This rendition fills the glass with a porter-like brew in color, yet when beneath the fluffy beige head it looked opaque.  The Cascade hops are very noticeable as  the offer up hints of citrus fruits and floral honeyed notes similar to Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale.  I have never had a beer with the hop variety Alchemy before, but suspected they added that spicy dimension to the aroma I found.  Vanilla, coffee, and molasses were the prominent malt aromas that I could pick out.  Not as astringent in the grain department as other beers of it’s kind.

Shockingly, I was 3/4 of the glass was gone before I realized this beer is very drinkable considering its style.  The abv was unassuming, while the bold malts had a smooth porter texture and flavor.  Widmer extended to me the pleasure of sampling a well balanced beer.  Hops and malt worked together here and did so in a complex way.  Sure, I could taste each sides contribution.  The hops were bitter and spicy up front then faded into a floral quality which blended with the malts to create an almost dry British brown ale character that was most preferable.  With regards to the mouthfeel, there was a slight stickiness to the brew, but for the most part it was moderately smooth.  The finish is coffee-like with a hint of pine.

I would highly recommend adding this to you list of Black IPAs to try.  Brewed well with a lot of flavor and the right amount of hops and malt to be sessionalbe for fans of the style.

With the hopping of their Hop Czar and malt profile of their IPA this beer fall directly in between the two. At only 6.56% ABV you can drink this all day and get the blast of hops found in Imperial/Double IPAs. However, you will get a much more juicy hop quality as well due to the use of freshly picked hops. How fresh you might ask? Well, the label reads, “from field to brew in one hour.” Wow! That beats Deschutes’ Hop Trip by a few hours. These fresh hop cones impart a juicy aspect that makes this beer come alive.

The aroma is similar to that of Hop Czar in that it is uber piney, pungent, resinous and almost medicinal. While there is a citrus quality, the focus is on the sappy pine notes which I appreciate. Lemon seemed to be a predominant aroma. The malt aspect delivered just enough caramel sweetness which actually boosted the lively fresh hops.

The taste was super drinkable and hopalicious. Definitely a hop harvest ale that deserves attention (not to mention brewed every year). At first it had that classic imperial IPA hop wrecking effect until my palate got use to it. Then the front part of each sip was very unassuming. That was of course until you got to the back half. Sticky, resinous, pungent, fresh, and juicy. The piney quality was there, but inlaid against a deeper Centennial hop background. The malts did lend a toasty bready quality in the middle of the palate and aftertaste. Aside from that it was all hops.

After doing some research into Hopworks Urban Brewery (aka HUB), I realized that this is not just your average green brewery, but one that is hardcore about doing their part to protect the earth.  Furthermore, they promote a healthy lifestyle with what appears to be a cycling club.  At the end of my reading I was very impressed with their operation.  So how would I respond to the beer in front of me?

For starters it had the similar appearance as Two Brothers Hop Juice Black.  Dark coffee colors capped by a creamy beige head which not only laced, but was plastered to the walls of my glass.  Quickly moving onto the aroma I noticed a difference.  More spicy, rustic, earthy, and woody than past Black IPA.  While the hops were very much present they came alive more in the flavor than the aroma.  It was sappy, piney, resinous, pungent, all things Northwest forest.  I was instantly brought to a pine forest in the cool of the morning.  Dank, musty, heavy fog rolling through.  The malts seems muted, yet not far removed.

I’m not sure if it is due to the organic aspect of this beer, but it is shockingly balanced…seriously.  Everything comes into harmony with the other parts of the beer.  The roasted malts come through prominently in the finish providing a dry dark fruit (raisin) flavor which is complimented by a piney, spruce hop flavor.

Definitely a quality brew worth trading for and trying if you like the style.

Just reading that makes me want to scramble up an Oregon mount and gaze into the summer’s sun. Oh, and drink Inversion. This nice little number from Deschutes pours almost like an amber ale, a nice copper, clear and clean. There is a great off white head that, by the time I started to sip, streaked down in a splotchy lace. The surprising piece upon my first taste was just how malty this brew was for an IPA. There is an accentuated sweetness layered with the citrus and piney hops. While the lingering finish is definitely bitter, the incredible maltiness gives it a sweet note that both coats initially and stays on the back of my tongue, even past the last bite of bitter.

