scoobyluv (469), Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA May 27, 2006 here i was expecting this big hop taste cuz of the advertised 85 BU’s but like the other beers I had this evening, it was disappointing. there was a taste of hops but it wasn’t the overpowering hop explosion i expected. the colorwas promising. it was a dark amber color but once i sniffed and didn’t smell the hops, i knew there’d be disappointment and there was. JF_GRIND (1199), Glenside, Pennsylvania, USA May 24, 2006 Originally rated 03/06/06 under, "Amarillo Armadillo Ale". I thought it best to move the rating to the "correct" beer listed under John Harvard’s........Springfield, PA location with the moniker "Big Tex" IPA brewed with Amarillo and Simcoe hops. The citrus aroma and spicy flavor is due to the one-two punch of the hops. Body is a deep amber however the head was sparse. Alcohol was listed as 6.5% ABV. ClarkVV (3547), Allston, Massachusetts, USA Apr 23, 2006 Draught pint at Framingham, 4/13/06 with SuIIy Rapidly fizzling white head is barely at cover when served and fairly rapidly recedes to light ring and then nothing, no lacing. Crystal clear, tequila sunrise color, with some strong pigskin overtones and quickly rising, large bubbles. Hoping for some lovely amarillos, I get a nose that is lightly fruity, soft and citric. Some amarillo hops, noticeable, I guess....More like dry grass, plant stem/stalk-like flavor, or a mouthfeel of wet, green leaves. Mildly round apple-cherry hangs just out of reach. The potential is never realized on this one. And there’s really no excuse. If an English brewer can bottle condition Darwin rolling hitch and send it over here, ever more fruitier than this beer imagined, with bold, distinct amarillo hoppiness, than this brewer should be able to do the same. Malt is lighly sourish, a munich malt and dry, toasty astringency. Flavor begins and ends on leafy, dry citric and plant bitterness. Very centennial controlled in flavor. Amarillos taste like dry herbs and bushy hops flowers. But too dry and soured out by munich malt and overly astringent-like grain flavors. Fairly watery, though with some light sugars ending gently on the finish (but mostly water). Gentler carbonation for JH’s Framingham, but still too loose. No alcohol notes, light nutty yeast.
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