The turn out for the event was fantastic. In addition to the other great craft beer, we enjoyed 8 IPAs on tap: Russian River Blind Pig, Bear Republic Racer 5, Ninkasi Total Domination IPA, Stone Ruination IPA, Ballast Point Big Eye IPA, Brasserie d’Achouffe Houblon Chouffe, and Ale Industries East Bay IPA. The Ale Industries IPA was a  special treat because IPA Day at Rosamunde was one of the first places to have this new beer available. It seemed to be the crowd favorite too because it sold out by about 6:30pm.

It was great time and a great opportunity to meet old friends and even make a few new friends. Special thanks to Josh Margolis, owner of Rosamunde, and Ruggy Joesten, of Yelp, for making this so successful on such short notice, only 10 days.

Sculpin IPA is a delicious IPA where dominated by citrusy hops yet with an expertly crafted balance of sweetness and bitterness. Sculpin IPA comes out of San Diego, CA from Ballast Point Brewing Company. Ballast Point was founded in 1996 after two home brewers, Jack White and Yuseff, built a brewery in the back of a the homebrew shop that White had opened 4 years prior.

In the years since opening, Ballast Point grew their reputation of producing well crafted and delicious beer. It was exciting to finally find their top notch beer available in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially Sculpin IPA, which won a Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup in 2010 for International Pale Ale.

Although Ballast Point produces a wonderful line of craft beer Sculpin IPA and Calico Amber are consistently beers that I seek out and clear off the shelves whenever I see them available.

Date Reviewed. June 14, 2011

Where I Found It. La Beau Nob Hill Market, San Francisco, CA

Serving Type. 22oz. bottle to nonick pint glass

Appearance. Although it started to pour crystal clear, the agitation of pouring must have loosened some sediment and it eventually poured as hazy glowing golden orange color. The head is slightly off white with good retention with a thick foamy texture. It leaves a nice thin lacing on the sides of the glass.

Aroma. Sculpin IPA has wonderful floral hop notes with a strong bouquet of citrus-like sweet oranges, ruby red grapefruit, and a touch of pine. It has a malty-sweet aroma, which is almost biscuit-like in nature. The sweet citrus hops combined with this malt aromas almost reminds me of a slightly melted gourmet creamsicle, made of orange sorbet and creamy vanilla ice cream.

Taste. This is an excellent tasting IPA with just the perfect balance of sweetness and hop bitterness. This is certainly not a dry IPA and I might go so far as to describe it as just a little sweet but not overly so. The effect of the sweetness is enhanced by the floral and citrus aromas that you experience while drinking it. The bitterness is slightly harsh but not quite as prickly as a sculpin fish. The bitterness and builds on your palette over time but is cooled by the sweet malt flavors.

Mouthfeel. It is a full-bodied beer with a smooth and a nearly velvety texture that helps contrast and cool against the ever building bitterness accumulating on your palette.. The carbonation is just the right level.

Overall. Starting with the pour and the light color, this beer is inviting you to quaff it down. As you bring it close to you mouth, the aromas from Sculpin IPA get you salvating until you taste this wonderful IPA. The sweetness and the bitterness combine into a wondeful experience. I wouldn’t consider this a dessert beer by any means but I also would not characterize it as a crisp and refreshing beer. It is a slightly-sweet very-hoppy IPA. As you can see by my rating the high point is the wonderful aromas, which Ballast Point has mastered in so many of their beers. The taste does not disappoint but the aroma is incredible.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

• Appearance (6%): 4.0
• Aroma (24%): 5.0
• Taste (40%): 4.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 5.0
• Overal (20%): 4.5
• Total: 4.64 

Information

• Style: American IPA
• Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company [more info]
• Alcohol by volume: 7%
• Bitterness: 70 IBU

Other Reviews

Guest Beer Review: Sculpin IPA – By Bernardo Pena | BarleyPop – A Beer Blog Gotta love having friends that are as passionate about beer as much as I am. Mr. Bernardo Pena, close friend of 20+ years has been sending me tons of texts about all the beers he’s been trying in LA and abroad the past few years.

