Bend Elk Lake IPA

Sampled draught at Bend Brewing Company, Bend
Shimmering gold, no head. Nose of piney grapefruit & nice PNW citrus, that’s what I’ve been looking for! Flavor: wtf just happened? There’s little to no bitterness and a watery finish. I’m sorry but you can’t dry hop a pale ale & call it Indian.

Draft at the brewery. Slightly murky orange color with a very nice fresh cascade and general WCIPA flavor... full and rubust woody hops. Tart peaches and nuts, maple. Very drinkable.

Huge fruity nose, some herbal hoppiness, and the flavor is quite nice. Enveloping your palate, with some rich creaminess from the malts and a very defined hop profile. The flavors distringuish themselves individually, instead of coming together all at once as a balanced beer. Very clean and crisp, and easy to drink, just very run of the mill. Re-rate @ Brewery - The first thing I notice is the massive lacingleftover after the initial head dies. This is a good looking beer. Big hoppy aroma, monster grapefruit, flavor is passionfruit and guava, very juicy and fruity, concentrated almost pulpy and tropical, unique and delicious, this is like drinking a completely different beer from the time I had it at the Bier Stein. Amazing malt character and a fruity lingering finish.

(Draft: Bend Brewing Company in Bend, OR) This is an IPA, but the nose is so fruity, I thought I was served an apple ale. Very light hops aroma starts to come out once my nose becomes accustomed to the fruitiness. Thankfully, the flavor is much more IPA-like, lightly sweet, and reasonably malty, but the moderately bitter hops is the strongest of the flavors. Still, not a huge hop bomb, but at least this beer has more flavor than their lighter offerings. Clean and fairly crisp on the palate, medium bodied. Light amber in color with a small, off-white head that fades to a rim. Hardly any lacing to speak off. Again, barely above average for the style, it’s easy to drink with no negative qualities. These guys just need to find a way to inject more excitement and adventure into their beers.

Elk Lake IPA: Deep amber with a reddish hue. Nice carbonation level, with a nice texture that had some real weight to it. Fruity (grapefruit), juicy and aromatic, with big notes of pine and flowers. Healthy bitterness, too. Tasty, nicely balanced IPA.