6.9

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Draught pint at Hop Devil Grill on 1/12/06
Canteloupe-brass body has a slight tint of auburn, while the off-white head is medium in height, mostly well-retained and provides light lacing. Clarity is high, with plentiful carbonation.
Highly spicy hop aroma is dotted with crystal malt hardness and bits of sweet graham cracker and caramel. The malts are well attenuated though, so they don’t provide too much a challenge to overcome by the hops (though some hop flavors are drowned out). But the hops seem pretty bare and overly dry. Not that I expected much else from challengers, I guess I just dont find it to make a good single-hop beer. Just too much dusty dryness and very subtle, dry, fresh cut grassiness that is too easily undercut by the malt. Lemon, pepper, grass, and a plethora of dry herbs, with clean yeast, no brewing flaws or alcohol even for its strength. Good strength on the aroma, being a more subtle hop, served on draught in a crowded bar, I’m impressed.
Dry, lightly crystally malts provide bits of melon-like flavors, with a pinch of caramel and soft red fruits. Hops start out as a lightly dull basil/thyme/oregano sort of thing, slowly adding freshly cut grass and finally growing extremely dry and spicy (white and black pepper). Almost like a spicy herb was used (lemongrass). A distinct, but reserved orange tanginess sits in the background. It’s different than any other IPA I can remember, that’s for sure, but the muted, or maybe more accurately, reserved malt flavors, in concert with the very dry, bare peppery-spiciness just get rather boring and predictable by the end of the glass. Medium amounts of somewhat tight carbonation. Some orange essence, lemon oil and a chewy, almost nutty plant-like flavor emerge after it warms up. Frothy, lively texture with no brewing flaws. Not too much resemblance to an American IPA.