Madraz IPA

Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy gold with a white head that lasts throughout the beer and laces slightly. Aroma has a combination of floral and grassy hops and a hint of grain. Flavor starts with sweet bread and has growing notes of grassy and floral hops. Hint of resin.

Perfectly hazy orange coloured body with a bright copper glow and a thick, dense off-white head that is about three centimetres tall. Aroma of great grapefruit, citrus and herbal hop scents with a nice pungent alcohol bite and a good dose of malt, but the hops are the big winners in the smell here! Medium-bodied; Assertive grassy, grapey (concord) and floral hops show up at first with a fruity type taste and a good dose of lighter malt and a touch of citrus near the end - not much alcohol to speak of and only a touch of sweetness. Aftertaste is quite nice with a good complexity surrounding the hops, but a nice and refreshing beer that shows off well. I sampled this 50 cL (Scandinavian style) bottle purchased at State Line Liqours in Elkton, Maryland on 10-August-2011 for US$10.99 sampled at home in Washington on 14-September-2011.

Draught at Mikkeller Bar, Copenhagen
Cloudy deep blond color; almost no head. The fruity hop aroma, citrusy with tropical accents, is very nice (mark: 8); later, a bit surprisingly, there is a light cheesy touch (soft, creamy, unpastorized cheese), this is a bit disappointing in such a beer (mark: 6). Good body strength, even better than the alcohol content let expect; strong caramel and toffee flavor, with clear but hidden sweetness; good hopping level, the hops are softly resiny and more fruity, there is a touch of bitter oranges and cedar fruit; unfortunately there are still traces of cheese (a minor fermentation problem I suppose). Strong and long final, but lacking in freshness.
Overall it’s a pleasant beer, solid, but not displaying a real hop freshness.

Bottle. Pours gold. White head. Nose of apricot pit, pineapple husk, caramel malt, skunky resin and tree sap. Taste has some spicy white pepper herbal notes. Piny resin finish. Medium body.

Bottle conditioned 500ml with no apparent best before date. Pours with a hazed golden body and an eggshell hued head. Some lace, decent retention. Aromas are grassy, lightly skunky, peach, stone fruit, minerals, grainy, straw like, minimal esters. Light tropical fruit notes. Definitely not a strong Nelson punch (at least not any more). Flavors are a touch husky, grainy. Some high cohumulone bitterness. Overall a medium bitterness with a bitter balance. Grainy. Hops are a bit weed like, grassy, a bit skunky as well. Not a whole lot of hop flavor. Lightly astringent/tannic. Medium bubbles, decently dry. Not very impressed to be perfectly honest.

Pizzeria Paradiso Dupont, DC 12oz tap ($10): Thanks to my girlfriend’s father I could afford this beer. Pours a light orange color with a white head. Aroma is slightly earthy, with a moderate hop presence, which is grassy and resinous. The taste is pretty good. Generally well-balanced through and through. There is a weird metallic note in there, which I found a little unexpected (in any case, I didn’t find it offensive). Good malt character in both the flavor and the aroma. Good stuff, but not the creme de la creme.

Draft at Churchkey. Cloudy yellow, edge head. Aroma of flowers and birch trees, taste is similar. OK.

Bottle. Amber beer with a cream colored head. Pine and white wine aroma with grapefruit. and light spice. Pine and grapefruit flavor with spice and earth. Medium bodied. Good bitterness. Pine and grapefruit lingers with spice and light white wine.

4oz pour at Max’s Rare and Obscure Beer Week Part 4. Pours a transparent, deep gold with a lacing, white head. Nose is hoppy, piney, herbal, grapes. Flavor is lemony, hoppy, herbal, flowers, honey, vegetal. Full bodied, sticky, hoppy, finish.