CosmicCharlie (9644) reviewed Indie IPA from Cisco Brewers 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Pours amber into a shaker. Extremely active from a gentle pour. Fluffy off-white head top hats the rim and does not recede. Pine and resin aromas. Strangely soft, yet over-carbonated with good balance upfront and a lasting grapefruit finish. Appearance and palate definitely detracted.
cheap (9533) reviewed Whale's Tale Pale Ale from Cisco Brewers 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 3.5
Big thanks to puzzl for the opportunity to taste this one! Good attractive bready yeasty dough aroma. Pale orange and brownish with a slight haze. Interestingly bitter on the initial taste but not excessive. Yes, hoppy bitter, but not quite IPA territory. Surprisingly good creamy carbonation. Lingering hop bitter finish.
jgb9348 (11828) reviewed Indie IPA from Cisco Brewers 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Nice deep ruby tinted copper coloured body with a nice dense tan head. Very pleasant aroma of fresh west-coast hops, citrus, pine cones, apricots and even a bit more fresh hops. Medium-bodied; Assertive meaty hoppy taste up front leaves things bittered, with a potent malt backbone and strong alcohol notes make for a great taste. Aftertaste shows a ton of bitterness from the hops with a bit of a sweet taste from apricots and some grapefruit. Overall, a very nice IPA - definitely one to sample if you can find it! I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Chevy Chase Wine & Liquors on 03-May-2008 in Washington, D.C. drunk on 19-May-2008.
nuplastikk (10473) reviewed Indie IPA from Cisco Brewers 17 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
750ml Belgian style bottle. Rich, thick, and murky orange color with a lasting foamy head. Dry, doughy, and bitter, with some wheat and an almost farmhouse funkiness. Mystery ABV never helps..I’d guess around 7%. Lots of straw and mellow citrus notes. Really big head...solid lasting foam. This is a great fresh tasting American IPA, about as good as it gets.
obguthr (12465) reviewed Whale's Tale Pale Ale from Cisco Brewers 17 years ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 3 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 3.5
Weak malt arom, slightly tinny. Golden color, medium head, tons of yeast sediment, good lacing. Grainy and worty flavor, watery mouthfeel. Light grass on the palate. Underhopped and under fermented. Bleh.
Dogbrick (24210) reviewed Moor Porter from Cisco Brewers 18 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Bottle from Oak Tree Discount Wines & Spirits in South Plainfield, NJ. The beer is a shiny black color with a medium thick and foamy tan head that burns away slowly. Patchy lacing on the glass. Aroma of cocoa, bitter coffee and dark fruit. Medium-bodied with a bitter coffee character, and flavors of dark chocolate and astringent hops with only a little bit of malt balance. The finish is thin and bitter with just a touch of coffee aftertaste. Barely average overall.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Pumple Drumkin from Cisco Brewers 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Draught pint at Sunset Grill on 11/10/07
Frothy, off-white head tops a lightly-hazed, light amber-peach body. Light lacing, moderate retention.
Malts are well presented in the nose, providing light caramel and plentiful vanilla-cream sweetness, with spices working their way in slowly to keep balance. More hops than in most pumpkin beers, with a grassy/leafy, low alpha acid variety providing a crisp, if somewhat confusing supplement of aromatics. Definitely some of the meaty, pumpkin or spice-like character that Beastiefan and IMtheOptimator mention, though it falls off after breathing. No alcohol or flaws (I dont think it’s DMS, rather just some interaction of the spicing). Medium strength of aroma.
Smooth, nearly oily texture presents a fair amount of toffee-caramel-vanilla sweetness, with a dry, almost husky texture towards the end that confounds the palate. Spicing is gentle and definitely tastefully done, while hops are grassy (a bit too much so). I wouldnt say I got fishiness from it, or even a meaty character, but there’s something not quite right here. Carbonation is medium, mostly tight and the beer ends on a dry, crisp, spice/hop note with very little pumpkin flavor. No alcohol noted.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Indie IPA from Cisco Brewers 18 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Fresh draught pint at Deep Ellum on 10/17/07
Small white head shows moderate retention atop a deeply burnished copper-golden body. Medium-high clarity, light lacing.
Definitely a mix of high alpha and lower alpha hops, it would seem, as though there is a fair amount of pine to be had in the aroma, there also seems to be some herbal qualities to it (dill, oregano, that sort of thing). Fresh and fragrant, though the malts are hot on the heels of the hops, adding a sticky sweetness that increases with warming. As well, I think they got a bit carried away with the specialty malts, as there’s just too much toastiness/acidity/breadiness (whatever you want to call it) on the finish. Add to this quite a bit of bitterness/acidity from the hops and it’s a bit much to handle. Medium strength of aroma, no flaws or alcohol perceived.
The first sip relieves the senses of the bready maltiness, casting a lovely melon-like hoppiness, with lush wintergreen and lime-like notes, over the palate. Heavy dextrine-like chewiness is felt, rather quickly, and the sugars emerge on the end, a bit unceremoniously, making the stuff quite a mouthfull. Toasted malts linger in place of the hops, as it wears on, and the pine resin, though not obscene, is still a bit much for my tastes. Clean, though, and well-conditioned, but it seems a little hurried (too much sweetness). Medium carbonation, medium-full bodied, with a chewy-sweet, malty texture.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Grey Lady from Cisco Brewers 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Draught tulip at Sunset Grill on 10/6/07 and a few weeks later at Redbones
Not your typical witbier, though it certainly looks the part. Gently hazy white-gold appearance with a lemon rind hue and a small, creamy white head that shows moderate retention, light lacing.
Light citrus esters from the yeast, and a honey-sweet maltiness mix to give a very soft, easygoing aroma up front. A very strong (but not overbearing) herbal element is present, not like traditional coriander notes found in the style, but giving an almost saison-like spiciness. And spicy it stays, though always on its heels is the gentle, but supportive maltiness. Low bubble gum, no clove and a manageable fruitiness (peach, pear, banana) round out the nose, with no alcohol or flaws present. A bit sweet in the nose, thanks to the maltiness and low carbonation (and perhaps a strong helping of wheat that impairs the crispness). Medium strength of aroma.
Very fruity and sweet in the flavor, the esters coming on strong and sticking all over the palate, placed by the honey and sticky dough notes. Spiciness and moderately tight carbonation attempt to balance/enliven things, but I think it might be too sweet, ultimately. Strong herbal, almost gruit-like finish, with a unique mix of banana and vanilla. Chewier as it warms, with lots of wheat. Citrus acidity and too much sweetness seems to be its downfall, as in many of the mid-tier witbiers. It is distinctly Belgian and not a cheap American knock-off, however. No flaws, alcohol.
Drake (22934) reviewed Whale's Tale Pale Ale from Cisco Brewers 18 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Rerate 5/29/10. 12 ounce bottle from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville, VA. Pours a hazy orange color with a thin head that sticks around a while. Decent lacing. Aroma of caramel, toffee and peachy, earthy hop notes. The taste is leafy hops, caramel, toasted malts. Medium bodied. Not as highly rated as before but still a good, tasty easygoing beer. 7/3/7/3/15
Original rating 10/30/07... 7/4/8/4/17 Bottle. 59th percentile doesn’t do this justice. Pours a peachy-brown color with a small but long-lasting head and decent lacing. Aroma is hoppy toffee flowery. Taste is more of the same... a toffee taste with a light but very present hop profile. Maybe my taste is out of the mainstream, but this is one of my favorite examples of one of my favorite styles. Well done!