Sculpin IPA | Mike Loves Beer Name – Sculpin IPACountry – United StatesType – American IPA A little over a week ago I did my first video review for Ballast Point’s Big Eye IPA. And during I said that a review would be coming soon the IPA brother in the Ballast Point household, Sculpin.

The Barley Blog » Ballast Point Sculpin IPA California’s Ballast Point Brewing makes an IPA that, when I can find it, is a favorite of the household here on the East coast. My wife and I have enjoyed the piny, hoppy Big Eye IPA on several occasions through the years.

Cleveland Food and Brews-CraftBeer: Ballast Point Sculpin IPA Here is what the Brewer says: The Sculpin is a testament to our humble beginnings as Home Brew Mart. It showcases bright flavors and aromas of apricot, peach, mango & lemon. The lighter body also brings out the crispness of the hops.

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA – Voted Best IPA! | thefullpint.com We had a close race for our Best IPA poll. With so many tasty, hoppy dank IPAs to choose from, San Diego’s Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits Sculpin IPA came out on top as the Best IPA. While there was nothing in the rules discouraging disproportionate voting, this poll was pretty even Steven as far as online polls go.

Thursday, August 4, 2011 will mark the first International IPA Day. All over the world, beer drinkers are gathering on this date to drink and toast hoppy, delicious, and bitter IPA beers. But when I recently heard that an event had not been planned in San Francisco to celebrate IPA, I had to do something about it. Now, together with Rosamunde Sausage Grill and Beer 47, San Francisco has an official International IPA Event!

What better way to celebrate International IPA Day than to enjoy an IPA on the patio of Rosamunde in the sunniest part of San Francisco with friends while munching on a delicious handmade sausage. Don’t forget to share your experience on all social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, and RateBeer) by using hashtag #IPADay in all of your posts.

To incent you to get started early, Rosamunde is offering $2 off IPA on draft between 5pm and 6pm on the day of the event. So don’t miss out! And when you drop by don’t hesitate to say hello, I’ll be wearing a t-shirt with a very familiar logo, the pint glass with a 47.

If you’re interesting in learning more about International IPA Day, read all of the details on Drink with the Wench.

Event Details

Rosamunde Sausage Grill

August 4, 2011
5:00pm to closing
2832 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA

Special hoppy hour:  From 5pm to 6pm all IPAs on tap will be $2 off.

Eight IPAs will be available on tap:

• Ninkasi Total Domination IPA
• Green Flash West Cost IPA
• Russian River Blind Pig IPA
• Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA
• Houblon Chouffe Belgian-style IPA
• Stone Ruination IPA (Updated Aug. 2, 2011)
• Ballast Point Big Eye IPA (Updated Aug. 2, 2011)
• All Industries East Bay IPA, special release! (Updated Aug. 3, 2011)
• 7.7% abv with 100 IBUs

Three IPAs will be available in bottles:

• Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
• Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian-style IPA (I read recently that these will soon be in short supply and much harder to find)
• Mateveza Yerba Mate IPA

Special thanks to Josh Margolis, the owner of Rosamunde Sausage Grill hosting IPA Day and for pulling this together at the last minute. Also thanks to Ruggy Joesten of Yelp for offer to help spread the word about this event. Finally, thanks to Ashley V Routson and Ryan A Ross for coming up with another great way to celebrate craft beer.

Southern Tier is a craft brewery out of Lakewood, New York that produces 30,000 barrels of fine craft beer each year. An excellent example of their craftsmanship is one of their special limited availability beers called Imperial Gemini Blended Unfiltered Ale. This beer is not exactly what I expected from the East Coast. It has a strong citrus hop aroma with a strong bitter bite and was made from two of their other brews: Unearthly Imperial IPA and Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale. This is a beer loaded with 6 varieties of hops and four different grains. Imperial Gemini, in particular, was given to me by Josh, a friend who lives in Vermont, so a special thanks goes out to him.

