Pike IPA

Brewed by Pike Pub & Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Seattle, Washington USA

Fresh bottle from the shop down the road, pricey sixer so I settled for a single.....wise choice. Should state "Pike Pale Ale" as this is a distance from being an IPA. Great hazy orange/copper pour with some major sediment. 1/2" thick creamy head and legs of lacing. Aroma has some juicy floral hops along with a dense malt nose, I really like the scent but there’s a minimal amount of hop bite in it, great for an APA. Medium body with a clean yet unsatisfying finish, a little thin at the end with a faint bitter hint. Nicely balanced with thick doughy malt and some citrus hops. A touch of fresh butter and greens. Good beer, it is very enjoyable, however this would score much better as an APA so I tried to keep my rating in the middle of the styles.

12 oz bottle from Kenb. Pours a nice hazy amber color. No aroma whatsoever. Flavor is mildly hoppy, but this is not a hop I really like (cascade?). This beer is devoid of the sharp, crisp citrus flavors I like in my IPA’s. This beer reminded me of Redhook Longhammer. More of a Pale Ale. Not bad, but Not my thing.

Pours a cloudy orange caramel with a medium beige head. Faint aroma of floral hops, orange citrus, caramel and honey. Taste is malty citrusy with floral tones and honey with a slight grassy finish. A very nice IPA.

bottle acquired from kenb. hazy amber pour with a creamy off white head that sticks around and leaves some lacing as the glass empties. aroma is sweet fruit...oranges and canned lychees, bubblegum? and surprisingly malty. flavor is fresh orange, honey, lightly bitter grassy hops, cereal grains and a nice citric acidity. finishes bitter yet sweet and leaves a lingering hoppy dryness. medium to rich mouth feel.

It pours slightly hazy copper with off white head and decent lacing. The aroma is tart and bitter with tangerine, grapefruit rind, nectarine and raspberry tartness. Wow, the taste is different from a standard IPA. I taste tartness with sour edges. Almost seems like a Lambic. It is fruity, tart and sour but without any noticeable funk. I taste unripe tangerine, grapefruit, citrus rind tartness and tangy raspberries. It almost tastes as if something has gone wrong. There is a malty sweetness that keeps this beer from becoming overly tart and sour. Just too tart and sour for an IPA in my mind.

(Draught) Sampled at the brewpub on October 17, 2007. Hoppy nose yet oddly malted in contrast. Not your traditional West Coast IPA without the pine, cascade and orange over-load... which unfortunately was what I was looking for.

Draught pint at Redbones on 10/11/07
Moderately hazy, pale-golden colored IPA, with a large, foamy, white head that shows moderate retention, little/no lacing.
Straightforward C-hop nose is lightly fruity, quite bitter and shows off mostly oranges and grapefruits. Some strong dextrine notes give the effect of a very supportive body, but without gobs of sweetness. Bitterness waxes rather heavily towards the finish, and without much variation as the beer progresses. Medium strength of aroma, no flaws or alcohol noted.
Strongly bitter, and with low malt apparency. Just some basic cookie dough and honey sweetness, that softens the palate and prepares the palate for the heavy hand of hop bitterness. There are definitely some interesting, fruity notes (peaches, mangoes, nectarines), but there severely underrepresented on account of the massive citric bitterness/dominance by grapefruit. Not overly resinous, however, which allowed me to drink it down without too much of a problem. Soft, cakey, honey-vanilla sugars emerge with warming and breathing, adding more balance and helping to resucitate the palate, somewhat. Soft, supple mouthfeel, medium carbonation, no alcohol or flaws noted. A bit of yeast blandness (liquid seems more hazy than it should be), but no dirtiness is derived from it, fortunately.
I have a bottle, so I will be rerating it shortly....

Have only had this in bottle. Nice white head, some lacing. Deep color. Floral and perfumy nose. Not heavy on the Cascade. Mellow flavors: quite a balanced, simple IPA.