Caldera IPA

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

Can courtesy of my wife. Aroma of hop citrus and pine. Copper body with good head. Flavor has more of a dry citrus peel bitterness but enough balance that is not over bitter. Smooth on the palate concidering the dry bitterness. Good beer.

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

Can from Santa. Thanks! Pours a semi-thin cheddar orange with a lively body and a head of white that leaves a nice latticework of lacing around the glass. Aroma is almost pure hopyy grapefruit; hints of pine and orange are in there as well but the dominant figure here is grapefruit. Flavor is dominated by the aforementioned frut, with bits of orange and pine in the finish. Full, coating, tingly mouthfeel. A great IPA; I want more of this.

12 ounce can from Beer Run in Charlottesville, VA. Pours a clear amber color with a medium tan head. Good head retention and lacing. Nice hop aroma of floral, resin, citrus. Bitter hop taste with citrus notes. Full bodied. Very nice beer.

Amber, lasting off white head,small bead. Citrusy, light cat piss nose. Dry grapefruit hop profile, lightly astringent. Good body/malt backbone. Medium strength lasting hop finish. Great lacing on glass. Quite good

12oz Can
A deep golden yellow color with a nice head. The araomw as deep with hops and malts. Liked the hoppy flaovr with this beer. Had some nice malt qulaity and this finished quite bitter. Not bad for a canned beer.

12oz can, thanks to SDbruboy, cliff. pours slight haze-golden with white head. nose is extremely citrusy and piney. flavor are piney, grassy, lemon-citrus, and slightly grainy. decent ipa but i dont like the hop profile as they are a bit too heavy on the grassy and citrus notes.

Bottle; poured a really nice looking amber color ith a medium to large, and firm, white head. Aroma was a nice blend of citrus, grapefruit, pine, herbs, and BO, with a bit of caramel and toffee. A bit buttery in the flavor, which was not great. Some nice pine and citrus, but a bit too much of the unpleasant maltiness. Still it was a pretty solid beer overall.