Date Reviewed. July 1, 2010

Where I Found It. A friend who lives in Vermont.

Serving Type. 22 oz. bottle to a glass.

Appearance. Despite its name, Imperial Gemini Blended Unfiltered Ale, this beer has a beautiful crystal clear orange-amber color. The off-white head head has tiny bubbles and a thick frothy texture and lasts quite a long time leaving a few traces on the glass. Update (April 26, 2011): This beer is “normally”not crystal clear. Most of the sediment had “filtered” to the bottom of the bottle and I didn’t bother to stir it up before serving.

Aroma. This beer has a soft  but potent citrus hoppy bouquet combined with a biscuit, amber, or toasted malt aroma. The aroma also has a hint of wildflower or orange blossom honey. There is also a hint of caramel in the smell. It reminds me a bit of butterscotch candy and orange candy at the same time.

Flavor. Imperial Gemini balances the strong malty sweetness of a high gravity ale with an intense flavor and bitterness of hops. The bitterness is smooth with a bite of spiciness and alcohol in the finish. Despite being 10% alcohol by volume, this beer does not have a boozy flavor.

Mouthfeel. As would be expected by such a high alcohol beer, the mouthfeel is viscous. When accompanied with the tiny bubbles or natural carbonation, this beer ends up with a soft creamy texture. This beer nicely combines bitterness, sweetness, and hoppy flavors and aromas to produce a wonderfully crafted beer.

Overall. Since the balance of sweet and bitter was so masterfully achieved with this beer, it is dangerously easy to drink much of this beer even though it is a 10% abv beverage.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score. Ratings are based on the BJCP score sheet. To get the BJCP score equivalent, multiply by 10. Note: I am not a BJCP judge, I just like the scoring system.

• Appearance (6%): 4.5
• Smell (24%): 4.5
• Taste (40%): 4.0
• Mouthfeel (10%): 4.5
• Overall (20%): 4.5
• Total: 4.3

Bottle Label

The Southern Tier website is quite nice and has all of their bottle label on their website. The label for Imperial Gemini can be found here. For posterity, the label reads as follows:

High in the winter sky, two parallel stick figures are visible & known as “the twins,” or the constellation Gemini. The astronauts of the 1960s flew as teams of two in a program named after the celestial pairing. At Southern Tier, we have our own fraternal twins, Hoppe & Unearthly. Blended together & placed in this vessel, the mission of our Gemini is to travel high & take passengers on a journey far into the heavens.

Information

• Style: Double IPA
• Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company [more info]
• Alcohol by volume: 10%
• Original Gravity: 1.092 specific gravity
• Final Gravity: 1.012 (calculated)
• Hops: Kettle: Columbus, Chinook, and Cascade. Aroma: Amarillo. Hop-back: Styrian Golding. Dry-hopped: Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, and Columbus.
• Grains: 2-row pale malt, malted white wheat, cara-pils malt, red wheat,

Other Reviews

• JustBeer: Southern Tier Imperial Gemini
• Mug of Saint Arnold: Souther Tier Imperial Gemini
• The Brew-Thusiast: Pizza + IPA = GOOD!

Deschutes Brewery is the number 6 craft brewery, by sales volume, in America (as of 20008 and 2009) and they continue to produce excellent products such as Hop Henge Experimental IPA. Hop Henge is part of Deschutes Bond Street Series, which features hop-forward beer that are inspired by the original Deschutes Brewery & Public House on Bond Street in downtown Bend, OR.

This beer almost seems like a hybrid between and American amber ale and an American double IPA. It is very hoppy with a smooth biscuity sweetness to it. Deschutes describes Hops Henge as follows:

First brewed in 2006, Deschutes Brewery’s Hop Henge Experimental IPA reappears this year with more extreme hop flavors than ever before. The new formulation is the epitome of the brewery’s experimental style and commitment to innovation, while gratifying their unquenchable thirst for beautifully balanced hoppy beers. The newest incarnation of Hop Henge uses several new hop processes and techniques to create a truly unique and unexpected beer.

