Elk Creek Double Rainbow IPA

Brewed by Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Millheim, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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UPDATED: MAR 29, 2008 Draft at Elk Creek. Clear copper honey colored body. Crisp, lightly grassy, moderately bitter flavor, a bit doughy as well with a decent amount of yeast character present. Hops are light pine resin, lightly grassy, lightly dry as well. I believe this is 100% Fuggles, which makes it closer to an English-style IPA, and as that, it’s pretty solid... there’s little in the way of the hops, just a clean pils-like malt base, and the hops are what they are: Fuggles, giving it a dry pine and faint fruit smell and taste, quite different than most American style IPA.

Back again 2 weeks later and it’s more syrupy sweet, cloying, with a distinct chemical cleaner and sharp pinecone varnish flavor mixed in the fruity hops. I’m told it’s the same batch as before, so it’s either changed or it all has to do with set and setting for the drinker.

Draft at smiling chameleon. Pours slightly orange without much on the nose. Has big pine sol vibe on the tongue but disappears the more you drink. Finishes fairly clean.

Sampled on tap at Zeno’s. Mild hoppy nose with light pale malt sweetness. Beany spicy hops. Medium golden clear with thin head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Starts dry with tons of hop flavor and bitterness. Bitter finish with mild sweet pale malt. Good IPA profile. Bitter after but smooth.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours a slightly hazy orange with a white head. Aroma of citrus, caramel malt, apple, light fruits, and bready malt. Flavor of bready malt, citrus, sweet fruits. A touch on the sweet side overall. A very drinkable English-style IPA. 7/4/8/4/14 [3.7/5]

Draught at the brewpub. Pours gold with sticky off-white head. The aroma is piney with some soap notes, a little bit of lemon and grapefruit. The flavor is mellowed hops, pine mostly, with some nutty malts and a sourish grain note. The finish is somewhat bitter, but lacking.

UPDATED: JAN 2, 2011 Sampled on draft at the brewery this beer poured a vibrant golden color with a large white head. The aroma was a lovely sweet grapefruit, pine and fruit cocktail. The flavor was smooth, sweet and had a lovely mix of fruit cocktail, pine and grapefriut. There was a lighlty woody and earthy undertone. Not bitter at all despite the nice hop presence.The finish was rich, sweet, fruity hops. Lovely.

Sampled at Pints for Pets. A clear golden amber color. Thick frothy butter cream colored head. The aroma is a grassy floral hop, but not very strong. The flavor has a little bit of grape and an earthy hop flavor. It is light on the hop flavor and bitterness. It has a decent flavor, but not really an IPA let alone a double IPA. The body is kind of weak as well.

Draft Sample at Pints for Pets. Pours gold with white head. Nose is slight caramel, no hops. Tastes of bread and toffee with mild noble hop bitter and taste. The name fools you. I was expecting an IIPA and got more of a pale ale. Not bad, but disappointed.

Growler, from the brewpub. Pours a slightly hazy copper body with a one finger foamy off-white head. Moderate intricate lacing. The nose is floral English hops with a bit of orange rind citrus fruitiness. Toasted slightly sweet malt base. I like the flavor, moderate bitterness with bright floral hoppiness over a slightly sweet caramel base. It tastes very fresh and almost candy like. Medium bodied with perfect soft gentle carbonation, the sweetness makes the finish linger on sufficiently. Overall, I like this, it doesn’t tire the palate. Soft and subtle, and Elk Creek’s best effort so far IMO.

UPDATED: OCT 28, 2009 On tap at the brewpub. Pours a middle gold, with a long lacing sticky sheet in white above. No aroma. Maybe some generic malt and hops. Flavor brings a quick waft of diacetyl and then a blast of turpentine. Out of balance. Dry and acidic. Coarse and not well-flavored. Alcohol is much too forward for the style. Not the best example of the style. Hop flavor is pretty bland. Seems like a beer just trying to be hop bitter for the sake of the name. Needs to work on hop extraction for flavor and aroma.