7.1

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

From a bomber after 7 days on the John Muir Trail. Pours a clear copper with an off white head. Aromas of hay and orange. Flavors are bitter pine.

7.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bomber from Briar Patch. Medium amber with nice, thick, fluffy head. Herbal aroma, mint, rosemary, sage. Taste also brings forth more herbal flavors, some caramel malts, and a touch of bittering hops. Different, but so tasty.

6

From backlog. Bottle at friends House in Vista, Ca. Orange/amber with offwhite head. Malts, hops, berries .

6.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

From a stubby 35.5 cl bottle, my first from this craft brewery in Mammoth Lakes, California. Densely moussy, egg-white, lightly lacing head, retaining very well and staying closed for quite a while, though showing small gaps after a few minutes; clear, deep ’autumny’ reddish amber colour with darker bronze tinge, typical ’red IPA’ appearance, narrow strings of fizz here and there. Aroma is heavily dominated by juniper berries - I could smell them from inches distance even before I read on the label that this beer actually contains them - exhaling a very characteristic, ethereal spicy and piney odour, largely covering more subtle impressions of gingerbread, fresh sage leaves (much more so than the sharp, pungent spiciness of dried sage), warm biscuit, candied peach, dried orange rind, hard butterscotch candy, gin and tonic, toast, roasted paprika peel, dry cookies, old cheese, wormwood, olive oil. Rounded, clean fruitiness in the mouth, dried red berries, some orange peel and a vague hint of apricot, only subduedly sweetish with a dull, generic sourishness at its sides, medium carbonated with minerally notes here and there, slick and rather oily mouthfeel. Nutty and explicitly toasted malt core, only very vaguely sweetish at the start but quickly turning bitterish, the bitterness merging seamlessly with the hoppiness, which shows up even before the finish and coats the back of the mouth and the throat with a resinous, spicy, piney bitterness which is in turn reinforced by the wryness of the juniper berries and, eventually, an afterglow of warming, in this case genuinely gin-like alcohol, while retronasal piney hop aromas go hand in hand with the pineyness of the juniper berries; the ethereal, resiny, almost glueish spiciness of the latter goes on and on after swallowing. I have encountered juniper berries in many a recent Belgian ale trying to be modern and different - as well as in a few New World beers - and I just cannot seem to learn to appreciate them; to my personal taste, these things simply do not belong in beer, as they become overpowering and astringent at a very early stage. I get the idea of using them to accentuate a piney hop character, especially in a red IPA like this one, but to my taste this beer would have been a lot better off without them, applying an even more generous dose of hops (an IBU of 50, as stated on the label, is still a bit on the modest side for a 21st-century IPA). But that is mere personal preference of course: IPA can do just about anything these days, from a near-forgotten beer style which was not much more than an old name, it has become a world of its own now with all kinds of wondrous possibilities, and I guess IPA with spices is as good a choice as any other. Technically, this beer is more than correctly executed as well, there is no flaw or off-flavour in sight, the alcohol remains well hidden (though not completely) and the whole thing looks beautiful. Just not my beer - if only this had contained less of the juniper and more fragrant hops, this would have been a perfectly enjoyable West Coast (red) IPA to me. In this form, with less expressive hop fragrance than harsh juniper effects and being an 8% red ale, this is perhaps better characterized as an "American strong ale" rather than IPA of any substyle?

6.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle (from beergium). Pours clear red copper with beige head. Aroma is sweet, caramel, malt,citrus. Flavor is sweet and bitter, malt, caramel, fruits, herbs, Overall: ok.

7.1

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Amber with off white head - Hops, sage and other herbs in the aroma - Malt body with hops herbs and some spicy flavours - Ther herbal flavours goes into the finish with some bitterness - This was good

6.6

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

355ml bottle. Barely clear, redd-ish, dark copper colour with average, frothy, fairly lasting, minimally lacing, off-white head. Herbal and citrusy hoppy aroma with bath salt touch, hints of juniper, lavender, sage. Taste is herbal and citrusy hoppy, minimally soapy, hints of juniper, lavender, sage.

6.5

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Sampled from bottle at Kingsnight Avoidance Tasting. Clear orange amber with offwhite head. Very herbal, sage, sweet and funky, licorice sticks, sweaty, onion, musk. Mostly herbal, light sweet, light bitter, light sour. Medium body, oily, low carbonation, yeasty finish.

5.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Bottle shared at Kings night avoidance tasting. Clear amber with a small off white head. Aroma is big herbal, sage, light fruits and sweat. Flavour is moderate sweet and bitter. Light medium bodied with soft carbonation.

5.3

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5

Bottle at Kingsnight tasting. Clear amber with off white head. Lots of herbs, onion, sweat, sour gooseberries, lots of sage. Under medium sweet and light sour. Medium bodied. Way too herbal for me.