twitcher (293), framingham, Massachusetts, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 3/5 | 8/10 | 3/5 | 16/20 | Jul 19, 2008 12 oz. bottle. Pours a light-ish amber color, nice half of chunky foam that sticks around well. Aromas of sharp citrus hops are noticeable literally a foot away from the fresh pour. Some caramel sweetness on the nose too, but mostly hops dominate. That trend continues in the flavor... definitely hops first. Sharp citric bitterness, loads of grapefruit, lemon lime, and hints of resin and floral notes. Superb hop character. Unbalanced, but seems intentionally so- and a superb job done with said unbalance. Excellent IPA. FlssmrBrewAlum (1109), Lisle, Illinois, USA
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Jul 17, 2008 Updated: Oct 6, 200822 oz. bottle from Binny’s (Orland Park, IL). Pours a hazy amber hue with nice whitish head that sticks around, albeit in a lesser form. Aromas are largely floral with a few touches of citrus. Initial is largely floral, some citrus, and some decent malt character. Body is medium, making way for a nice bitter finish that goes a little south on me at the end (Too sharp) which leads me to believe balancing was a bit of an issue or the choice of the brewer. Either way, a good beer up front (But not special) that has a bit of a weak finish that causes it to fall a bit flat. Redeeming characteristics are it’s assertive hoppiness which is impressive on its own. Would drink again, but in the middle of the pack IPA-wise.
Re-rate - Tre Vigne Pizzeria (St. Helena, CA) draft. Wonderfully hoppy freshness, intense bitterness. I knew a revisit and a fresh draft would definitely pay dividends with this IPA. Wonderful! ysusi (10), Mexico, Mexico
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Jul 17, 2008 Tons of hops. Golden colored with a nice head. Floral and citrus aromas. Hops dominate the flavors, but some pine and citrus in there. Nicely balanced. I had heard so many good things about it that I was kind of disappointed, but definitely a great beer. satan165 (558), River Grove, Illinois, USA
| 3.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 4/5 | 6/10 | 3/5 | 16/20 | Jul 16, 2008 i bought this becuase of the low price point and all in all i think that is the most important fact in this review. having said that, i am far from disappointed. after having drank a multitiude of IPAs and IIPAs its difficult to come up with something profound to say unless they are truly stellar or very bad. all i can think of to investigate at this point is use of hops for aroma and bittering and hope that they brewer decided to strike a balance rather then bash me in the face. this succeeds! very yeasty for an IPA (or any bottle conditioned brew) in appearance and flavor, hops seem to be used well and overall balance with malt is not a disaster as many brewers pass off on ’hop head’ drinkers today. i paid 4.49 for a 22 oz, cant beat it. pick one up today! tgncc (809), Bellmore, New York, USA
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 14/20 | Jul 16, 2008 Updated: Sep 8, 2009Very hoppy aroma, floral, and piney hops, then citrus and caramel malts. The appearance is true to the style, maybe a little more golden and less red than the usual IPA. Lots of carbonation, and a thick white head. Flavor is not as hoppy as you might expect, but is a nice balance between sweet malty flavors like caramel, fruit and citrusy hop flavor. Finish is very hoppy and bitter, an astringent piney flavor. Nice medium to thick mouthfeel, chewy. Good IPA all around. Avatar (82), Gliwice, Poland
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Jul 16, 2008 From a tap at one of the bars on Pacific Beach, San Diego. Very nice, thick and lasting head. Orange colour. Aroma of grapefruit and some citrus. Lot of nice malt and bitter enough. Very enjoyable. glkaiser (1163), Seattle, Washington, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Jul 15, 2008 One of my favorite fallback IPAs around. Bright citrus and pine with just a bit of resin. At 7%, it’s at the perfect midrange level between an Imperial and a regular IPA. Packs in the hops without being overly bitter. gkao007 (26), Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
| 4.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 5/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 18/20 | Jul 15, 2008 The hops blew me away. The moment I stuck my nose in the beer, it was all HOPS.
Love it. Beautiful white fluffy head with great lacing. Light amber body and goes down your throat perfectly.
Enjoy this great Californian IPA chilled. Our summers are better with Racer 5 IPA.
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