Bristol Compass IPA (Edge City IPA)

Had this on nitro at the brewery (great folks). Opaque burnt orange with a solid foam top. Brutal hop flower aroma. Smooth and sweet at first, with the hop burst at the finish.

Had this beer on 11/9/2004. Aroma is full of a fresh hop scent. Color is a deep hazy golden with very good carbonation and a nice head. Taste is smooth, hoppy and bitter. Starting with a medium body it goes down with a smooth feel and a hoppy flavor coming on. Finish comes on with a rich feel but a mild malt flavor and a bold hop flavor that turns to a strong bitterness. This is as close to a perfect IPA as I can remember ever having. It’s full of flavor at all points and yet is never overpowering.

I live in Colorado Springs where this is made and because of that I’ve it on tap and found to excellent. Creamy and full of hops.

Hoppya aroma, and while it has less hops than the 1.5 version, this is fresher, smoother and better. A nice solid IPA worth drinking again and again.

Bottle provided by beerandblues2:

Poured into a Raftman tulip glass. Pours cloudy copper with a creamy tan head. Smells of citrus, yogurt, flowers, perfume and hay. Tastes malty and sweet with some citrussy undertones. Finshes of sweet oranges and malt. Mouthfeel is sugary.

22oz Bomber received this in big trade with russpowell, thanks again Russ! Bristol’s Edge City pours a polished copper with good clarity. Few carbonation bubbles present that head slowly to the surface. A big billowy three finger ivory head formed on the pour and left big chunky lace on its way down the glass and finally settling to a healthy fingers worth of dense cragginess. This is an excellent looking IPA. A big lush caramel and toasty maltiness is the first thing to hit the nose and forms an excellent base for this IPA. The maltiness quickly drops back and a solid hopping comes forth to steal the show. The hops consist of a good deal of fruitiness including ripe orange, bitter grapefruit, and a touch of apricot all in that order of intensity. There’s even a mint-like hop character that when added to the clean alcohol fumes really brings out all the hoppiness. I like the aroma of this beer more and more as I continue to smell. A blast of sweet caramel right up front quickly transitions into a mild toasted maltiness. The hops, again, are the showcase of this beer and have a great depth. Orange and bitter grapefruit dominate but there are hints of pine, mint, and apricot on the finish. The low level clean alcohol fumes make the hops more pronounced on this beer which is exactly what I like to see. The mouthfeel is moderate but moves through the mouth at a quick pace thanks to the ample carbonation. The carbonation keeps this beer moving without being too aggressive. Finishes a bit dry which accentuates the hops even more. I could easily sit back and polish off a couple of these in a night. Edge City goes down extremely easily and is a treat on a warm day like today. This is a damn fine IPA from Bristol Brewing. I’d like to get my hands on a couple more of these and if it was local would be a mainstay in my fridge. 6/5/08

22 oz bottle. Pours a slightly hazy copper-orange with a thin and frothy off white head that laces the glass.

The aroma is very fruity (tangerines and grapefruit) and slightly piney.

The flavor is sweet caramel and tangerines that leads to a slightly bitter finish and a pretty big bitter aftertaste. The mouthfeel is medium to full and pretty creamy.

Overall, a pretty good IPA. A bit on the sweet side for me - it goes from very sweet to a pretty bitter aftertaste. I like the flavors better blended.

First sample from a trade with BeerandBlues2. Fits in with the IPAs I had in Portland and those I brought back. Thick lacing spackled on the glass above a lasting white head. Beer is coloured an orange-amber. Interesting hop, malt and spice aroma. Creamy mouth feel. Good blend of hops and malt comes across nicely. One of a very few strongly hopped IPAs that seems to lean more toward the malt.