Where I Found It. BevMo in Sacramento, CA.

Review Date. July 11, 2009

Serving Type. 22 0z. bottle

Appearance. Hop Henge has a crystal clear but bold red-amber color and you can see the bubbles rising to the top. It has a tan head that started off with loosely coupled bubbles but after that subsided the head was tighter, creamy, and long lasting. After drinking half the beer, there is still have about 3mm of head.

Smell. The aroma of this beer is slightly bready aroma with much stronger notes of biscuity malt coupled with a roasted quality. The hop bouquet is earthy, spicy, and a little floral with pine and maybe some cedar. Since this is made with Cascade and Centennial hops, I was expecting a little more citrus and more in-your-face hops smell. However, my bottle was about 3 months old.

Taste. Hop Henge has both spicy and smooth bitterness from the hops. Although this beer has 95 IBUs, it does not seem overly bitter. It has a nice noticeable bite but is not overwhelming. The biscuit aroma follows through in the flavor with malty sweetness that you taste up front followed by that wonderful hop flavor. The sweetness of the malt buffers the 95 IBUs of bitterness. This is an 8.75% abv beer and sometimes you can taste the alcohol astringency and sometimes you cannot.

Mouthfeel. The beer is nicely carbonated with small bubbles giving is a more creamy nature. It is a full-medium bodied beer with a hop spiciness. The spiciness is not burning like a chili pepper but the spiciness is more that of black pepper or ginger, with out the flavor of those of course.

Drinkability. It’s summertime and I’ve been craving a lot of IPA beer discovering it to be more refreshing in hot weather than I previously expected. This beer is a little sweeter than some of those other quenching IPAs that I had. That and the high alcohol content makes this not a session beer. It is so delicious however that you do want your entire 22 oz. bottle to yourself.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

• Appearance (20%): 4.5
• Smell (20%): 4.0
• Taste (40%): 4.0
• Mouthfeel (10%): 4.0
• Drinkability (10%): 3.5
• Overall: 4.05

Information

• Style: Double IPA
• Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
• Alcohol by volume: 8.75%
• Bitterness: 95 IBU
• Hops: Centennial, Cascade
• Malts: crystal, pale and carastan
• Beer Advocate rating: 4.1 (as of May 6, 2010)

Other Reviews

• The Brew Site – Hop Henge (2010)
• Drink Hacker – Review: Deschutes Brewery Hop Henge Experimental IPA
• The Full Pint – Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA
• It’s Pub Night – Hop Henge and Pliny the Younger
• Beer and Whiskey Brothers – Deschutes Hop Henge: What time is it?
• Hopzine – Hop Henge Experimental IPA
• Beer Advocate – Hop Henge Experimental IPA
• Rate Beer – Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA

Rubicon Brewing Company is a small brewery in midtown Sacramento, CA. It seems that the only beer that the distribute in bottles in their Rubicon IPA and a good choice at that. This IPA was a Gold Medal Winner in 1989 and 1990 at the Great American Beer Festival.Rubicon describes their IPA as follows:

Generous portions of Cascade and Chinook hops are added throughout the brewing process to create Rubicon’s Flagship Ale. Golden in color with an assertive hop bitterness. This beer won gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival. A true American Classic.

Where I Found It. BevMo in Sacramento, CA.

Date Reviewed. July 24, 2009.

Serving Type. 22oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance. Rubicon IPA has an off-white foamy head that leaves a bit of foam on the glass. Some clumps of foam remain on top of the beer as you consume it. It has an oak, orange, amber color which is slightly cloudy.

Smell. The hop bouquet of this beer is citrus, floral, and a hint of spiciness. The aroma is roasted malty sweet with a hint of vanilla and caramel.

