Full Sail Prodigal Sun IPA

Brewed by Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Hood River, Oregon USA

This pour from a 22 oz bottle was a very attractive clear copper, with medium white head and good lacing. The nose is mild with citrus hops and caramel malts. Good clean mouthfeel. Flavor is a good balance of malts and hops with a nice bitter finish. A very solid IPA and one I would go back to again. In fact, I will, as I have a second bottle.

22oz bottle. Pours a clear copper with a minimal head. Aroma is hop all the way with a nice amount of citrus. Flavor is minus much of the citrus and instead is nothing but hop bitterness. Harsh stuff, the vodka of the beer world. I usually prefer a decent malt balance with my IPAs, but this is a nice change. Everyone is offering the balance these days, so it is refreshing to taste a beer that unmercifully and unapologetically kicks your ass with a size 17 hop boot.

A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces an almost four-finger thick, light tan colored head. The head has quite a bit of structure to it as it leaves ample lacing and forms all sorts of interesting structures as it slowly recedes. The beer is a nice amber hue that shows a mostly clear, bright copper color when held up to the light. The aroma has a nice resinous hop character to it with some citrus fruit and a touch of malt character thrown in for good measure. Aromas of pine, a hint of hemp and peppery tobacco are tempered a bit by notes of Meyer lemon, grapefruit zest and some watered down orange juice notes. The malt adds a hint of cracker-like malt to the finish that is more noticeable as you really dig for it, but never supersedes the hop character.

A biting, dry bitterness up front yields to a touch of sweet malt and a citrus hop character, but then moves back to a solid bitterness and a dry finish. Herbal, pine accented hops dominate the flavor profile along with the bitterness with notes of tobacco, hemp oil, a touch of garlic chive, menthol and pine tar. Notes of grapefruit and tangelo peel are noticeable in the middle, but at times can be completely drowned out by the more herbaceous hop notes. This has a nice, light, drinkable body to it for an IPA. There is just enough malt to not let the hops become completely overwhelming, but it could probably use a touch more malt to balance the aggressive hop character just a smidgeon.

With its herbaceous hop focus this is definitely an aggressively hopped IPA. It is fun if you like to be slapped around by hops, which I admit can be fun at times.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Draft at Full Sail Brewing Company. Pours a clear golden color with a small off-white head. Has a malty hoppy citrus aroma. Sweetish malty hoppy bitter citrus flavor with some pine needles hints. Has a long malty hoppy bitter pine needles finish with some hints of citrus.

Bottle from Jubilation. Not the best IPA I’ve ever scored. Bitter, imbalanced, not too sweet or fruity. Drinkable, but not exciting.

Bottled sample. Light amber in colour with medium carbonation, and a but of haze. Aromas of orange, grapefruit, citrus, and pine. Hop forward in the mouth, with lots of dry pine, earth, and grapefruit. Some caramel sweetness creeps in before the chunky dried wood bitterness takes hold. A solid IPA, but nothing special.

Pours orange, semi-unclear, with a nice frothy beige head. Very floral aroma, light tropical fruits and light caramel. First taste is earthy bitter, some vegetable, with light papaya. Smooth body, glassy with smooth carbonation. I’m not a fan of the papaya taste, too vague.

I picked this one up at the Co-Op in Davis, CA. Smelled nice and hoppy with a smooth first taste. What happened after that I could only describe a pure disappointment. The palate fell apart with an odd bitterness and some watery taste. I recall we poured the rest.