kepano (239), Meudon, France Mar 11, 2008 Updated: Mar 12, 2008 Between sips of America’s Hall of Fame, I had to give my local brewers some palate-time. Enter Bristol’s Edge City series, an appreciated project riding shotgun to some of my standby local brews (I’d tip my hat to the Winter Warlock any day). This IPA pours an attractive Charentais melon hue, deeply translucid, like stained glass and topped of a nice white froth. Hops are obviously at the forefront, juicy and fruity – distinctly American. Grapefruit, pineapple, tangerine and hints of pine share the stage. Caramel and acacia honey lend offsetting malts. Hints of cedar, plum and lemon custard round the complexity of this jubilant nose. The flavor, surprisingly, is quite mild. A soft echo of honey constitutes the primary focus with subtle tonalities ringing erratically. Initial accents of spruce needles and cedar bark transition to a biscuity, burnt apricot mid-palate and finish with peach and pineapple. A sugary aspect competes with a hint of cheesy (Gouda-like) hop, but the excitement remains in this brew’s aroma. "Nice" is such an insipid adjective, but unfortunately Bristol’s Edge City IPA is just that: a nice beer. Not particularly exciting but eminently drinkable, with a tasty hop profile and a mild but genuine bitterness. (19/03/2007)
BlackForestCO (653), Fort Collins and Black Forest, Colorado, USA Dec 28, 2008 Tap. Poured a clear copper-orange color with a moderate off-white head that faded to a soapy layer and left some nice rings of lacing. Aroma of bright citrus, such as orange and tangerine, some leafy hops, and a bit of pine. Smooth, lightly tart entry with a faint hint of toasted caramel and a nice fruitiness including orange, grapefruit, tangerine and apricot that transitions into an earthy leafiness with some soft hints of pine and a bit of tart fruitiness on the finish. Moderate carbonation and nice mouthfeel. Overall, an underrated IPA. I was pleasantly surprised. wetherel (1217), Encinitas, California, USA Oct 13, 2008 On tap at Palmer Lake and at the brewery. Much better at the brewery. Amber color. Nice frothy tap head. Very easy to drink. Mild long boil bitterness. Nice hoppy aroma. Hint of yeasty aroma. FeloniousCaper (466), Illinois, USA Oct 1, 2008 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 acrdz (4535), Boulder, Colorado, USA Sep 2, 2008 22oz bottle pours unfiltered soft peach in color with a full, foamy white head. Instant nose of citrus juice: mandarin oranges, pineapple, mango, lemon juice, etc. Bitterness is medium to heavy, flavor is more catty than the nose, unexpected with the c-note hops, but still has a lot of juiciness, some sweetness, turning to some dry pine wood in the finish. Tasty. jcr (910), Jasper, Indiana, USA Aug 27, 2008 Draft at brewery. On nitro. One thing nitro does to a nice, hoppy IPA is to smooth out that raspy finish. At first sip, I wished that this was on CO2 instead. But by the end, it was going down smoothly and I somewhat appreciated that. Long-lasting, off-white head. Bubbly medium amber body. The aroma was full of flowers, grapefruit, apricot, citrus with some notes of caramel and hints of apricot and peach. The flavor is moderately sweet and moderately bitter. The finish is moderately bitter, but only lightly sweet. Medium body with a smooth as silk texture from the nitro. Hopped up carbonation, or is it nitration?
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