Sierra Nevada is known for hops. Their pale ale spawned a million (seemingly) imitators. So, when I saw a 4-Way IPA box with their logo. I knew that I would be reviewing it for the blog. I chose the two least known / seen beers from the group. And now I finish with their interpretation of a White IPA, Snow Wit….
Review – Hopothermia from Alaskan Brewing
This DIPA from Alaskan Brewing pours a light orange and clear color. You never know what to expect anymore from IPA’s. Are they really doubles? or are they regular IPA’s? This one tastes more like a session American barley wine to be precise. It doesn’t have the hop bite that many doubles or even regular IPA’s have. It has a caramel-y set of aromas and it tastes boozier than the ABV stated on the bottle. There is a mixture of tea tannin and citrus notes and it does stick to the tongue, so age may have set in a bit but I don’t think the bitterness was reduced except aroma wise where I got a more fusel set of smells.
I would like to try this fresher to see if it is indeed just a freshness issue.
Review – Point Bonita from Headlands Brewing
Pt. Bonita a Rustic Lager / Bohemian Pilsner is the second beer that I have had from Headlands Brewing Co. in the Bay Area. Now I just have to sample their Double IPA, Hill 88 to have had their mainstays of their line-up.
Pt. Bonita pours a very clear yellow with loads of bubbles rising to the top. A slightly sweet bread aroma on the nose. Taste is brusque upfront. A tang of hop bitterness and carbonation that wakes you up. A little viscosity rounds the mouthfeel out. Solid malt taste here. And a little zing of lemon at the tail end. Quite nice.
Review – Monumentous from Coachella Valley Brewing
I had my first beer from CVBC at Firkfest and then on the road to Paso Robles, a sip or two of Kolschella made it’s way into my glass courtesy of Erin (aka The Beer Goddess).
Now it is time to formally review their IPA – Monumentous.
The IPA clocks in at 7% ABV but initially tastes a little heavier than that. My palate feels weighed down by a dankness and herbalness that just sits on the tongue and doesn’t move. It has an almost silky mouthfeel to it which is a bit strange and different from IPA’s that I have had. Although, I have encountered it in Imperial or Double IPA’s.
The aroma is mostly pine but not the needles. More the actual cut board. A hint of sawdust is there. There are some citrus notes here and it certainly isn’t burdened by caramel maltiness which confuses me even more. I would expect this to be more sprightly. Maybe I am being confused due to the whole hop flowers and two separate dry hop additions.
All I know is that it is certainly different from many IPA’s but without a born on or best buy date I can’t be sure how fresh this bottle was.
Homebrewin’ tastin’
One of my former co-workers has begun brewing. She (identity protected to protect the innocent) is and adept cook and her first batch using the Brooklyn HomeBrew kit and recipe was solid. Recently she invited me and my beer buddy, Richard from Travels with Cap’n to taste her latest brews.
But before the photos and the reviews, a warning
I won’t protect his identity because I don’t think Craig would like it if I did. Anyhoo, on with the reviews
The first beer was a lavender honey ale. Honey being used instead of Belgian Candi sugar. It was well balanced and bone dry. A hint of lavender which is much preferred to too much. It poured a pretty light yellow color as well.
The Tea & Toast was an avenue for experimenting with tea. The recipe called for English Breakfast but could accommodate others and the very smokey Lapsang Souchong was chosen and it imparted a big smokey kick. There was a nice toast/wheat note that punched in briefly as well.
Of the two, a the honey lavender would be an excellent go to summer beer and I would like to try Tea and Toast with another tea variety.
There is a Peach Cobbler bubbling away with a Gose in the future. And I am excited to try them.
Review – Mr. Pineapple from SanTan Brewing
Whilst window (of the coolers) shopping at Sunset Beer, I spied a new set of arrivals from SanTan Brewing of Chandler, Arizona so I picked up a can and it so happened to be the one that was selling the fastest. People like pineapple I guess.
