Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA

Brewed by Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Paso Robles, California USA

On tap. pours a clear deep golden with an off-white head. Very fresh - almost perfumy - peachy and piney hop accents. Medium body with sweet malts and fruit, and again a solid aroma hoppiness that leaves a great and balancing bitterness. A perfect IPA. 070709

Bottle from After4Ever. Pours a transparent orange color with a small white head that recedes to a small ring and a light film. Bubbles slowly meander upwards to the surface. Nose is heavy fruit and citrus up front with a nice malty background. Palate is sticky, filmy, full. Mouth is sticky and flavorful. Flavors of dry fruit notes, nice and hoppy, palate is wonderful, dry finish.

A Mes rate. Bottle at GBBF.
Clean gold with a very good white head and lace. Massive hoppage all round. The Simcoe is obvious and I’m certainly not complaining. Big but never over the top. Bitterness is excellent. Palate is perfectly pitched. All the pine, flowers and citrus you could want for plus a big kick up the arse dry finish. Bloody great beer.

Bottle, shared with Parksy and pitted against Sierra Nevada Torpedo. Pours a deep hazy gold with a thick white head. Very resinous citrus hop aroma. On the palate, the malt is nearly completely eclipsed by the hoppiness: resinous, pithy citrus, reedy and vegetal. Very assertive bitter finish. This outshone Torpedo IMHO. A crazy-good IPA!

Tap @ O’Briens. Poured clear copper-gold with a short white head. Moderate lacing. For a straight IPA, this was fantastic. Sometimes, you get the DIPA that calls itself an IPA, but this is jsut a well-done, big-hop single IPA. Crisp, fresh pink grapefruit, pine needles, orange peel, and mango in the nose. Sharp mouthfeel with a good amount of carbonation. No stickiness in the finish. The aroma follows through nicely in the taste. Grapefruit, pineapple, tangerine, and that bite of resin. The caramel malt stays muted and does not turn this into a candied mess. Please sell more bottles of this in San Diego.

Big thanks to hophead22 for this one! Pour is cloudy copper with medium white head. Aroma has strong floral notes up front followed by grapefruit and orange scented hops. Some notes of honey and only faint malt also detectable. Flavor is floral hops up front, then citrus hops come through: grapefruit and orange. Pine hops hit on the end and in the finish. Finish also contains a touch of malt. The malt is not very detectable, more of a canvass for the hops - exactly what I like in IPA’s. Very tasty stuff!

Clear gold pour with a large, lasting, loose white head and great lacing. The aroma is sweet and fragrant with strong grapefruit, juniper, pine and notes of honey and toffee from the malt. There’s also some hints of pepper and lemon zest. The flavor is sweet but not cloying with lots of grapefruit, toffee and pine needles. There’s some dry biscuit from the malt and it has a lasting, floral bitterness in the aftertaste. The body is medium in mouth feel, dry, and has lots of carbonation.

On Draft at My Friends House (Really). Pours a rich golden color with unbelievable clarity. This beers aroma is not too overpowering to the senses, however prepares a person quite nicely for a citrus laden IPA. I have heard it described as a double IPA, however I disagree. Just because it is nearly 8% abv does not make it a double. This beer drinks very easy. The Simcoe hops that are used for bittering are acutaly very apparent. Blended with the 3 "C" hops gives this IPA a delicious balance. Not too bitter at all. The malt balances with hops, neither one overpowers the other. Not to be forgotten is the flavor of their unique burton-union system of fermentation. It is such a unique flavor addition that is sets itself apart from most other beers in its style. If you can find it fresh, go get it. I agree with bhensonb, this is an incredibly drinkable beer.