Port Brewing High Tide Fresh Hop IPA

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
San Marcos, California USA

Good sized bright white head of fine bubbles. Moderate carbonation. Succulent citrus and pine hops aroma. Madarin oranges, grapefruit and some lime and pine. I am drooling just smelling this. Color is a dark gold. Light body with lots of floral and citrus hops. Dry and pretty bitter but succulent. Light caramel malt balance that is pretty overwealmend by the hops. Finishes dry and bitter with a lingering floral aftertaste. This is a true hops bomb that will have you mouth puckering and complaining, but in a good way!

Golden-orange in color, with a nice fluffy white head. Lacing is sticky and resinous. Smell is wonderful. Reminds me of AleSmith IPA and Deschutes Hop Trip. Raw, sweet, citrusy hops blossom out of the glass. Taste, as I’ve found it to often be with wet hop IPAs, is a bit of a letdown after the perfect aroma. Still pretty good, with a tart grapefruit quality and notes of orange and pineapple. Malt manifests as a sweet toasty caramel flavor but is shortlived as the hops dominate. Nicely carbonated and appropriate medium-thin body. Finish is a bit sticky from all those hop compounds. Bitterness pleasantly lingers. Smooth and with a nice sweet/bitter dynamic, this is pretty easy to drink.

Pours a cloudy yellow color with a nice frothy white head that dissipates quickly and laces the glass. Smells of sweet flowery citrus. A hint of grass. Tastes of sweet(yet bitter) flowery hops. I love that flowery hop flavor. Citrusy. Good, but pretty standard palate. Pucker, bitter. Nice carbonation. Good, tasty IPA, very complex hops-nicity.
Update: 9/30/08. On-tap at PP C’Bad. Pours hazy yellow orange with a moderate white head, spider web lace. Smells clean and grassy, citrusy hoppy. Tastes the same. Nice, clean, citrusy hoppy. Slightly sweet, slightly bitter, slightly earthy. Medium body, good carbonation. 847316=3.8
Update 10/6/09. Pours hazy amber with a moderate sized white head that leaves some lace. Smells musty. Hops smells kind of rank, slightly citrusy with a good malt presence but the hops don’t really smell that good. Smells like the beer I make with my Mr. Beer kit. Tastes malty and smooth citrusy hoppy with a building bitterness towards the finish. Ok. Medium body, good carbonation. 536313=3

Thanks to several trading buddies for bottles of this! Poured a bright, surprisingly bright golden with a short, well-retained white head. The aroma picked up huge doses of fresh, dry, fragrant hops (grass, pine, and floral primarily) over a sweet citrus fruit base that was sufficient, but not the focus of the beer.. very nice nose! The flavor held serve, presenting plenty of fresh, greener hops over sweet caramel and grapefruit meat.. this flavor scored pineapple above all else, with pine and grapefruit playing lesser roles.. well-balanced with sweet pineapple meat and more pine bitterness sticking to the finish. Medium-bodied and well-balanced on the palate, displaying fine characteristics of the fresh hops.. drier at the back, and refreshing. Great stuff!

Slightly cloudy amber with a small off-white head. Strong notes of grapefruit, some pine, and a touch of caramel. The flavor echoed the aroma and started with a little sweetness and a big citrus hops finish. Very crisp and clean and refreshing. Delicious.

22oz. bottle, courtesy of hellbilly. Fresh, pungent, citric hop aroma, a good amount of pine, lemongrass and floral sweetness noted, along with a lighter, toasty malt character. Light-medium golden amber color with a subsiding, white head. Flavor really concentrates on the hop profile, with a very generous dosage of hop bitterness and flavor, providing a substantial drying effect but not overly unbalanced -- the malts are still there lurking just below the surface, contributing fading sweetness and an appropriate framework. Among the attributes are pineapple, grapefruit, peppery spice, pine and a leafy, herbal character. Finish is long, lingering and nicely bitter. Oily and smooth on the palate, refreshingly moderate in effervescence with a medium-full body. This is certainly tasty as is, but probably even better on tap when it’s really fresh, I’d imagine.

Poured dark gold with a thick, white creamy head and thick sticky lacing. Nice and strong I.P.A aroma and flavor. Citrus, pine hops, grapefruit, oranges and all that good shit! A good IPA that is easy drinking and not over powering. Good beer!!

Hightide (fresh hop wipe out)-on tap-pours a thin off white head that laces and slightly hazy gold color. Aroma is citrus hops. Taste is citrus/grapefruit hops, dry, faint/hint of malt. Good tingly effervescence. Did I say dry? Also raw. Not for sessions.