Close Encounters of a Hop Kind
21st Amendment Brewery in San Leandro, California, United States 🇺🇸
IPA - Imperial / Double Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.17
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Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Ultra clear golden coloured body with a very nice, three centimetre tall, off-white head that stays afloat for a long time and leaves a pretty thick lace on the sides, all above the bright golden body and ZILLIONS of super small bubbles rising from the bottom. Aroma of crisp grapefruit, lemons, pine and very grassy hop notes that seem very fresh and a slight peppery note along with a nice crisp malt scent - in the nose, at least. Light to Medium-bodied; Very crisp and grassy, herbal notes show at first with a strong malt backbone that provides a slight biscuity finish, but enough support from the fresh deep hops that do give off a lot of alpha acid bitterness. Aftertaste is crisp as well, this time seemingly only showing lemon and grapefruit peel, but a bit of bitterness from the hops, no sweetness at all and a crisp malty finish, too. Overall, a very nice beer with a lot of flowers and dry malts, but the citrus, grassy and biscuity notes reign supreme and the bitterness is pervasive - as old-school IPAs used to be - this was great to try, especially fresh - worth the space in my suitcase all the way from Northern California to Washington by way of Oklahoma City for a few days. I sampled this sixteen ounce, pint-sized can, purchased from Trader Joe's in Fairfield, California on 28-August-2022 for US$3,63 sampled at my house here in Washington on 06-September-2022.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Pint can from Jack's Market, Menominee, MI, 5/26/23. Hazy pale orange, large white head, average retention. Aroma of grapefruit, mango, pale malt. Taste is grapefruit, dank, melon, pine, bit of earth. Lingering bitterness. Nice.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Can. Golden beer with a cream head. Spice and grapefruit aroma. Grapefruit and spice flavor with light floral notes. Medium bodied. Good bitterness. Grapefruit and spice linger with light floral notes and light backing malt.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Pour is a cloudy blonde with a huge white head. Aroma is pineapple and papaya. Flavor is more tropical fruit with a little spicy hop finish. Finish is a little bitter with a creamy mouthfeel. Pretty good IIPA. Plenty of hops flavor and decent mouth cleansing bitterness.