Anacortes Fresh Hop IPA

18-Jan-08 (Cask: 2008 Great Alaskan Beer and Barley Wine Festival in Anchorage, AK) This beer follows the pattern of cask-conditioned fresh hop IPAs. Fresh and hoppy nose with some grainy malts in the background, but the beer exhibits a fair amount of vegetal aroma. Similar flavor profile, with the grainy malt base being balanced by citrusy, earthy and lightly vegetal hops of medium-strong bitterness. On the palate, the beer is medium in body, light-medium in carbonation and crisp in the finish, not surprising for being on cask. Fairly typical in appearance for a cask beer: hazy, light golden in color, but the head consists of a small, bubbly ring of carbonation. Not bad, but too vegetal for my tastes, and it’s certainly overshadowed at this festival.

GABBF ’08 - Cask conditioned. Hazy, but very pretty golden pour, with a small white cloudy head. I mean you have to give it up for the nose here, this is just beautiful, floral fresh hoppy goodness. I did not want to drink this beer. I wanted to get a new glass and just carry the sample of this around for its aromatic qualities. The maltiness is evident, but does not keep up with the onslaught of hoppiness, which would normally irritate me but for this beer and this beer alone it seems to work well. Very enjoyable.

This is a cask conditioned sample from the ’08 GABBF. Golden beer with a thin white head that shrank to a whisp pretty quickly. The nose in this beer is pure fresh hop flowers. If you like the smell of hops this beer will hypnotize you. The taste is pretty much all hops too with tons of pine and red grapefruit juice. The finish is a pinching grapefruit zest bitterness. The beer seems a little thin and may need a stronger foundation for all the hops, but it is still a solid, fresh hop bomb that hop heads will really enjoy.