This is my early 2014 tasting of this beer, below our my thoughs from nearly three years ago. The beer pours copper and amber in color. There is about an inch of thick off-white, foamy head. The aroma is as much, or more, malt than hops, with lots of caramel, some sweet potato, and a bit of orange. The taste follows the aromas, lots of malt, a bit of fruit, mostly orange, and a moderately bitter finish. If this is an IPA, it is definitely British style. If it is not supposed to be British style, then it is a failure.
2011: This beer pours orange-copper-amber in color with a slight off-white head. The aroma is more malty than hoppy, this bottle, unfortunately for an IPA, being several months old. The beer tastes like a great nut brown ale with a bitter finish. It is a great brown ale, but a poor IPA. Guess I will need to look for a fresher bottle to experience its hop element fresh. 2nd tasting - Now it is July 19, 2011 and I have another that was bottled in June. Let's see how different it is fresh. The beer pours the same orange-copper in color with a slight bright, glowing quality. The head is still off-white, but pours thicker and more vigorous. The aroma is citrus, grapefruit and a touch of pine over a nutty malt base. The hop notes of the aroma are apparent in the taste, but even fresh this is not a massively hop forward IPA. There is still a strong nuttiness in the taste. This is much better balanced fresh, the hops are more apparent, but it is not a fruit-forward hop bomb by any means. The aftertaste is extremely bitter and dry.
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