Ithaca Cascazilla

Coming full circle, we kicked off this year’s Penn State Brew Fest weekend with a brew we raved about at last year’s event. Word was the demand had the State College distributors ordering cases only days after the event ended... indeed worth a year’s wait. Dark ruby red body with medium effervescence--uneven off-white brownish head in a pint glass, opaque but intimidating... robust hops intrude immediately, appropriate to the bottle’s label...beautiful malt balance with spruce, toasted caramel and occassional peat scents for complexity...heavy, full-bodied, warming rush...actively effervescent and crunchy palate... "monster" hops early, mega malt late hammering like twin pistons on the tongue--rich, pucker-sweet and a bit of smoke(?)...BIG taste but again, balanced beyond the predictable "I ate a Christmas tree" feeling that we sampled from others at the event. Now, in a 12 oz. and without the pressure of comparison, truly this beer is a standout in the style.

Bottle. Reddish amber pour with a thick cream colored head. Has an earthy hop aroma with a little bit of caramel in there too. Has a really nice hop flavor with an underlying caramel sweetness. This is not a normal IPA, its different in a good way, interesting and enjoyable.

Draught at Ithaca Beer Company in NY. Amber colored, big beige head. Aroma is very floral with pine, grapefruit and soap. Flavor is decent, some caramel, but could have a little better malt-hops balance.

12 oz. bottle from Premier Gourmet - Pours a clear reddish-amber color with a medium size off white head. Nice layered lacing. Aroma is floral and light citrus hops. Flavor is sweet esters and hops. Medium body. A nice IPA.

From a bottle. Pours a amber color with off white head. Big aromas of citrusy, floral hops and some sweet malts. More of the same in the taste. great tasting hoppy beer. If you’re into hops a fresh one of these is what you need to drink.