Bison Organic IPA

Brewed by Bison Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Berkeley, California USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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murky orange pour with a huge frothy yellowish head. aroma of peaches, apricots, and hops. palate is sweet with a fairly dry finish. flavors are the same as aroma with emphasis on apricot. actually a pretty big hop addition here. tastes more american than english.

light orange copper with good light tan head strong aroma of cascade hops, smelled it from like two feet away there was also a surprising raisin on the nose. medium to light body and a good crispness. nice mellow caramel maltiness with grapefruit, light raisins and earth

Very well carbonated; the beer pours with a four-finger thick, lightly tan colored head. The beer is an almost clear, pale reddish, full copper color. Very well hopped with notes of loud grapefruit, fresh cut tangelos and candied citrus fruit. The beer has a very punchy, aromatic hop nose that is quite smooth.

Lightly sweet, with a malt character that accentuates the dominant hop character. Notes of freshly zested orange peel, sweet ruby red grapefruit and menthol-like pine are quite noticeable. There is also a an interesting bitterness in the finish that is fairly smooth, and not at all over the top. Perhaps a hint of astringent hop bitterness lingers on in the long finish, but it is fairly mellow. The malt plays a secondary, supporting role here, but is noticeable as a touch of malt sugars and a hint of caramel.

The second pour produces a five-finger thick head; this is definitely way over carbonated, but the good thing is that the foaming and the pour effectively degas this brew. This is definitely an enjoyable IPA; smooth, fruity, yet still well balanced for an IPA. This is very drinkable and quite enjoyable; and somehow it is even organic, how can you not love it.

LIght hoppy aroma. Kind of floral. Orange amber color with a decent off-white head. Starts a bit citrus, gets even more citrus, and the malt is playing background. Some stone fruit shows up. Floral aromas revive. The finish is still citrus, the malt is not all that there, but the hop drops off enough that the finish is nearly balanced. Very different IPA.

Clearish golden coloured body with a nice dense tan head. Aroma of fresh hops, citrus, pale malt and a very ligth sweetness. Medium-bodied; Sharp hoppiness up front with fresh apricots and pears following behind with a good malt backbone throughout. Aftertaste shows hop bitterness and malt going on, with some alcohol and sweetness as well. Overall, a decent IPA - nothing amazing, but nothing horrible either. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Joe’s Place in Oklahoma City (Norman), Oklahoma on 27-May-2007 on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

bottle - Pours copper colored with a thin head and a citrus hop aroma. The fruity hops come through pretty well in the flavor, though overall it’s a little on the light side. Still, this ale is fairly enjoyable and easy to drink.

Citrusy aroma. On the dry side. Flavor is of oranges and pineapples. Overall, pretty much innocuous. Nigther bad nor particularly good.

Bottle. Pours hazy yellow orange, white head. Aroma is caramel, tangerine, peat, hops. Flavor is caramel, pine, grass, peat, hops, citrus, dirt, alcohol.

Again, my bottle wound up extremely overcarbonated for some reason. This English style IPA was drinkable but otherwise unremarkable. Typical understated Fuggles-type hopping left me underwhelmed. Caramel and toffe malts seemed a touch stale...hints of dishwater, etc. Nothing remarkable here.

Bottle (22oz), Knightly Spirits. Pour was typical for the style, a little more amber-reddish, perhaps, foamy off-white head, lots of lacing. The aroma was tea bags, caramel, citrus rinds, some oranges. The flavor was tea bags, brown sugar, orange and citrus, melon-bready finish. Not a good concoction, as these brown-sugary tea-bagged IPAs don’t do it for me. Mouthfeel was moderate, carbonated.