Nepenthe LOTUS - Eater

Brewed by Candia Road Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Manchester, New Hampshire USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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Bottle from Mr. jcwattsrugger, I believe he told us that this was the 4th batch.
Pours a cloudy golden color with a very large white head that has some nice lacing on the glass.

The aroma is fruity with some orange rind and fennel seed, lightly lemony and fairly pungent.

The flavor is floral and spicy, The beer is plenty dry and has a touch of white grape. Some dusty and fruity malt flavors are enjoyable as is the light bitterness & light hoppy character.
Very enjoyable, but I don’t believe that this particular batch is quite hop forward enough to be an IPA. It’s a good beer for what it is though.

From the 12 fl. oz bottle. The pour is a cloudy amber orange with a tremendous, puffy beige head that sits on top for the whole session. The aroma is nicely hopped with earthy tones. The body is medium and slightly acidic. The taste begins slightly sweet but then then earthy hops take over in a big way and linger to a moderate finish. Easy to drink.

Even a slow and careful pour created a head that flowed out of the glass like a nuclear mushroom cloud. So maybe this is turned? Even their website tells you to "drink fresh," and I know it’s been on my shelves for a couple months, not sure about the retailer. Color is super cloudy, bottle conditioned orange, like the color of a creamsicle. Scent is hard to get to because the foam never goes away, but there’s some citrus and skunky grassy smell. It does taste a bit sour and sticky tart, and by now I’m almost convinced this bottle just isn’t fresh. Consider my ratings as a placeholder, will try a fresher bottle in the future. These guys usually make great beer, so I’m willing to give the benefit of doubt.

Bottle shared by my good friend Dosbeerigos. This one was definitely infected! Sour milk aroma and super foamy. Can’t believe I was able to stomach a 4 oz pour of this.

22oz bottle–big foamy offwhite-cloudy to chunky gold/orange. A-citrus-grapefruit/orange zest, lt/med malt. T-citrus-lemon/grapefruit/orange zest hop bite, lt malt-bready, yeast. Med Body till the backend of chunkiness. Sipping. Unfortunately it sounds like some of the batches weren’t quite as good as the batch I got this bottle from. Just got another bottle from their newest batch and am looking forward to opening soon.

Paid $6.99 for a 22 oz. bottle @ Downtown Discount Beverage, Dover, NH. Snifter shows a murky, orange, tan color. Fluffy, thick head that held until the glass was empty. The aroma is all citrus fruit. Lemon, mango and grapefruit. I wish I have had an education on how to detect off-flavors. Because this brew for sure has some strangeness. It reminds me of drinking an herbal tea with a lemon squeezed into it. Notes of dried dead flowers. A touch of cardboard which confuses me because I know this beer is not old. The finish does have a slight lingering bitterness. I’m not sure I would call this a beer, it’s more like a medicinal hop tonic. I was able to finish the bottle and it wasn’t unpleasant just odd.

UPDATED: APR 18, 2013 New rating from jcwattsrugger. The medicinal and green wood notes are gone. Smooth and toned down. Decent, but not great. Old rating follows. Bomber, thanks a lot jcwattsrugger. A huge and dense light tan head tops a murky brownish gold colored brew. The nose is massive with lots of floral as well as grapefruit quality. There is a definite medicinal character along with fresh cut green wood. This tastes strongly medicinal with a lot of green wood. There is also a really strong pine resin note on the back end. This is just not well balanced, I have no idea what this beer was reaching for when it was made. I assume it supposed to be woody and grassy but it is so much so that there is not much else to taste.

Murky orange pour with a white head. Nose is very floral, slightly grassy, with some mild orange peel. A fair amount of bread, some caramel, tea, and a light pine aroma. Strong tea flavor, caramel sweetness, and a bit too much grass. Floral and citrus peel hops, mild pine, and only a light bitterness. Just okay, nothing really special.

Pours a muddy brown orange color with a big rocky sticky head. On the nose its cardboard with hints of citrus, lemongrass and aspirin. On the palate that medicinal packing material cardboard, styrofoam flavors come through... there is a touch of citrus but the off flavors far outweigh any "typical" hop notes. Drain pour.

22 oz bottle. Nice tropical fruit aromas. Loaded with citrus. Flavor is all citrus hops. Not really any malt sweetness for balance. Medium bodied with active carbonation with a sharp bitter aftertaste. I’ve saved the appearance part of the rating for last. This is, without a doubt, the ugliest beer I’ve ever had. First off, the head was a 4 finger monster that would not settle down. It took me a good 1/2 hour to get 2 glasses poured. The beer is an ugly tan/beige/amber color that reminds me of an oil and antifreeze mixture. If any of you have ever had the misfortune of blowing a head gasket, you know what I’m talking about. This beer made me think of the old expression describing an ugly women with a great body, butterface. I won’t be buying another.