Ithaca Cascazilla

Bottle. Pours clear orange/amber with small white head. Aroma is citrus hoppy. Taste has a lot of citrus and piney hops. Pretty basic IPA. Usually I would rather something a tad more interesting, but this went great with my BBQ today.

12oz bottle, kmweaver-exclusive non-RBSG pity-party tasting 2007. Pours a brilliant, clear light mahogany color; off-white head with good lacing. Light, earthy and citrus hop aroma. Medium mouthfeel: lively citrus hoppiness at the forefront (approachable; chewy), held up by an earthy and red fruit maltiness; definitely doesn’t showcase the dank, resiny hop profile that one likes to see from an IPA (this seems like more of a well-hopped red ale than anything), but it’s still a tasty beer. Medium, dry citrus hop finish, with some sugar and earthy notes.

22 oz bottle via TomDecapolis (thanks!). Pours a clear dark copper with a quickly dissipating average sized head. Nose is citrus, pine, toasted grains. Taste is the same as the aroma with a bittersweet floral hoppy finish. A bit of a metallic aftertaste. Medium body and moderate/high carbonation.

(Tap) Pours a deep amber color with only a slight amount of head. Good lacing. Pine and citrus from the hops overwhelms the slight aroma of caramel. Moderately hoppy taste, with a smooth mouthfeel and a light caramel maltiness. More interesting than most red ales, but not as extreme as the description wants you to believe. Overall, a pretty good brew.

(Bottle, BB May 07) Pours a clear amber body with a small off-white head. Aroma of caramel, toasted oats, and nuts. Flavor of caramel malt, nuts, and hops; quite malty for an IPA.

Not as intense as the label suggests but good nonetheless. Aroma of piney hops. Pour was a dark amber with no head. Taste was all piney hops. A little malt in the background but not much. The taste was not big...but it was full if that makes sense.

12oz bottle. Got this brought back for me from New York. I’ve been looking forward to trying it. I could smell the hops as soon as I popped the cap off. Poured an amazingly crystal clear amber. A 1+ finger micro bubble off white head sits on top that fades slowly to a very respectable coating. Minimal web-like lacing. Like I said before I could smell this as soon as it was opened. After the pour I took a couple deep breaths of Cascazilla and I got hints floral hops but mostly citrus. There is a strong candy like caramel malt presence in there too. The deeper I smell more I can almost detect a dampness. The taste is really nice. The strong caramel presence is in the taste as well. There is a nicely balanced hop presence. The caramel maltiness starts thinks off a little faint but I’m quickly hit by a BIG hop and malt kick in the taste buds by mid-palate. Fineshes with the same flavors but more subdued. The hops leave the smallest amount of bitterness. Mouthfeel is nice. It has a solid medium body. Good amount of carbonation opens up the flavors in the mouth and really livens things up. Slightly coating with some abuse from the hops. This is a pretty easy drinker. There are big flavors but the alcohol is moderate. I could easily sit around and drink a few of these at a time. Cascazilla is a damn fine beer. I wish I could get my hands on it around here cause I love big, hoppy reds. It would be a staple in the fridge if I could get it. If you’re lucky enough to see this at the store pick it up and give it a try.

Really seems like an extreme beer with all the hype on the bottle but really a rather nice beer. Not the greatest red ale but exceptionally good, lasting flavor on the palate.