6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Amber red color. Peaches, cherries, chocolate, brandy nose. Caramel backbone with peaches and cherries showing up a bit. Med-full bodied. Pale malts very obvious. Reminds my of McAuslans Pale Ale, but heavier, a bit more bitter and without the balance.
Tried
on 14 Dec 2008
at 00:46
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Dark amber color. Hops are distinctively English with apples and oranges everywhere, but brash bitterness is distinctly American. More full bodied and life than the regular IPA.
Tried
from Can
on 14 Dec 2008
at 00:38
7.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Light copper color, hoppy fragrance with citrus, some caramel, and a touch of banana and spice. Flavor of grapefruit, caramel, light but flavorful malts, mostly barley I would guess, and some wheat. Light, hoppy, crisp and clean, though not a whole lot of flavor overall. A decent hot-weather beer. Hop and citrus finish is very pleasant. Great summer refresher.
Tried
on 01 Dec 2008
at 00:44
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
On Tap at Beer Belly, 2007. Dark gold color with copper. Rather tall head. Very hoppy aroma, lightish on malt, lots of citrus—grapefruit—rather sour. Flavor is much more malty, with strong hops as well. It is medium sweet and amazingly fruity. Sweet and sour finish with good hops, and quite long lasting. A very refreshing, fruity and citrus flavored beer. Good malt and better hops. Great balance, very drinkable.
Tried
from Draft
on 01 Dec 2008
at 00:40
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Draught at Tadg’s. A bit of caramel backs this earthy hop fest. Some citrus, but mostly earthy, somewhat dirty, and very bitter hops. A solid, clean, man’s drink. Very interesting and great balance.
Tried
on 29 Nov 2008
at 06:10
7.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle from Yamaoka. They call it a Pale Ale that’s almost an IPA. Deep amber color with lots of orange. Low head. Aroma of American hops, with lighter malt, amber malt, caramel, wheat? Fruity and light, with very strong hops. Flavor of amber malts, caramel, lots of hops. Even though it has tons of hops, it is very smooth and drinkable. Nice stuff, a bit too light on the malt, maybe. These guys are doing lots of interesting variations on the pale ale.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Nov 2008
at 00:47
9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 10
2010 Version, absolutely fresh, Draught at Tadgs. Wonderful. Huge hop aroma, with grapefruit, mango,, passionfruits, pineapple, honey, and lean golden malts. Deep gold color. No caramel flavors at all. Clean, crisp honey malts and big citrus and tropical hops. Perfect bitterness at the finish, bitter but not mouth warping. This has triumphed head to head over draught Sculpin, West Coast, Ruination, Islander. One of the best in the world. Amazing. 2008 version, on draught at Wachi. 8/4/8/4/17 Glowing golden / orange color with a thin head. Big citrus hop nose with caramel and warm light malts. Huge hops. Flavor of caramel malt and all kinds of fruits. Big, citrusy hops with come alcohol burn. Good, bitter, hoppy finish. Very good, very big. The best IPA in Japan for sure.
Tried
on 27 Nov 2008
at 00:24
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
This was the 2008 "Fresh hop" version with aroma hops that they grew themselves added. Bottle from Yamaoka. Dark copper with almost no head. Fruity, very hoppy aroma with lots of citrus, some pepper, caramel. Fruity, very hoppy flavor. Caramel in the back ground. Much more hop aroma than the regular version, and on the whole, that much nicer. A good PA made better.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Nov 2008
at 00:14
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle from Yamaoka. Pitch black, low tan head. somewhat roasted dry malt aroma. Dark chocolate, coffee, milk, cereals. Burnt malt flavor, dry, a bit of coffee, some sourness, dry. A bit like soy sauce. Some hops… a bit of dark fruits, though not very sweet at all. Long-lasting burnt finish. Seems to have decent hops as well. Slight citrus tinge. Relatively light and refreshing for a porter. Ok, but not really exciting.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Nov 2008
at 00:11
8.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
2009 Version on tap: Completely revised. Super complex, with cafe au lait, chocolate, dark fruits, smoke, wood. Exceptional mouth feel. Excellent. Bottled 2008 version: 7/4/8/4/14 Aroma of burnt wood, roast barley, something like oil, lots of smoke, with something sour there as well. Sweet, strong, burnt flavor. Very rich and smoky as well. A touch of dark fruit, lots of coffee. Finish of amazing alcohol heat, burnt malts. It is hot, bitter, and slightly stinging. An interesting, powerful imperial. Rich and nice, though the balance is not perfect and the alcohol far too evident.
Tried
from Draft
on 16 Oct 2008
at 00:55