized white head that produces some lacing in the glass. The aroma was of grapefruit citrus with hints of grass. The flavor is a little more pronounced with grapefruit and pine noted. Light to medium body.