2.9 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20 mjg74 (2137) - La Mesa, USA - APR 22, 2006
Bottled. Pours a dark brown/amber color. Aroma is a little tart, not really very hoppy. Smells kind of off. Slight hoppiness. Not a west coast style. Some roasted caramel flavors. Overly sweet finish. Tastes like an amber. Some alcohol is present.
1.6 AROMA 2/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 3/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 7/20 beermanusa (77) - California, USA - APR 9, 2011
Pours a light orange color. No oily hop presence. Metallic taste and thin carbonation. I would not call this an IPA. Not sure what it is, except it’s bad!
3.4 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20 DarkElf (2961) - La Jolla, California, USA - JAN 21, 2011
20-Feb-08 (22-oz bottle: Purchased 19-Feb-08 for $3.29 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) So here we are two years later, and having been assured by the brewer that bottling issues have been cleared up, it’s back on the shelves. So, here goes a little quality control... This is what you expect from a West Coast IPA: big, bold and full-flavored with significant punch from hops. Moderately bitter, piney and a little citrusy, the hops are certainly not shy, but there is still sufficient malt backing to keep the beer nicely balanced. The malts tend to show a little graininess in the finish, but the beer well-attenuated, keeping sweetness levels in check. The nose is fairly grainy, but unfortunately, the hops don’t really project much aroma, and the beer smells a little soapy. Medium in body with ample carbonation and a long, crisp, dry finish. Golden in color with slight haze, the beer is capped by a tall, fluffy, off-white head that settles to a thin layer. The head leaves a very impressive, dense, ringed lacing down the entire length of the glass. Overall, the aromatics could use a bit of work, but this otherwise is a very solid IPA has nice flavor, superb balance and looks great in the glass.
21-Apr-06 (22 oz bottle: $3.49 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) Okay, so when you’re drinking a west coast IPA, but the hops is completely overpowered by off-flavors, you know you really have a problem on your hands. Unlike the infection in their Dunkel which contributed a significant sourness, this is just massive diacetyl. But just like with the Dunkel, this beer smells and tastes like rancid fruit, though here, it’s extremely unpleasant. Really not much point in writing much more, but a beer this brutally awful, so obscenely polluted by off-flavors, has to be put on the record. And I’m gonna talk to my manager at BevMo and get this pulled off the shelf. It should also be noted that this beer was kept cold the entire time because I stuck my bottles in the cooler as soon as the driver delivered them (and he came straight from the brewery, early in the morning). A definite rerate is in order, but not until the bottling line is cleaned up. (2, 3, 2, 2, 2 = 1.1)
1.6 AROMA 3/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 3/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 6/20 Styles (2014) - Lincoln Park, Michigan, USA - JAN 7, 2011
Hazy medium brown, no head. Old oxidixed hops, burnt malt. Flavor much the same, past its prime. Dissapointed.
2.8 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20 JohnnyJ (3041) - San Diego, California, USA - JAN 9, 2010
Very bad IPA. Pours a golden amber with thin white head. Aroma of musty malt and corn. Flavor is pine, light fruit, bad malt, and metallic bitterness. Tastes bad, hard to drink.
2.8 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20 alexanderj (2851) - Gilbert, Arizona, USA - AUG 5, 2009
On tap; for the style this is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Aroma was light; some fruit and citrus. Color was amber/copper. Flavor was very bland and there was not much hopping to speak of. Bready and earthy mostly, with some yeast. How can I like there pale lager better than the IPA?
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20 Cletus (6062) - Connecticut, USA - JUN 16, 2009
Bomber courtesy of danielcurtis81. Pours copper with a sticky white head. Smells of grass, hay, earthy. Tastes of pepper, bubblegum, sweet citrus.
2.2 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 10/20 Snojerk321 (2954) - San Diego, California, USA - JUN 23, 2008
22oz bottle from BevMo! Sorry to say but, one of the worst IPA’s I’ve ever had. Small, fizzy off white head with little retention. Poured a clear golden amber. Very light nose of dank hops and caramel, flavor was much of the same.
2.5 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 9/20 hopdog (7037) - Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA - MAY 28, 2008
22oz bottle acquired in trade with Foolish_Mortal (thanks!). Poured a medium orange color with an averaged sized off white head. Small suspended floaters. Aromas of some fruitiness and citrus. Tastes of citrus, light caramel, and some toasted malts.
2.5 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 8/20 Brewsmith (148) - Torrance, California, USA - MAY 20, 2008
From a 22 oz. bottle purchased locally. Aroma is hoppy, a little citrus and pine, some malt. Deep gold color, clear with small off-white head. Flavor is hoppy at first followed by a strong biscuit/toast malt character that dries in the finish. Not too intense in the hop flavor. Clean mouthfeel. Overall, okay. A little boring. I’ve had more assertive Pale Ales than this IPA.
2.4 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 9/20 brianprentiss (620) - Portland, Oregon, USA - APR 28, 2008
very very average beer. it tastes like an ipa would taste if it were made by miller. a little sour and unlike the commercial description just seems out of balance.
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