Alaskan IPA

Brewed by Alaskan Brewing Co
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Juneau, Alaska USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

Bottle at Pt Loma Seafood. Orange gold with a small head. The hops have fallen quite a bit and you can also get a bit of soggy cardboard. Athlugh the code seems to say 9/19/07, this been has seen better days. There is a decent citrus to it though along with a scent (chinook?) hoppiness. I’d love to try this beer fresher.

Draft sample at the Schlafly Repeal of Prohibition Festival. Pours a mostly clear orange-golden color with a finger-thick eggshell white head. Aroma of floral hops, orange citrus, sweet and caramel malts, and a bit of pine. Flavor of floral hops, orange peel, caramel malts, pine resin, and honey. Light-medium bodied, with a floral, resinous mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Decent IPA, and really easy to drink.

UPDATED: FEB 4, 2009 Bright golden hue. Head is nice and first but fades. Vibrant vanilla-like nose. Smooth, soft and tingly texture. Aromatic malts, laden with caramel and honey. Flowery and herbal hops; a little citrus; grassy bitterness. Decent, easy-to-drink IPA.

Bottle @ home. Light burnt orange appearance with a white head. Mild citrus, medium piney hoppy nose. Medium to highly bitter, piney hoppy, medium malty flavor with citrusy tastes. Bitter, hoppy aftertaste.

A reasonable pour into my 25cl tulip glass yields a three-finger thick, lightly tanned, off-white colored head. The beer is a brilliantly clear, copper color that only gets brighter when held up to the light. Aromatically expressive in its hoppiness, the hop character is quite noticeable as I pour and visually inspect the beer. Grapefruit, big lychee and tangelo are noticeable aromatics up front with follow on, slightly reduced in intensity, aromas of pine sap and herbal hop notes. The finish also has a nice, toasty grain character to it reminiscent of biscuit malt and crushed saltine crackers, though the hops do a good job of drowning out any malt influence. As the beer warms a bit some fruitier notes of apricot and light tropical fruit become a bit more noticeable.

Lightly sweet malt and a malt fullness is quickly overtaken by a dominant, though not scathing, green, herbal hop component. The flavor has a more even balance between citrus and herbal / pine hop influences, though the citrus just edges out the others. Flavors of grapefruit, bitter orange zest, candied orange peel, apricot and lychee are more noticeable up front, while a sharp, herbal, mix of menthol-pine and hop bitterness seem to be quite a bit more noticeable towards the finish; each of these notes is noticeable throughout the flavor profile at some level though. Fizzy carbonation and a light-medium heft keep this quite drinkable and perfectly inline with the quaffability of an IPA.

This is a nice hop-focused IPA, I almost wish for a bit more malt character, but there is just enough to support the hops and any more would likely intrude and the eminent drinkability that this, dry beer achieves.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson AZ

Bottle courtesy of jake65 - thanks! Sweet Cascades aroma, grapefruit with light peach and citric hop. Clear pale golden with a white head. Bitter hoppy taste, emphasis on the bitter over the hop. Slightly grassy and floral. Pale malt with a touch of chewiness in a medium-full, dry body. Lightly acidic. Aftertaste is long and dry. Generically bland and brawny, something of a bitter golden ale.

12oz bottle. Pours a bright, clear, medium tarnished copper color; mixed-bubbled white head with good retention and lacing. Basic earthy and citrus bitterness in the aroma; a touch watery. Medium mouthfeel: lots of chewy, slightly astringent earthy and citrus-laden hoppiness upfront; very light metallic note present, with a basic candy sugar malt character; strong bitterness and a touch of astringency; slightly off. Medium finish: citrus and earthy bitterness, basic core maltiness, and some floral notes.

Pours to a vibrant golden body with a nice visible carbonation and a sexy lively white head. The aroma is citrusy mango and lemons with pine. The flavor is toasty. Lots of malt with some subtle pine hops. Sweet hops. The beer seems to me to be more of an APA. The palate is bitter up front, but only moderately so. Then, the sweetness takes over. This is an APA.