Caldera IPA

Brewed by Caldera Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Ashland, Oregon USA

Copper amber with a large, off white head. Beautiful aroma of fresh fruits, floral, soft citrus, and sweet malts. Medium bodied. Flavor is citrus, light sweet malts, fruity, and light herbs. Finish is rather bitter and slightly dry. I wish the fruit from the aroma carried over a little more than it did, but this is a very tasty IPA anyhow. Not overly done with easy drinkability.

Tin. Poured amber with a medium lasting foamy white head. Wonderful fruity and floral aroma. Hoppy flavour with notes of fruit, citrus, citron and toast. Lasting hop finish. A good repeatable IPA

A decent pour from the can produces an almost three-finger thick, light tan colored head in my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip. The beer is a light amber color, but shows a brilliantly clear, orange / red tinged, full copper hue when held up to the light. The aroma is definitely hoppy, though not aggressively so, there is also a fair amount of malt character that accentuates a sticky hop character. Aromas of candied orange zest, ruby red grapefruit, caramelized oranges, some touches of pine and green herbal notes and, towards the finish, a touch of cracker like grain and lightly toasted malt.

Slightly sweet, somewhat light bodied, but definitely hoppy. A nice bitterness clings to the palate and lingers for quite some time in a long, bitter, dry finish. Up front the bitterness takes on a decidedly herbal note with touches of hemp, biting pine flavors and a bit of herbal / green-grassy notes. This is definitely nice and quaffable, it is not overly sweet nor thick for an IPA, though the hop character definitely tends to cling to the palate. The first sips, as well as sips where I have gone and done something else for a while, have a much more prominent citrus hop character (with orange zest, grapefruit notes, kumquat and perhaps a touch of lychee); otherwise the herbal and bitter hop flavors dominate.

The flavor is much more harsh and aggressive than the aroma suggested, but it will certainly still be enjoyable for the hop heads out there. A solid IPA, that could actually use a touch more malt, or to dial back the herbal and bitter hop character.

Purchased: Liquid Solutions

Bright clear orange with a firm white head. Strong fruity hoppiness, some herbal. Balanced, quenching with a bitter dry end.

Golden clear orange poured from the can, sweet smell of hops on the nose. This is a solid, somewhat dry and very bitter IPA. Not quite a hop bomb, but generous nonetheless. The balance was well done and their was a nice trade off between the bitterness and a certain sweet syrupy sensation. I enjoyed this.

A microbrew in a can?? What is this world coming to?! Very sweet in both scent and taste, perhaps a little more sugary than I’d like but reasonably well balanced. The pay off is in the bitter taste at the end, and it’s in a can! Rad cauldron design as well.

12 ounce can purchased at the Davis Food Co-op. Aroma has some nice crystal malts present. Kind of sweet. There is also a significant amount of hempy herbal hoppiness in there, too. More sugars retronasally. Transparent copper body with a nice, frothy, off-white head. Starts a little acidic, actually. There is some peppery, spicy hop flavors to begin, with a griany, roasted malt middle. This finishes kind of dry with some bitter, piney, and grapefruit hops. There is also a little ethanol flavor to finish as well.

12 oz. can - pours amber and crystal clear; huge, frothy white head takes a bit to settle; raw, pine and fruity hops; aromas are rich and thick; pretty bitter, but lots to the body as well so it has a rich texture to it; drinks very smooth and not too resinous; tons of hops here though and a great IPA overall