Taste. Rubicon IPA has a wonderful taste of roasted malty sweetness with a hint of caramel. The malt flavor is complemented by a spicy and citrus hop bitterness that gives it an almost grapefruit flavor. The hop flavor starts out smooth and finishes with a bite. The hopiness only lingers for a bit on the tongue.

Mouthfeel. This is a medium to full bodied beer that has a smooth creamy texture and nicely carbonated.

Drinkability. Rubicon IPA is well hopped beer but not loaded with so many hops that you can only have one. After a 22 oz. bottle I could likely enjoy another 22 ounces of this beer. The balance of this beer makes it a nice and drinkable IPA.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

• Appearance (20%): 3.5
• Smell (20%): 4.0
• Taste (40%): 4.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 4.5
• Drinkability (10%): 4.5
• Overall: 4.2

Information

• Style: IPA
• Brewery: Rubicon Brewing Company
• Alcohol by volume: 6.5%
• Hops: Cascade and Chinook
• Beer Advocate rating:

Other Reviews

• United Nations of Beer – Rubicon Brewing IPA
• Draft Mag – IPA by Rubicon Brewing
• The Full Pint – Review – Rubicon IPA
• Beer Advocate – IPA
• Rate Beer – Rubicon IPA

Deschutes Brewery of Bend, Oregon has a solid line of year round beers and many times an even better line-up of seasonal ans special release beer. The spring seasonal beer from Deschutes in 2010 is the Red Chair NWPA (Northwest Pale Ale). I thought it would be heard to beat Cinder Cone Red from 2009 but they did it.

This beer has a nice balance between hoppy and malty and I found it to be an excellent beer to accompany a long day of snowboarding. When I saw this beer at Northstar-at-Tahoe during lunch, there was no doubt that I was going to pick some up. Although, this beer worked well in cold weather, I think it would be great anytime of the year.

Deschutes named this beer after the oldest operating lift at Mt. Bachelor and they describe this Northwest Pale Ale as follows:

What makes this copper colored beauty so wildly popular?  As a debut Northwest Pale Ale, it’s an adventure all its own.  It has a plush body with satiny caramel flavors derived from seven varieties of malt.  Yet, despite it all, it remains a hop-forward ale with that distinctive citrusy punch.  Just minus any mouth-puckering bitterness.

Date Reviewed. April 5, 2010

Where I Found It. Draeger’s in San Mateo, CA.

Serving Type. 12 oz bottle to pint glass.

Appearance. Red Chair has a creamy meringue-colored head with average retention and a crystal clear orange-brown color.

Smell. The aroma of this beer is a little toasty, bisquity, syrupy, and malty. The hop nose is very noticeable with a hint of citrus, like orange and grapefruit, Squirt comes to mind. The hops are not earthy and certainly not grassy. It includes a hint of pine, a dash of cedar, and some citrus. The bouquet of fresh green hops predominates.

Taste. The bitterness of Red Chair is very apparent and a bit spicy but it contributes to the crisp drinkable nature of this beer. It is balanced by just enough roasted malt sweetness to smooth out the bitterness without having being too sweet. This is a very enjoyable and delicious beer.

Mouthfeel. Red Chiar is a medium bodied beer with an average amount of carbonation and it goes down smoothly.

Drinkability. I find the balance of this beer makes it highly drinkable and easy to quaff several. It has just enough sweetness to counter the bitterness of the hops. It has a crisp nature to the bitterness that make it quenching and quaffable. I find that there are aspects of this beer than can adapt to nearly any beer craving. I wish it was offered all year round.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

• Appearance (20%): 4.5
• Smell (20%): 4.5
• Taste (40%): 4.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 4.0
• Drinkability (10%): 5.0
• Overall: 4.50

Information

• Style: IPA
• Brewery: Deschutes Brewery [more info]
• Alcohol by volume: 6.4%
• Bitterness: 60 IBU
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.92 (as of May 1, 2010)

