India Pale Ale Intensified

My nephew Craig and his wife Jackie are here for a visit from Durham, NC. Craig will be the resident beer impresario at this tasting with the BeerBaron assuming only backup status. Let's begin to explore the tantalizing world of IPA's!!! (Click beer name for beer's website.)

1)Cottonwood Endo (Mooresville, NC): 5.9%alc. Hoppy nose; Cloudy w/ floating sediment; apricot flavor; crisp; drinkable; smoothness; slight aftertaste Craig-6.5 Mike-7.25 Avg.-6.875

2)Hop Ottin' IPA (Mendocino, Cal.): 7.0%alc. Very hoppy nose; clear; grapefruity; bitter bite; smooths out; full mouth; moose on bottle Craig-7.5 Mike-7.75 Avg.-7.625

3)White Hawk IPA (Saratoga Springs, NY): 7.0%alc. Slight hop nose; clear; fast taste burst; not hoppy; flattens out; bitter; tangy aftertaste Craig-6.25 Mike-6.5 Avg.6.375

4)Rocky Mountain IPA (Ft. Collins, Col.): 6.2%alc. Cloudy; fruit apricot nose; strong taste; big bite; fast fade; carmel feel; slight bitterness; elephant on label Craig-7.5 Mike-7.0 Avg.7.25

5)Smuttynose IPA (Portsmouth, NH): 5.6%alc. Frothy head; cloudy; citrusy nose; strong apricot; fruit lingers; not bitter; harbor seal on label Craig-7.5 Mike-7.5 Avg.7.5

6)Wolaver's IPA (Middlebury, Vt.): 55IBU(Int'l Bitter Rating) Organic since 1997; not bitter; unfiltered; rustic Craig-6.75 Mike-6.25 Avg.6.5

Final Thought-I had never seen any of Craig's entries (1-4); all in all the IPA's were interesting and satisfying!!!

Craig Brodsky - Mike Komaroff BeerBaron