Tag Archives: usa

5 - Excellent (must buy), American IPA, Ballast Point Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, USA

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

Tuesday, 18 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 70 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A trophy beer that’s a testament to our homebrew roots. Our Sculpin IPA is a great example of what got us into brewing in the first place. After years of experimenting, we knew hopping an ale at five separate stages would produce something special. The result ended up being this gold medal-winning IPA, whose inspired use of hops creates hints of apricot, peach, mango and lemon flavors, but still pack a bit of a sting. Just like a Sculpin.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 22 fl oz bomber with a bottled code date of 15063 which means 4th March 2015, and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a very nice clear golden orange colour with a two and a half finger white head that dissipates slowly leaving a thin foamy layer and thick lacing.
Aroma: Nice strong aromas with tropical mango and peach strongest followed by apricot, citrus orange and some pine.
Taste: Starts with citrus grapefruit and some light bready malts, followed by tropical fruits mainly mango, apricot and pineapple, hints of pine and finishes with bitter grapefruit once more.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation and very refreshing
Overall: Stunning and absolutely loved it. One of the best IPA’s out there in my opinion. A definite must buy for me. And now I just need to try an even fresher version.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Friday, 14 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7.2%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 65 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) At Sierra Nevada we take hops seriously. Torpedo Extra IPA starts with the world’s finest whole-cone hops and intensifies their flavors with a little magic from our “Hop Torpedo”. The torpedo is a revolutionary method of dry hopping that brings this beer alive with a rush of complex hop aromas and flavors not found in any other beer.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.12
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a packaged date of 14th May 2015 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a very nice deep clear copper colour with a one and a half finger slightly off white head that dissipates slowly to a thin soapy layer while leaving some nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Pine and citrus grapefruit dominate with a hint of orange.
Taste: Sweet malts, caramel to start followed by citrus grapefruit and pine and hints of tropical fruits.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: A nice IPA that is crisp and refreshing. I would buy this again.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop IPA

Thursday, 6 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Brewed with southern hemisphere hops, 100-day IPA, drink fresh, don’t store. The second of five beers in the 2015 Harvest series.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We’re devoted to whole-cone hops, and we’re always on the hunt for rare and exciting hop flavors. Mirroring the fall US harvest, New Zealand hops peak during our spring. Southern Hemisphere, the second in our five-bottle Harvest series, highlights floral, citrus and fresh fruity aromas from fresh hops picked, dried and shipped halfway across the world and into our brew kettle in one week. Drink this IPA fresh and watch for the rest of this series that explores diverse hopping methods: single hop, fresh hop, wet hop and wild hop.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.53
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.5

Intro: 2015 version. A 22oz bomber with a packaged date of 27th April 2015 i.e. day 99 for this 100-day IPA and poured into an IPA glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a clear amber ice tea colour with a big three finger off white cream head that lasts a long long time and leaves lots of lacing.
Aroma: Its all quite light as nothing stands out. Just some light caramel malts and maybe just a bit of apple, pear and pine.
Taste: For an IPA, this is rather malt driven. Initially sweet caramel and candied sugar followed by slightly bready, buscuity malt. It finishes with some floral hop bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I prefer SN’s other IPA offerings over this one as the malt is overpowering here. The aromas were also a little light for me.

4 - Good (buy), Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Gose - Fruit, USA

Anderson Valley Highway 128 Blood Orange Gose

Thursday, 23 July 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 4.2%
Style: Gose – Fruit
Other Notes: Malt – Pale Two-Row, Malted White Wheat. Hops – Bravo.

Brewer Description: (from can) Copious additions of blood orange during fermentation impart tangy citrus notes and a slight sweetness to compliment the salinity and tartness typically found in a Gose style ale.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.93
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 12 fl oz can poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a slightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated quickly with no lacing.
Aroma: Strong tangy citrus and candy like orange and lemon.
Taste: Tart and tangy sour orange with a salty finish.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: I enjoyed this. It’s a great drink for a hot summer day as it goes down easy and is very refreshing with its tart, tangy and salt finish. I prefer this over Anderson Valley’s regular Gose.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Gose, USA

Anderson Valley Highway 128 the Kimmie, the Yink and the Holy Gose

Tuesday, 21 July 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 4.2%
Style: German Gose
Other Notes: Malt – Pale Two-Row, Malted White Wheat. Hops – Bravo.

Brewer Description: (from can) The refreshing tartness in this devine, bright golden-colored ale gives way to earthy undertones and hints of citrus followed by a slight sea salt-like dryness and tangy, effervescent finish.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.03
My ratebeer.com rating: 3

Intro: A 12 fl oz can poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a clear golden straw colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly.
Aroma: Aromas are mainly bready, tart, sour, lemon. There is also a slight dank finish.
Taste: First a doughy malt flavour, followed by tart, lemon, sour and salt.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: This was not bad as the tartness is refreshing. It’s also easy to drink. However I tried the blood orange version first and easily prefer that over this one.

words of another dreamy traveller