Date: 06/24/2006
Mode: Hand Bottled
Source: Tasting

clear dark amber, sweet grapefruit aroma, big bitter and sweet flavor, nice carmel sweetness, lasting bitterness

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***/4

On tap at the brewery, pint glass. Dope. It’s been a while since I’ve had an IIPA this good. Pours with a fluffy taupe head that diminishes to a dusting with a thick island and ring. Transluscent ruby orange with no visible carbonation. Lace is a thin grainy sheet that’s thicker at the top than it is closer to the surface, where it crumbles away leaving an arch on the glass. Smells like a grapefruit you just cut open after leaving it in the attic for a night: musty, and not quite fresh citrus. There’s also cardamom and an impression of very light, airy bread. Taste is Simcoe hops from the start, transitioning to a great combination of bitting earthy bitter (that’s only faintly metallic) with the expansive juicy citrus hop character, which rides a subtlely caramel and saltine malt base. Well balanced. The earthy bitter makes the finish delightfully dry and chewy after the juicy flavors die out, and the milky carmel persists to add a lactic sweetness to the end. The mouthfeel is perfect, refreshingly medium in body with carbonation soft enough to allow the juiciness to expand in the mouth. It’s like a stepchild of Hop Whompus: not as malty or as juicy, but with some of the family genes shinning through. Again: dope.

Bottle ala Blake. Amber color with a small lid of off-white bubbles. Peaches and pine aromas. Caramel and honey flavors mingle with some pine and light fruit. Fairly light in feel, but still silky and smooth.

Thanks to 1FastSti for sharing this at the Tosa tasting. Aroma is just loaded with pine resin and light tropical fruits. Golden-orange in color with a thin head. Sweet flavor initially then a ton of pine and fruity flavor that blends in a balanced bitterness. Full and creamy body with a drier finish.

Hand-bottle thanks to 1FastSTi: Poured a clear dark golden amber color. Hop foward aroma of citrus and floral notes. The malt peaks out underneath. Flavor of malt mixed with piney hops that starts from the very begining. Medium bodied. Very tasty.