Port Brewing 3rd Anniversary

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Marcos, California USA

Bottled. Golden coloured. Unclear. Dense off white head. Herbs, pine, flowers, grass and citrus in the aroma. Flavour is piney, citric, caramelly, alcoholdense and has a somewhat fruity touch. Medium bodied. Dry. Is harshly bitter in the end.

Bottle 65 cl. Slightly hazy golden with a lacing off-white head. Citrusy hop aroma. Medium body, sweet caramel and fruit, citrusy and grapefruitish finish with a massive alcohol burn. A little rough. 130909

The aroma is full of citrus hops, some floral notes, but for how much hops are in there, they are rather subdued if this makes sense at all... Some bread/biscuit malts are in there as well in the nose. Hazy golden pour with a thin white head. Starts citrusy, soft floral notes, but the hops are not as assertive as I would have liked them to be. Light resin in the finish. Tons of alcohol. Lightly bready sweet malt base, but just too damn boozy for its own good.

I thought Tomme said this was Pale Ale... Pours deep amber with a thin offwhite head and some lace. Smells dark and resiny, citrusy hoppy, slightly grassy. Hoppy! Tastes resiny, syrupy hoppy, pretty bitter with some sweetness as well. Woooo, hoppy. Nice. Full syrupy body, could use some more carbonation of course.

In short: An aggressive super-sweet-super-bitter Double IPA. Pleasantly brutal when fresh.
How: Bottle 22oz. A few times. Much better fresh.
The look: Cloudy dirty orange body topped by a small off-white head
In long: Nose is one-size fits all west-coast hoppy beer with oranges, citrus fruits, coniferous trees, etc. Taste starts off as a bit too sweet with a lot of sugary honey and a little caramel but the truckload of hops quickly balance it out. Hops-related flavours coniferous, tree bark, pine-tree, dry oranges, citrus. Bitterness is sharp and intense, almost abrasive. Alcohol is a little too apparent for my taste but not bothersome. I drank a bottle fresh and really enjoyed it. I drank another bottle late in september 񢉙) and I didn’t enjoy it as much (less crisp, more sugary, more boozy) so I’m entering my old notes on a fresher bottle for this rating. Enjoy now, this beer is nose diving quicker than a Taliban Airline Boeing full of infidels.

Nice beer. It’s becoming a fairly standard west coast flavor profile: lots of carmel sweetness balanced with a ton of grassy hops, a bit of alcohol warmth in the finish. Sweet, fruity,and hoppy. Don’t get me wrong: no problem with me if this is become a standard style.

22oz Bottle. Purchased at the Bullfrog Brewery - Williamsport, PA. Flickr(http://www.flickr.com/photos/26049401@N0 Very juicy and heavily spicy hop aroma. Some goldings-like celery character, which unfortunately makes me think the hop aroma profile is a bit aged. Some classic Port house yeast musk. Pours a really murky orange, with an opalescent golden fringe and a supremely dense creamy dingy-snow colored head. Flavor begins alcoholic, aided by a creamy texture. Starts off on some spicy hop notes, moves quickly to hot alcohol, then some yeast, before a celery-seed and dust finish. What happened? Where’s the luxurious tropical fruit juiciness, the pineyness or the just plain solid hop character. I feel like I’m drinking a 4 year old Bigfoot that’s hot. A little sticky in the finish, despite a fighting try from the hops and the alcohol. Ugh. Not my favorite IIPA.

Hazy deep golden-amber. Typical west coast nose, with citrus and pine notes. Full bodied, alcohol is well hidden, chewy with a massive dose of hops. Very tasty and dangerously easy drinking for a 10% beer. Not the most complex IIPA of the Port line up, but a really fine and classic example. Would love to try it again...