Mr. Mister pours a hazy light orange. Sweet fruit notes hit the nose. Pineapple is there as is, strangely, banana. It has a very smoothie-esque consistency and taste to it.
I was expecting more wheat and a brighter fruit taste but on the flip side, I was worried that the pineapple juice would totally overwhelm the proceedings. Neither happened and I was kinda disappointed with the the more Radler effects that seemed to take over. More wheat and a little more carbonation would have made this better for me.
Video Review – Nooner from Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada is known for hops. Their pale ale spawned a million (seemingly) imitators. So, when I saw a 4-Way IPA box with their logo. I knew that I would be reviewing it for the blog. I chose the two least known / seen beers from the group. And we start with Nooner….
Review – Brawler Pugilist Style Ale from Yards Brewing Company
Yards Brewing is well known on the East Coast but less so here so when I had an opportunity to try some “malt forward” beer for a change.
Brawler pours a dark cola shade with a thin head that disappears quickly. There is a sweet but not overly so caramel maltiness in the aroma. That same caramel is quite evident in the taste as well. This is the anti-hop beer. No bitterness at all. Very light and super easy to drink bordering on watery.
I wouldn’t call it pugilistic by any stretch but it is a solid and simple beer.
Review – Hopped on the High Seas by Cigar City
First off. Here is the story behind this hoppy Cigar City beer.
“This 60 IBU Caribbean-style IPA was brewed at the Cervezas del Sur Brewery in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The mango tree-lined streets of Ponce put us in a tropical mood and Hopped on the High Seas is the result of that Caribbean feeling. High Seas is a 7% ABV IPA dry-hopped exclusively with one variety of hop; 165 lbs of them in fact! And since we wanted to put this beer in our favorite container, the 12 oz can, a sea journey was required to get the beer back to Tampa for canning. We took the opportunity to add the dry-hops to the refrigerated shipping container prior to racking. Which means this beer truly was Hopped on the High Seas. As the beer made its way home, the gentle motion of the ocean worked to infuse the luscious aromatics of the hops. The result is big tropical aromas and flavors, light balancing malt backbone and a clean bitter finish.”
I will be reviewing the sixth different version….
- Batch #1: Simcoe
- Batch #2: Ahtanum
- Batch #3: Citra
- Batch #4: Experimental Hop #529 (I would love to see this one in my ‘fridge)
- Batch #5: Kohatu
- Batch #6: Calypso
It pours a clear and strong dark orange with tints of red to it. Quite a head on this one. Like a cloud. Leaves quite the chunky lace pattern on the glass.
My initial aroma is musty fruit leather. Citrus notes in the back. The flavor is powerful. It sits on the palate heavily. It is quite bitter but with an odd metallic note to it. It was canned on 3/14/14 so it is not super old. There is a slight jellied fruit taste at the beginning of the sip that fades into that big hop presence.
I would like to see this on a less aggressive base beer. Maybe a pale base with lighter malts to accentuate the dry hop. As it stands, it tastes more like a double IPA and the Calypso hop does not shine in the forefront. I would love to have gotten some tea and lime notes that that hop is known to sometimes impart.
Review – Castaway IPA from Kona Brewing
I get the occasional media sample of beers. Most don’t come stuffed inside a volleyball however. But Kona Brewing has always been creative with their packages.
You may have to reach back in your data bank but Castaway (the movie) featured Tom Hanks and a volleyball named Wilson. Castaway (the IPA) features Galaxy, Citra, Simcoe and Milenium hops.
It pours a bright orange. Very tropical on the nose. Pineapple and mango mainly. The taste is light with a hint of wheat. There is still a nice bit of bitterness amidst the fruit punch notes. There is a good amount of bubbles and a minor hint of spice as well.
This beer was free but I would gladly pay for it on tap. It is fruity and fun and delivers the Citra which I love without being muddled by competing hops.