4.8 AROMA 10/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 19/20
Wow, this is a top-shelf IPA. Decent head but tons of lacing, even in the bottle. Beautful, almost clear light auburn color. Mouthfeel is incredible, smooth and velvety. The hops are there ale the way through. Lovely hoppy floral aroma, great piney/citrus flavor, with a crisp hop finish. Outstanding ale!!
4.3 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
Clear and bright golden. Awesome aroma - fresh, hoppy and yeasty. Smoothly carbonated. Great malt flavors - chewy-sweet cookie dough. Nice balance and sharply tasty.
4.4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
UPDATED: DEC 29, 2011 Golden bright orange. big fluffy white head. Excellent blend of cascade hops with a cooked bread flavor. Nice poppy palate performance. Beautifully & perfectly abrasive and bitter.
4.7 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 19/20
Brilliant copper colored beer, topped by a vanilla colored head that lasts an exceptionally long time. After the head fades to a thick rocky layer of foam, a sweet floral aroma becomes more evident. Very nice aroma. Wow, the taste is truly phenomenal, with a combination of malty sweetness, and hops so strong they seem to be both sweet and bitter all at once. Then comes the finish. The flavors seem to completely vanish, but then a slight piney bitterness is noticed lurking around, dragging a wisp of sweetness around with it. Mouthfeel is very solid, and this beer seems to just slide down the throat.
4.5 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
UPDATED: SEP 27, 2003 22oz bottle Pours a light amber with copper edges. Clarity is quite good, with lots of little bubbles from the carbonation. It's light tan head is around an inch thick and fades a bit in the middle, leaving huge clumps. Adding the yeast sediment darkens the brew considerably and leaves large chunks in the bottom of my glass. Phenomenol lacing of the glass. Hoppy as all hell with a huge fruitiness. The one fruit that stands out the most to me is apricots...the aroma just screams apricots! There's a touch of malt underneath that is both mildly sweet and bready. Hint of vanilla... Great aroma! Full flavored with tons of hop goodness! There's a nice malt background, but this one is all about the hops. Lots of pine, citrus, and fruit flavors meld together perfectly in one of the best IPA's I've ever encountered. There's a touch of an alcohol taste, but it stays in the background where it belongs. Adding the yeast sediment adds another dimension to the already great flavor. Medium in body with a soft mouthfeel that thickens towards the bottom of the bottle. The yeast yields a creamier, more rounded feel on the palate. Gotta love that bottle-conditioning! A world-class IPA.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
Loved the nice thick copper color, with off white head. Good solid floral aroma. Nice solid hoppy bite up front with a clean creamy finish. Good texute, with citrus and apricot hints. This is a great IPA!
4.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Golden hue with a nice thick white head and excellent lacing. Aroma is a major resin hop rush but was able to detect some buttery and malty notes too. The taste was smoother than expected, very balanced between the hops and malts. Nice fruity undertone. The finish is woody dry and bitter, has expected. The mouthfeel is lively as not as metallic, again a surprise. Overall, not the massive bitter, hop monster IPA I thought it may be, instead I found a nicely balance and smooth IPA worthy of high praise. Very recommended.
4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Sweet, grassy hops in the aroma, along with notes of honey. Murky orange in color with yellow edges, cream colored head. The beer had a nice maltiness to it....not typical for something from the west coast....very good, easy to drink.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
What an about face after drinking Fantome. Opens the eyes to the diversity of styles and how each can be great. Pioney hops to please the "heads" and sweet malt to ease the ride. While I was rather expecting to be bowled over somehow, this was very nice and could imagine drinking all night despite the strength - if only I could find more easily.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20
Hazy amber with an absolutely ridiculous head. Like a typical west coast IPA but the key difference was a very mellow finish. I honestly don't get all the exotic stuff in the commerical description but the extreme hops and non-edgy end carry this for me as a decent brew.
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