Hood Canal Dabob Bay IPA

Date: September 26, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Bottleworks, Seattle
Appearance: clear amber, frothy beige head, drippy lace
Aroma: sulphery dry pale malt aroma, floral and earthy hops
Flavor: dry malt flavor, just a touch of malty sweetness is quickly dried out by lots of earthyness, plenty of bitterness follows the earthyness, touch of fruity citrus shows up late to the party, light astrengency
Aroma: 4/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 8/20
Rating: 2.4/5.0
Drinkability: 5/10
Score: *+ /4

clear d orange color with a wet hop aroma. Malty nose as well along with the sticky palate

Nice crisp amber coloured body with a dense light tan head leaving a nice lace on the side of the glass. Aroma of fresh malt, some light hops, coriander seed and a very mild toffee. Light-bodied; Effervescent malty flavour with a tiny bit of hops up front, fading to a sweet caramel, a little cardboard and some odd sweetness - although up front is like a gueuze! Aftertaste shows some bittering hops, but more malt and caramel than anything else. Overall, an alright IPA, not showing much hops, but an interesting take on the style. I expected more, but it was good to try anyways! I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Bottleworks in Seattle, Washington on 25-April-2009, sampled at home in Washington on 28-July-2009.

Copper colored and topped lightly with a head. Refreshing PNW hop aroma with good bitterness profile as well as some peach and citrus notes. Easy drinking and mildly citrusy IPA that has a great profile, but doesn’t smash you over the head with hops. Nice Chinook finishing hop bitterness. An enjoyable, flavorful IPA for the summer sun.

Clear copper, small white head. Little sweet pickle aroma. Distracting. Spoiled. Drainpour. Rerate.

22oz bomber courtesy of bitbucket poured into a tulip. This one pours a very hazy orange with some sediment in the bottom of the glass. An aggressive pour yields only a small bubbly head that recedes quickly and leaves almost no lacing. The aroma is really fruity for an IPA, with some citrus hops in there as well as what smells a lot like apples, which I’ve never really smelled in an IPA before. The taste doesn’t have the light fruit going on. It’s more about a big, abrasive citrus hop kick that dominates throughout and lingers through the aftertaste. Not much malt in there. The mouthfeel is sticky but still seems just a tad thin for an IPA. The carbonation is very low as well. This is an interesting IPA, but not one that I would go back to as the taste is a bit too abrasive without a lot of the complexity necessary to support that abrasiveness.

Bomber. Pours hazy orange with a lacy off-white head. Aroma for grapefruit with a bit of toffee and a skosh of butter. Medium body and moderate carbonation.The taste is a bit earthy, otherwise same as the nose. Lingering pecan pine finish. Not too bad, but probably not an IPA I’d seek out again.

Bomber poured clear orange-amber with a small head and little lacing. Nose was citrus (grapefruit and lemon) with a hint of vanilla and pecans. Taste was sweet, grapefruity with a lingering lemony bitterness. Mouthfeel was light and watery. This beer had very low carbonation.