Redhook IPA

Brewed by Redhook Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Woodinville, Washington USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

Draught at The Big Hunt(yes that’s really the name of the bar): Golden orange-yellow with a small, thick, white head. Aroma is citrus fruit, fresh floral grassy herbs, and a hint of malt (biscuit/caramel). Overall the aroma is not very assertive. Light to medium bodied, medium pleasant carbonation, crisp. Taste is grassy fresh hops up front (nice), spicy floral herb, mild citrus, and some malt notes (though not very sweet, syrupy, or bready malt flavors) that have a mild sweet biscuit taste. Not very assertive in either malt or hops flavors, but nicely balanced for an IPA.

These guys are on to something. A nice infusion of bitter hops balanced by an injection of just-sweet-enough malt make this a treat.

It pours with a nice orange to amber color with a light creamy head. However, the use of the IPA label is only that. Its aroma and taste were small on the hops let alone close to the expectations one would have for a beer labeled as an IPA. It tasted more like a typically hopped ale.

Pours dark golden. Frothy white head that does lace some. Aroma is citrus with a strong malt background. The taste is mostly malts in the front and some citrus and hops at the end. Not as bitter as the victory and FFF brews that I just had. This was a decent IPA but not top of the line. Very drinkable nonetheless.

Pours a lightly hazy, copper color and is topped by a frothy almost lacy light tan head. The aroma is a mix of citrus fruit aromas and fresh cut grassy herbs, neither of which are very dominant. I also get a hint of dry biscuit like malt underneath the hop aromatics. The taste is sharp and hoppy up front and quickly moves to a fruity hop driven hit of citrus fruit notes. The finish is almost smooth and sweet. The sweetness is a combination of malt and accentuating hop flavors. This beer is light and spritzy in the mouth, it is quite refreshing and tasty.

This is a pretty nice interpretation of the IPA, it is not as over the top as many, but it is quite drinkable and quite enjoyable. I am certainly happy that I decided to pick one up.

Bottle. Pours a clear golden orange color, white head that faded quickly and didn’t lace much. Aroma is a nondescript hoppy smell, typical strength of an IPA. Flavor is mostly bitter hops, none of the sweet maltiness that makes a great IPA, one-dimensional, though it is never harsh. Mouthfeel is a bit dry, body is good, carbonation is about right. Nothing outstanding about this beer, though I would say it was worth the $6 I paid for the six pack at the grocery store.

[Cask at GBBF 2004] An orange beer with no head. The aroma is sweet hoppy while the flavor is very hoppy combined with notes of oranges and hop oils leading to a bitter end.