Other Reviews

• Brewed for Thought - Beer of the Week: Deschutes Red Chair IPA
• The Full Pint – Deschutes Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale
• Drink Hacker – Review: Deschutes Brewery Red Chair IPA
• Beer Douchebaggery – Deschutes: Red Chair NWPA
• Beer(ein)stein – Red Chair NWPA Review

Lakefront Brewery, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, started in 1987 by Russ and Jim Klisch who started the brewing as home brewers competing over who could make the best beer. Although I am located in California, I was able to find a 6-pack of their IPA at a local store in San Mateo and I’m glad I did find this IPA. It has a great hoppy nose from the Cascage and Chinook hops but balanced by a generous malty sweetness.

Lakefront Brewery describes their IPA as follows:

Pours a hazy orange with a rocky white head that lasts, and leaves soft lace on your glass as you sip this refreshing beer. American Cascade and Chinook hops dominate the aroma, yielding a citrusy, floral bouquet. The hops give a nice bitter bite to the flavor, but this beer is surprisingly well balanced with a full body and smooth malty flavor to back up the hops. It finishes smooth and crisp with a lingering hop flavor reminiscent of fresh ruby red grapefruit.

Date Reviewed. November 17, 2009.

Where I Found It. Draeger’s in San Mateo

Serving Type. 12 oz bottle to a glass.

Appearance. Being careful to pour the beer without stirring up the yeast, I found this IPA clear with a nice light-tan head. The head died down from full volume quickly but left about 7 mm for quite a long time and then and everlasting clumpy, thin layer of foam until the last drop. The color is a nice dark orange, or light oak, amber color.

Smell. Lakefront IPA has a very nice hoppy bouquet of citrus, floral, earthy, and pine. The aroma is malty sweet with hints of sweet biscuit and roasted malts. The sweet aroma combines with the citrus notes to produce a an aroma like ruby red grapefruit. The smell of this beer is very inviting.

Taste. Although the nose is very hoppy, the bitterness is very light in the first few sips. As you drink more, however, the bitterness grows but is a smoother hop bitterness. For the most part the malty sweetness takes a back seat to the hops and is there to balance the hop bitterness. However, just as in the smell, the sweet malt and citrus hops produce a pleasurable, beery grapefruit flavor.  Maybe I had a weird body chemistry reaction, but the aftertaste is slightly little like ripe bananas.

Mouthfeel. Lakefront IPA is a medium bodied beer that seems to be a bit lighter in mouthfeel than the sweet aroma might suggest. I personally felt it to be a touch to watery. It is moderately to lightly carbonated.

Drinkability. The smooth bitterness of this beer makes it more quaffable than other IPAs out there. The bitterness does however build over time but if you drink leisurely enough it will never become overwhelming. This is a tasty IPA that I will keep in mind for the next time I travel to the Great Lakes area.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

• Appearance (20%): 4.0
• Smell (20%): 4.0
• Taste (40%): 4.0
• Mouthfeel (10%): 3.5
• Drinkability (10%): 4.5
• Overall: 4.0

Information

• Style: IPA
• Brewery: Lakefront Brewery
• Alcohol by volume: 6.9%
• Hops: Cascade, Chinook
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.86 (as of March 19, 2010)

Other Reviews

• The Liquid Diet – Lakefront Brewery India Pale Ale
• Beer Dorks – IPA Lakefront Brewery
• Beer Advocate – Lakefront IPA
• Rate Beer - Lakefront IPA

AleSmith is an awarding winning brewery out of San Diego, CA where all of the employees are homebrewers. In fact, according to their website, the owner and the head brewer were both past presidents of their homebrew club.

