4

10/8/03

5.9

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

12 ounce bottle from the brewery. Hazy orange, large foamy tan head, good retention. Smells like the 90s. Grapefruit, pine, caramel malt. Taste is bitter grapefruit, grain, caramel. Thin, astringent, off balance, lingering bitterness.

7.6

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

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 11/16/2017. Pours moderately hazy/cloudy golden orange/amber color with a 2 finger dense and rocky off white head with amazing retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts. Thick soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, citrus peel/rind, pepper, pine, caramel, toasted biscuit, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and moderate dark/bready malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, citrus peel/rind, pepper, pine, caramel, toasted biscuit, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Moderate pine, citrus rind, herbal, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, citrus peel/rind, pepper, pine, caramel, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance, and minimal lingering hop astringency after the finish. Moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, and sticky/resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 6.25%. Overall this is a very good English IPA. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink, despite the fairly aggressively bitter/drying finish. Great balance of vibrant citrus and dank/earthy hop complexity; nice dark/bready malt backbone, with minimal residual sweetness. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.