Lerxst
04-06-2008, 01:32 PM
In a homebrew drought, I hit the local beer distributor for a case of commercial brew. Wow...the price increase has already hit across the board, every case appears to have taken a 3-4 buck hit. One notable exception is that the Lagunitas stuff is still sitting at the previous price.
Commercial Description:
This is our unique version of an ancient style. A style as old as the ocean trade routes of the last centuries Great Ships. Not as old as the equator they had to cross twice enroute, nor as old as the 10,000 or so miles of Di-Hydrogen Oxide and Sodium upon which they sailed, but older than the Circulithium-4 Lentloid that binds the Lupulin Quartnate onto your taste buds. Weird. Think about it. Now stop. OK, go again, now stop. Think again, and stop. But we digress. Made with 43 different hops and 65 various malts, this redolent ale will likely float your boat, whatever planet you're on.
My impression:
Appearance: Pours a lovely clear bright copper/light orange with a tight off-white head. Nice carb level w/ some bubbles racing to the surface of the glass.
Aroma: Moderate hoppy w/ citrus and floral aromas combined with light doughy yeast and clean malt thing going on underneath the hops.
Flavor/Palate: Opens up moderately bitter, smooth but not over the top. The malt asserts itself w/ a mellow caramel flavor before the bright citrusy hops come right before the slightly dry finish w/ a lemon zest note. Mouthfeel is medium-light, fairly thin but not necessarily watery.
Overall: The best way to describe this beer would be IPA light or session IPA if there was such a thing...it's pretty tasty w/ a good hop presence but really treads into the upper end of the APA pool (and runs in at 5.7% ABV, light for the style). Looking at the BYO clone brews, they list the hop additions as Horizon/Cascades & Williamette/Cascades without any dry hop for a total of 67 IBUs and a fairly straight forward grain bill.
Commercial Description:
This is our unique version of an ancient style. A style as old as the ocean trade routes of the last centuries Great Ships. Not as old as the equator they had to cross twice enroute, nor as old as the 10,000 or so miles of Di-Hydrogen Oxide and Sodium upon which they sailed, but older than the Circulithium-4 Lentloid that binds the Lupulin Quartnate onto your taste buds. Weird. Think about it. Now stop. OK, go again, now stop. Think again, and stop. But we digress. Made with 43 different hops and 65 various malts, this redolent ale will likely float your boat, whatever planet you're on.
My impression:
Appearance: Pours a lovely clear bright copper/light orange with a tight off-white head. Nice carb level w/ some bubbles racing to the surface of the glass.
Aroma: Moderate hoppy w/ citrus and floral aromas combined with light doughy yeast and clean malt thing going on underneath the hops.
Flavor/Palate: Opens up moderately bitter, smooth but not over the top. The malt asserts itself w/ a mellow caramel flavor before the bright citrusy hops come right before the slightly dry finish w/ a lemon zest note. Mouthfeel is medium-light, fairly thin but not necessarily watery.
Overall: The best way to describe this beer would be IPA light or session IPA if there was such a thing...it's pretty tasty w/ a good hop presence but really treads into the upper end of the APA pool (and runs in at 5.7% ABV, light for the style). Looking at the BYO clone brews, they list the hop additions as Horizon/Cascades & Williamette/Cascades without any dry hop for a total of 67 IBUs and a fairly straight forward grain bill.