AleSmith touts that, “every AleSmith ale is an all-natural, unpasteurized, handcrafted artisan product brewed using only premium domestic and imported malts and hops, precisely conditioned water and our quality yeast strains.” This quality craftsmanship is readily apparent when you try the AleSmith IPA, an IPA that has won numerous awards including Silver at the World Beer Championships and Bronze at the Great American Beer Festival. The brewery describes AleSmith IPA beer as follows:

Deep golden to light amber color, and a nice off-white head, with good retention when properly served. Starts off with pleasantly strong hop flavors, balanced by a firm malt backdrop, then fades to a dry finish with a lingering hoppiness.

Where I Found It. BevMo in La Quinta, CA.

Serving Type. 22 oz. bottle into a glass.

Date Reviewed. June 26, 2009.

Appearance. AleSmith IPA has a golden honey color with an orange hue. It is very clear as long as you don’t pout the yeast into your glass. This IPA has a foamy and frothy head that lingers for a very long time. It just doesn’t seem to go away; half-way done with the beer and there is still a thin layer of head on top.

Smell. This beer smells like hoppy goodness. The sweet maltiness combined with the fruity hops made me think of fresh plums while I was taking the photos. There is a hint of vanilla or caramel and the hops are clean and fresh. This IPA has a slight hint of cedar (instead of pine) and a slight hint of spice but also fruity like fresh pineapple. There was a slight bready yeast smell when I first opened the bottle but could not pick it up after that.

Taste. I tried AleSmith IPA closer to 50ºF on a hot evening in the desert and although it does not sound like ideal conditions, it was fantastic. This beer has a nice malt flavor with a hint of caramel and vanilla sweetness. The maltiness is topped by a generous dose of hops. The hop flavor is like white pepper spice, grapefruit citrus, and for the first few sips I tasted fresh plum.

Mouthfeel. This is a big IPA and has a smooth silky nature to help glide the strong flavors through your palate. It is a full bodied beer that is almost creamy in texture and well carbonated.

Drinkability. This is a smoother IPA that has a nice balance between smooth bitterness and spicy bitterness with a bite.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

• Appearance (20%): 4.5
• Smell (20%): 4.5
• Taste (40%): 4.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 4.5
• Drinkability (10%): 4.5
• Overall: 4.5

Caption on the Bottle

The following caption appears on the back of a 22 oz. bottle of AleSmith IPA:

I prefer AleSmith it’s pretty awesome. That’s what our People’s Choice Award says to us. Each year at the San Diego Real Ale Festival , everyone is asked to vote for their favorite beer. In 2001, they chose AleSmith IPA over all the others. If you like your beer hoppy, you’re gonna love this one.

AleSmith IPA is brewed using only premium-quality malts, along with pounds and pounds of the freshest hops and our championship yeast strain. Even the water we use is precisely conditioned to make sure everything is just right for the best possible product. The results is a hoppy, malty hand-forged American-style IPA with a tantalizing aroma and a flavor that’ll have your taste buds in ecstasy!

The brewer’s yeast at the bottom of the bottle is living proof that this is a top-quality bottle-conditioned beer. Conditioning in the bottle gives the beer a lush, velvety texture that you just can’t get with force-carbonating. The bubbles are smaller, giving your taste buds a lot more surface are to grab onto, and the difference shows from the first sip to the last.

To serve, chill to approximately 45-50º and pour gently into an AleSmith pint glass, leaving the yeast in the bottle. To learn more about AleSmith Brewing Company and our many other premium products, please visit our website.

Information

• Style: IPA
• Brewery: AleSmith
• Alcohol by volume: 7.25%
• Original Gravity: 1.072
• Final Gravity: 1.018 (calculated)
• Hops: Columbus, Warrior, Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, Chinook, Palisades [source]
• Beer Advocate rating: 4.36 (as of Nov. 15, 2009)

Other Reviews

• Brewed for Thought - Beer of the Week – AleSmith IPA
• The Full Pint – Review – AleSmith IPA
• The Beer Spot – AleSmith Brewing Co. IPA review
• The Drunken Polack - AleSmith IPA
• Emerald City Super Tasters – AleSmith IPA
• BoozeReviews.net – AleSmith IPA
• The Vice Blog – AleSmith IPA
• Two Beer Dudes – AleSmith IPA
• Premium Bitter – AleSmith IPA
• 97 Bottles – AleSmith IPA
• Beer Advocate - AleSmith IPA

Hop-15 Ale is a big double IPA brewed by Port Brewing in the town of San Marcos, CA in the San Diego area. This 10% alcohol by volume beer is brewed using 15 different varieties of hops that are added every 15 minutes. It was originally brewer for the 15th Anniversary of Port Brewing but is now available year round.

