Z Street IPA

Date: 02/01/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

opaque orange, sweet and tart citrus aroma, light body, plenty of hop flavor on a dry carmel malt base, long bitter finish that’s too long and too bitter,

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 4/10; Palate: 4/10; Overall: 6/20
Rating: 2/5.0
Drinkability: 5/10
Score: *+/4

Pale gold, clear, white cover. Juicy pineapple and melon nose, dull plasticy yeast notes. Watery palate, incredibly thin and soda popped feel. Dry hopped mess, devastating absence of apparent malt, no depth, salty and sulfury. There are many bad IPAs out there and this one just gave me the kick in the bottom I need once in a while to remember avoiding those. Really too bad as I know concord can brew great stuff.

12oz bottle shared courtesy of TomDecapolis. Poured a medium orange color with an averaged sized off white head. A bunch of small floaters. Aromas of citrus, orange peels, pine, and a little earthy. Tastes of mainly citrus with a trace of caramel. Medium bitter finish.

Pours a clear dark golden with a thin covering of white, thin-lacing head. Nice dry piney bitter hoppy aroma has a touch of toasty caramel malt. Body starts semi-sweet turning more dry and bitter toward the finish. A smooth, but overly bitter IPA without much sweet balance.

The Lure:
Earthy, citrusy, orange-y and leafy hops proliferate at an astounding rate. Malts aren’t participating much, this is a hophead’s daily fix.

The Festivities:
Back bitterness shocks the palate without offering any peace or distinct flavoring. Carbonation is quite frothy for the style, and makes the portentous hoppiness feel chalky. Oranges are prevalent, and obviously hop character dominates the feeble malt presence. No attempt to balance in this bottle, which I respect, but this was too agressive for me that day.

Transcendence:
Even with good intentions, a misplaced pat on the back can really hurt your neck.

Pours amber with a thin white head. Smells of citrus and perfumy. Tastes resiny and bitter with some caramel on the finish.

A hazy golden IPA with a creamy thick white head. A good floral hops in aroma with light caramel notes. In mouth, an oxidized malt hits you right away, but the hoppy grapefruit keeps your interest, a very simple in your face IPA. Medium bodied.

12 oz bottle from Table and Vine in Northampton, MA (September 2006) enjoyed a bit below cellar temperature from a Corsendonk Christmas Ale glass. Small to moderate soupy white head dies with some speed leaving nice flecks of lace atop the faintly hazy/oily medium amber body....citric aroma, mostly oranges, fairly faint with some woody-grassy touches, nothing upsetting but rather dull.....body is dry, light fruitiness at midpalate doing little to dilute the astringent, somewhat brackish overall flavor profile which turns distinctly harsh and bitter at the finish with little in the way of moderating malt balance and few interesting hop notes, it’s just a dull somewhat mineralic/saltiness, though there is some improvement in the body with a little warmth, some cidery and orangy flavors showing up to save the day...almost. On the whole a disappointment from this mostly solid brewery (Mercury, that is -- never had original Z St version).