Third to show up for the Seven Bridges showdown is their Toll Tender IPA. Yum! An IPA is just what the doctor ordered after the lackluster pilsner before. Something crisp, bitter, citric, piney, sappy, and full of enough hop presence to grab my tongue in her grip and never let go is exactly what the doctor ordered. Maybe I’m building my anticipation up a bit too much, lest I find myself disappointed twice in a row. As I raise my glass, I dream of hop fields and pine trees.<br />My Toll Tender IPA comes to me cloudy amber and copper red with a little head of soft rose tinged puffs. She disappears quickly, leaving no evidence behind and refuses to come out for further play. Always in search of a delicious IPA, I raise my glass to partake of her nose first. Sticky sweet citrus and fruits; orange, nectarine, and lemon are backed up by toasted bread. An average nose where nothing really grabs me; the hops are there, but nothing impressively prominent. Looking to find more, I go in for the kill. Soft, effervescent, and sweet with very little noticeable hotness to speak of in the beginning. Instead, Toll Tender is sticky, sappy, viscous, and immediately coats all open surfaces within my mouth. All the sweet and sticky fruits I smelled dance across my tastebuds along with notes of honey. As I delve further into her sticky depths, the honey moves further up front while the citrus take a few steps back. No lingering hop bitterness or bite to speak of. Not as disappointing as the pilsner, but a bit too sweet and sticky. Personally, I could use more bitter zing.<br />Toll Tender IPA is sticky and wet with hop oils, but just a little too sweet. Maybe that was her intention, but extra sweet usually isn’t what I look for in an IPA. If the sweetness was more subdued while the sticky pine oils and citric notes were in front, Toll Tender would be perfect.

I had three beers at the Seven Bridges brewpub, and all three coincidentally are within a point of one another. I didn’t realize that until I started entering these ratings from my little notebook. This draught beer arrived at the table a clear copper with a moderate off-white head that lasted through mid-glass and left nice lace. Mild aroma of malt, pine, and a bit of grapefruit. The flavor is malt up front, followed by medium pine and grapefruit to a lesser extent. A bit restrained for an IPA.

on tap-pours a light tan head and amber color. Taste has some bite. A nice beginner IPA. Nice. Dry hopped on hand pump pours a retaining light tan head and hazy amber color. Aroma is mild citrus/pine hops. Taste is mild citrus/pine hops, secondary medium malt. Minimum carbonation. A mellower and mustier version.

Tap. Light cereal not e for the malt, moderate smells of pine and orange peel for the hops, light musty barnyard for the yeast (which might’ve been really dirty tap), and wood, pepper and faint fruitiness in the background. Head is creamy, white with good lacing and is mostly lasting. Color is slightly hazy orange tan. flavor is lightly sweet and acidic to start, and the finish is lightly acidic and moderately bitter. Palate is light to medium, watery and has a lively carbonation. It finishes lightly astringent and quite dry. A little lacking in depth of flavor, but still a good IPA

Draft at Florida Brewers Guild Beer Fest 2008. Full rating updated as soon as I am more coherent.