Full Sail Sunspot IPA

Many thanks to Wohlfs for that awesome trade!

22 oz bomber
Pours a beautiful copper body and an enormous creamy head. The glass was draped in chunky sheets of lacing…top to bottom, the head retention was sick! The aroma and flavor are in conjunction. Showing a grand caramel maltyness but it is nearly overpowered by the enormous submissions of West Coast alpha hops… big citrus, and major spicy notes of pinesap and cedar wood chips. The palate was huge… and the finish was massively bitter and wasteland dry. A nice beer but a BIG IPA overall.

02-Dec-04 (22 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with derekarent, thanks Derek!) Yikes, this is a really bitter beer. The piney hops flavor is so sharply bitter, especially in the finish, it’s actually a little unpleasant. Otherwise, this big IPA is very floral and sugary sweet, and has a significantly caramely malt backbone. Moderately hoppy nose, somewhat floral and fruity. Medium bodied with a substantial palate. Copper in color, with a slight haziness. Off-white head is average in size during the pour and slowly subsides to a thin layer. Some ringed lacing is deposited on the glass. This is a pretty good beer, big and bold, but if it wasn’t quite so bitter, I’d really like it. (7, 4, 6, 3, 13, total 3.3)

17-Mar-05 (22 oz bottle: $3.75 at Liquid Solutions in Tigard, OR) I decided to rerate this beer since it was available for purchase at Liquid Solutions. Maybe the hops has mellowed a bit with this bottle, but not much. It’s still very much a hops dominated beer with strong grapefruit and floral notes, sweet and malty in the background. The nose is floral and grassy with the obvious grapefruit hoppiness. Deep copper/orange in color, with a pronounced haziness this time around. And the off-white head is very active, pouring to over 3 inches in height, and slowly subsiding to a thick, creamy quarter-inch topping, leaving plenty of foam on the glass. In the end, I guess this bottle was pretty consistent with the first bottle, but I’m enjoying the strong hops this time around. What I’m not as enthused about is the strong floral nature of this beer. So while my grades remain identical, I have a different reason for not being all that crazy about this beer. (7, 4, 6, 4, 13, total 3.4)

08-Aug-05 (Nitro Draft: Full Sail Brewing Company in Hood River, OR) Well, fresh at the brewery, and on nitro, this beer is just too hoppy for me, with little else to balance it. A brew for the true hopheads out there. Not a fan, so this is it for me

Semi auburn amber coloration, medium sized foamy white head. Muted pine and apple aromatics. Some citrus and floral hop flavors, but mainly dominated by an excellent crushing piney bitterness, which extends into the finish. Mouthfeel is medium, nicely astringent.

They have somehow achieved a beautiful red/orange hue with this brew - very sunny and appropriate. Citrus hops are showcased in the nose. The body is overly bitter, overtaking the light maltiness. A good IPA, but needs some refinement to be great.

Poured dark amber with thick head. Strong citrus aroma, specifically oranges and grapefruit. Hop flavor and bitterness predominated with a slight malt balance.

Draught @ Pilsner Room. Pours dark amber with a sticky tight white head. Strong hop presence (pine, resin) backed by a strong malt balance. Other fruit notes danced thought this beer as it was consumed. Good Stuff.

Body is dark amber. Aroma is lightly malty (cookie), moderately hoppy (grapefruit, resin), lightly yeasty (dough), with a light note of peach. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation.

This is an excellent beer! Nice and fruity, nice hoppy finish.. not too strong.. very well done.