Hop-15 Ale has received numerous awards. The brewer’s website lists them off as follows:

It has won two silver medals at the Great American Beer Festival. It also was named Alpha King in 2004 and received a first place award at the Bistro Double IPA beer festival in Hayward, CA. Hop 15 remains won of the stickiest most resinous beers we have ever tasted and for that, we are thankful it is on tap at our brewery each and every day.

Where I Found It. BevMo in La Quinta, CA.

Date Reviewed. June 10, 2009

Serving Type. 22 0z. bottle to a glass.

Appearance. Hop-15 has a hazy appearance with an orange, clover-honey color. The head is an off-white tan color and the head does not last very long. The head does, however, last as a very very thin layer of loose bubbles on the top of the beer.

Smell. The hop bouquet of this beer is leafy green hops with a touch of pine and a hint of citrus and maybe just a bit of pineapple. The hop bouquet is not quite as intense as other IPAs and Double IPAs that I have tried recently. The aroma has a subtle roasty malt sweetness.

Taste. Hop-15 Ale starts with a smooth hop bitterness that is followed up by a bite of bitterness on the finish. The hops flavor is primarily spicy with a touch of pine. The citrus does not come out in the taste but I taste a little pineapple with the sweetness from the malt. It has a nice roasty and malted barley sweetness that smooths out the bitter hops that are jam packed into this beer. Although there is a lot of alcohol in this beer, this beer is not harsh and lacks astringency.

Mouthfeel. This is a medium to full bodied beer with plenty of carbonation that you can feel. The mouthfeel is about right.

Drinkability. Although Hop-15 is not a session beer due to the 10% alcohol by volume, it is a big giant tasty beer. After trying trying this beer, anything other than an IPA might taste flavorless. It is surprisingly smooth for being loaded with hops, which is likely due to the sweetness of the malt.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

• Appearance (20%): 3.5
• Smell (20%): 4.0
• Taste (40%): 4.0
• Mouthfeel (10%): 3.5
• Drinkability (10%): 4.0
• Overall: 3.85

Information

• Brewers info: Hop-15 Ale
• Style: Double IPA
• Brewery: Port Brewing
• Alcohol by volume: 10.0%
• Original Gravity: 1.086
• Final Gravity: 1.014
• Hops: 15 different varieties
• Malt: Two Row and English Light Crystal
• Beer Advocate rating: 4.23 (as of September 25, 2009)

Caption on the Bottle

The following caption appears on the side of the bottle:

Out beer oozes all the hop goodness you would expect to find in a double IPA. In your nose, you will experience a citric hop quality which is balanced by a slight malt sweetness. The essence of a great double IPA is hops and as such the beer finishes with a pronounced spicy hop bite. Thankfully, for all of us hop-heads, we have decided to brew this beer more than once a year. Look for Hop 15 to make an appearance from time to time when space permits us to brew this one, one of our favorite ales.

Other Reviews

• Core Brewing – Pizza Port Hop 15
• The Full Pint – Review: Port Brewing Hop 15
• The Drunken Polack - Port Brewing Hop 15 Ale
• Slashfood – Port Brewing Hop 15 – Beer of the Week
• Hedonist Beer Jive – Port Brewing’s “HOP 15″ – Eeven a Giant May Stumble
• Beer Advocate – Hop 15
• Rate Beer – Pizza Port Hop 15