 ClarkVV (3547), Allston, Massachusetts, USA
Jan 16, 2008
Draught pint at Redbones on 11/15/07
Chill-hazed amber/peach-golden body is well carbonated and topped by a neatly retained white head that leaves moderate lacing.
Hoppy nose, of course, with a full floral aroma and plentiful orange, lemon and grapefruit brace on the finish. Some traces of "hop tea" in the nose, but lightly sweet vanilla-honey malts help disperse those suggestions and provide a balance. Some fresh yeast adds a light papery blandness on the finish. Liberally hopped in the nose, but I think some deeper malt sweetness would allow the hop aromatics to unfold better. As is, there’s too much exposed bitterness that dominates. No flaws, alcohol.
Flavor, then, is not surprisingly quite bitter. Not too much so, I guess (though more than I prefer), but the malt is more woody than it is sugary, which seems unfavorable here, as it allows a lot of tea-like bitterness and near astringency on the finish. Tons of grapefruit and lemon. As it warms, more honeyish and graham cracker-like maltiness emerges, allowing for more balance. Really clean, with perfect carbonation and an unfiltered, almost chewy texture. Good, if rather mundane.
after4ever (1652), Brier, Washington, USA
Apr 23, 2008 Draft at Brouwer’s. Hazy dark coppery amber with a thin whitish head. Butter, caramel, and piney hops on the nose. Rich, creamy, buttery body. Active, lively carb. Caramel, butter, toast, butter, and piney hops on the mid-palate. Serious QA issues with this batch. Gonna hafta re-rate at some point.
BillKismet (1356), Seattle, Washington, USA
Apr 1, 2008 Easy light bronze color with filmy head. Very mild hop aroma of perhaps Willamette or Mt. Hood. Not the firecracker of explosive hop flavors for which I had hoped. A mild, slightly light-bodied APA that is rather boring for the PNW.
BuckeyeBoy (1065), Boise, Idaho, USA
Oct 5, 2007 On CASK at Big Time Brewery Seattle, For a Ohio State Football game. Pours out a hazy amber topped with a white head. Light floral and citrus hops. A pretty bitter end. Pretty tasty from CASK.
Old_Mr_Crow (982), Seattle, Washington, USA
Sep 22, 2007 Tap at the Big Time.
Cloudy orange-brown with a nice head. The first glass of this was awesome: nice nose, fruity, lots of citrus hop flavor without the aggressiveness of most IPAs, a splendid session-style beer. After a glass of Scarlet Fire to put it into context, the second glass was still pretty darn good, though weaker on the front and more metallic-bitter on the back than that classic IPA.
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