Top of the Hill Rams Head IPA

Brewed by Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina USA

on tap @HopfestNC-pours an off white head and amber color. Aroma is light hops-citrus/bitter. Taste is light hops-citrus/bitter, secondary medium malt. OK carbonation.

Pours a copper color with a white head. Aroma is malty, with grassy earthy hops. Flavor is light malts with a grassy bitter finish.

This rating comes with the caveat that I know this can was skunked. Han a malty aroma and a funky tste. A lot of bittering hops in the finish, but this was tinny and oxidized. Not good.

Bottle. Huge white creamy mostly dissapating head. Clear amber body. Aromas of pine, citrus, molasses are all present. Dry texture. Basic IPA. I did like the can.

Ram’s head IPA, This was amber body, very clear, nice fluffy cream head. Nose was hops and citrus aroma. This was a very nice IPA, Some raters get carried away with the doubles and Impy’s, myself sometimes too.This is a straight forward IPA, maybe more of an APA, but a very nice PA in a can. Another great brew from Mystery swap 2.0. THANK YOU

Can. Mine says ram’s head but I guess its the same. Nice big head, fades slowly, tan, crystal clear. The clarity is especially impressive because the can says its unfiltered. Many craft brewers seem to use ’unfiltered’ or ’bottle-conditioned’ as an excuse to sell you a beer with 1/4" of trub on the bottom. And so many raters are willing to accept that shortcut as a good thing. Citrus aroma, classic american hops. There is just a slight touch of cat-piss in the aroma causing a deduction. The body is thin on this one, a little too much so for my taste. The beer is bitter, hoppy, but could you just a little more malt to balance. Its a drinkable IPA but its just not great.

Can, thanks NachlamSie. I have no idea what to expect here, The can looks pretty nice, and is apparently some kind of special edition (under the Ram’s Head name) As I pour this, I marvel at it’s beauty. Deep copper clear orangey tones, with a perfect thick, creamy tan head. Nice. Aroma is a bit more mild, but nice sticky caramel and citrusy hops. All good so far. Now for the flavor. Hmm, not as thick on the palate as I would have expected, very sweet, somewhat yeasty, and aptly hopped. Quite enjoyable.

Okay, so drinking beer which is packaged in a can is pretty weird for an aspiring beer enthusiast, but I think I’m getting used to it. As a matter of fact, I usually defend a microbrewer’s decision to use cans because there are a few pros to it. But you know what, I freakin’ hate pouring from a can because it’s damned hard to get a nice smooth fluid transfer into a glass. Oh well. After leaping that hurdle, I behold a pretty darned good looking IPA. It’s a bit on the darker side of amber with a rocky, mountainous, lasting white head. Good nose too. Plenty of juicy citrus scents with bready sweetness and caramel. An appropriate level of acidic bite is present as well. Wow. This reminds me very strongly of another beer in another style. What is it? I can’t quite place it. It’s not the obvious pineapple tartness and not the toasty sugar notes. It’s a flavor somewhere in the middle of leather, raisins, and butter crackers. Yeah, that doesn’t sound as good as it really is, I’m assuming this is what Tronraner has more aptly described as "saltwater taffy". The beer as a whole is quite bitter and the finish lingers on a semi-meaty note. Anyway, I really dig it. I think this IPA is not only very tasty, but quite unique and it quells the hop craving I have at the moment. yay!