3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Solid aroma of hops and sweetness. Well balanced bitterness. Taste is sweet, hoppy, and smooth. Another great Alesmith beer!
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Cloudy appearance and fizzy with tiny, tiny bubbles. Creamy, rocky textured head. Popcorn butter smell. Hopped out goodness. Slight lemon and citrus flavors, much like grapefruit -- straight up grapefruit. Fresh bitter feel. Somewhere there is lurking an oaken barrel flavor.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Not as wonderful as expected, I still enjoyed this Hophead's dream come true. Massive hops is never matched properly by the malts, although the hops alone are top-quality enough to earn a very nce rating among it's peers. The alcohol is very present, but the hops starts AND finishes bitter and citric as the dominant factor. No hophead should miss this, but more malt would be welcomed. Thanks to Bierbauch for this bottle!
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Not as balanced as some IPA's, this is in the hop monster category, but not the worst offender I've tried. I prefer the yulesmith as far as balance goes...still a pretty nice beer though.
3.6 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 1/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Pretty decent attempt in a field with some great competition. Golden hue with good lace. Of course, pine and citus dominate with a fairly decent malt backgound. Not the best...not the worst. It works.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Beautiful golden amber hue. Pale sticky beige head. Big fruity citrus nose, with faint pine notes and a slight vanilla background, as the description says. Sweet with pale malts first, medium body, slightly oily, big citrus, herbal piney finish. Very nice, Im impressed.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Too over-the-top for me. Intensely bitter and citric with no real balance. Good cascade aroma, but that's about all.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
The carbonation in this IPA is borderline ridiculous! Upon the pour, a frothy, very thick white head develops, and active carbonation is visible in the clear amber body. Aroma is floral, spicy hops. Flavor has a distinct hops bite, but sweet malts provide the backbone, and I must admit the overall package is one smooth drink. Looking over my ratings, I am surprised to find so many good IPAs, and this one stacks up with Stone's IPA, slightly below Bells Two-Hearted Ale, and doesn't quite reach the levels attained by my two favorites, Dogfish Head 90 Minute and Three Floyds Dreadnaught. Here's to cracking that Speedway Stout...rating 200 can't come fast enough!
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
UPDATED: FEB 6, 2004 A decent IPA with a floral, foamy head smell. The hops are almost there, but not as much as their Yule ale. Still, better than most.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Big, white head, rocky, sticky. Bright copper hue. Large citrusy, piney nose! Med/full body brew. Lots of hops!, sweet resiney hops! Malt plays a small part in the flavor deptartment bit is more noticeable as it warms, as is the alc. flavor and aroma. INTENSE hop aromas and flavors! I like it! Damn nice IPA!
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