Deschutes has been solid for me, I’ve loved every beer I have tried. They typically have seemed a bit more on the traditional side, which I can appreciate, but with this IPA, it seems as though they’ve gone as far away from the typical as you can. From what I tasted, Inversion is a sweetened, malt-loaded IPA, more reminiscent of a hoppy amber than an IPA. Surprising, but still good. For style, I would have rated it lower, but since I liked it, I’ll happily give it a B+.

Poured into both a tulip and snifter, you can immediately smell the floral hops. I thought they were a bit musty, and the interesting thing is that although this is touted as a seriously hopped beer, it is actually pretty malty, too. Dark amber in color, with a light tan head and some serious lacing. It both smells and tastes quite resinous … combined with some sweet toasted malt flavors, this gives the beer a chewy mouthfeel that really coats the inside of your mouth and lingers after the finish. Served first out of the fridge, the carbonation is nice and the beer feels very balanced, not really tipped in the hops’ favor. As the beer warms and loses some fizz, I thought that the malt sweetness dominated the start of the sip, and the hops lingered in and after the finish with a bitter tang at the back of the throat. At 5.5% ABV, this is an easy drinker of a Pale Ale, and you get some great hop aromas and flavors, balanced by the malts. I am very curious to know the specific hops and malts used in this beer, and in what quantities. In all Hop Trip didn’t trip me up, but it didn’t wow me, either. I thought it was going to be much more hop-dominant than it turned out to be. Tom and I agreed it almost tasted more like a hopped Red Ale.

Its color is a peach-orange hue with a very attractive three finger head that laces on the glass. The smell is piney, pine-sol, massive citrus, lemon, lime, pineapple, yellow and red grapefruits, peach, and apricot. It is floral and pungent. Hop resins and oils stuck to my nostrils and lungs as this very vibrant powerfully hop-centric ale packs a punch.

Faint toasty notes are layered within a sweet light bodied malt (pale). It gently lends a base for the hops to build upon. This was quite possibly the best Imperial IPA I’ve had in a long time. The bitterness is thorough and lasting as my tongue, cheeks, lips, and throat are coated with the resinous hops. Towards the finish there is a minor Lysol flavor. I’d liken it to chewing a raw piece of Romaine lettuce without dressing. However, I think this is due to the high bittering units and it quickly dissipates into glorious citrus hops.

While being a massively hopped brew, it is very drinkable and the 7.5% abv will allow you a few glasses. Abrasive, yet approachable! If you are a hop lover this beer is a MUST try. I would put it up there with Founders Double Trouble and Bell’s Hopslam … it is that good.

Mine poured fresh and bubbly into the pint, and developed a nice foamy head easily. Further investigation revealed an aromatic but subtler nose of mild Pacific Northwest hop varieties, and a little biscuity malt. After tasting it, I wished I had another. Mirror Pond boasts a great hop profile (Cascade) in the nose and taste, but is evened out nicely with that slightly biscuity sweet Crystal malt backbone, which you can also assume is there based on the color of the beer.

I would say an lingering finish that is equal parts hop and malt stayed on my palate. The lower ABV makes this a really sessionable, well-balanced Pale Ale that features a little bit of the Pacific Northwest. I would gladly drink this beer if it were available on Chicago shelves.

When examining its appearance I found a cloudy blend of reds, browns, and burnt orange tones with a beige head that is not so significant, but lingers around. Upon my initial smell I was taken back a little. I have come to expect a big hoppy or malty beer from Rogue so when I got a large hint of cherries and yeast my mind thought, “surely this isn’t a Rogue brew?” It is and don’t call it Shirley…I jest.

There was a tartness to the smell, a pop, crisp fruitiness, some tannins, and no oak notes. The malts stayed in the background as all I got was a nose full of cherries.

Moving on the payoff, I found the same thing. It was more cherry than anything and not in a mild way…in your face sour/tart. I received nothing complimentary from the hop department except a faint glimpse at the finish. I was expecting a fresh malt and hop explosion, but the cherries overpowered and had a puckering effect.

On the other hand the yeast was very noticeable and probably the highlighting feature of this brew. It helped to usher in the tart cherry salvo with a lively barrage of funk. Towards the end of my glass I noticed the carbonation had been pretty intense the entire time which caused me to think more in terms of a kriek lambic (which makes perfect sense given the name). Not sure why I didn’t put the two together until I wrote this. In that case I used the wrong glass.

In the end I’m glad the cherries were tart and not too sweet or it would have been a big bomber to finish. Not sure I gravitate towards this style, but I can appreciate its place.