Ithaca Cascazilla

Brewed by Ithaca Beer Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Ithaca, New York USA

Reddish amber body, beige head. Aroma of caramel and hops. Flavor has that unmistakable piney, citrusy cascade hoppiness, but is balanced by loads of caramel malt. Not until the initial flavor subsides do the hops really take over and dominate the flavor. The finish is simply loaded with hops, and is dry and sticky sweet. Tasty IPA and a good showcase of cascade hops.

Bottle from Sam the Beer Man, Binghamton, NY. I’m a hop head and this one pretty much smacks that cascade hop flavor without ever becoming truely vicious, hence the red ale designation. This is easy to drink but not overly complex. It is very well balanced but has a somewhat wet to medium finish. I had this one on tap (Rooster Fish, Watkins Glen, NY) as well and the tap version blows the bottled version away.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a clear amber with a thin head. Very strong fruit and floral aroma along with some caramel notes from the red malt. The hops is also very present in the flavor along with some maltiness lingering in the background. A bit of a bite in the finish. While I am not a hophead, I did enjoy this beer.

Bottle from Thaichile. Dark copper color. Minimal head. Pleasant balance between sweetness and hoppiness. An IPA that I could drink more than one of without getting fatigued by the hops.

2006 bottle on 8/22/06.
Coppery-amber colored beer, not a terribly deep red or anything. Foamy, white head is smattered about, covering some parts and others not. Not much lacing and it sticks to the liquid, never fully vanishing. Clear and filtered is the clarity.
Fruity, hoppy nose strikes clear and consistent. Ruby red grapefruit, peaches, cherries, some lychee. Heavy caramel malt notes in the background quickly bring up the rear and provide support. As it warms, the caramel overreaches a bit, with its hard, candied sugariness. The hop aroma is not terribly varied but still sufficiently juicy. Medium to medium-high strength of aroma, no yeast, no alcohol apparency.
Hops again in flavor, but as soon as the citrus and juicy fruit begins to fade, a hard crystal malt edge bites in to the palate, with no suppleness/support due to the filtration. Candied oranges, caramel, plenty of base sugars. Carbonation is rather loose, though not biting. Ithaca is always better on draught, in my experience. Though to this beer’s credit, it talks a big game of hops and does deliver, however cliche the profile may be.

Very clear amber color with an off-white head that dissipates quickly and almost no carbonation. Aroma is mostly floral hops with a bit of grapefriut. Palate is mediocre... medium to light body and kinda thin. Not getting much out of the finish like top IPAs. Flavor is almost exclusively hops with a tiny bit of caramel malt. Not too interesting.

Looks like a ginger ale at the pour. Clear amber body with a quickly falling head that won’t stay together. Fizzy with big bubbles. Flowery hops with some malt coming through in the aroma. Starts sweet and ends with a long bitter finish. Light to medium in body, a bit gassy.

Reddish copper, thin tan head. Big floral hop aroma, with just a touch of caramel. Clean, crisp woody hops dominate, with a vague malt profile. Peppery finish. Tasty, easy drinking stuff.