Skagit River Scullers IPA

Brewed by Skagit River Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Mount Vernon, Washington USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

Citrus hops are apparent as a complement to the toffee, cereal, grainy and caramel malty notes in the nose. Clear deep copper coloured body is topped by a ow, off white head that recedes to a partial cover with some lacing. Flavour follows the aroma - sweet and grainy with offsetting hop notes. Seems less like an IPA than a very strong bitter. Perhaps my bottle was on the shelf a while? The hops just don’t seem to carry through. Medium body. Moderate carbonation. Tulip glass. Cellar temperature Bottle.

Thanks to 5000 for sending me this bottle. Drank fresh back in March 2011. This is my 200th IPA rating. The beer pours a dark orange color with a white head. The aroma is somewhat odd. I get a lot of sugary notes. The beer smells a lot of circus peanuts with a little bit of floral notes and some butter. The flavor is a mix of grass and butterscotch. I also get some floral notes. Even with the off notes, I get a medium amount of bitterness. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. I’m not a homebrewer so I don’t know what the flaw is in this bottle, but I am sure it is not what the brewer intended it to be.

Draught at St. Augustine’s, Vancouver
Hazy amber color, creamy head. Deep hop aroma, fruity, caramelly, malty, earthy, with manure. Good bodied; strong caramel flavor, some toffee, and a vein of more roasted malts; only some light fruitiness from the strong hopping; there is a moderate sugar residue; the final is maybe even too bitter. Powerful.

Draught@Taphouse Grill, Downtown Seattle
Clear amber color, small steady white head. Light fruity hoppy nose. Medium-bodied. Piney hoppy, woody flavor. Nice dry IPA.

Bomber. Light amber colored with an inch of solid beige head. Faded floral hops and caramel malt notes in the aroma. The taste starts strong on the grapefruit citrus and bitter hops characteristics with an equal dose of nutty malt and caramel. The body is slightly creamy with medium-level carbonation and a clean, bitter finish. Interesting take on the style and definitely more malt-forward than most PNW IPAs.

Bomber shared by MartinT.
Appearance : Shiny amber with a small white head.
Aroma : Nice cereals with nice caramel. Not that much hops.
Taste : Cereals and caramel. Bitter finish. Finish is also a bit citrusy and piny. Rather floral and resinous. Peppery.
Overall : Interesting stuff but not really my thing. Hops are not citrusy and fruity enough for my taste. Rather resinous and sticky with lots of cereals. Not bad though.

My Bottom Line:
Lightly caramelized cereals build a cozy mouthfeel until a portentous resinous hop bitterness seals this India Pale Ale.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A creamy head of foam covers the shiny dark amber.
-The intensity of the hop bitterness was surprising, especially since the aroma was so unassuming.
-Hops were also peppery in the last half.
-The mouthfeel was soft and well rounded.

Bottle.

Tap @ ESC. Clear amber pour with a short, persistent, white head leaving heavy lace. Medium body with more than normal carbonation. Malts are biased towards dark-roasted, which is unusual for a PNW IPA. Coffee, tea, burnt toast and some lighter pine flavors. Not my style of IPA, but definitely stands out from the crowd.