Art Car IPA - Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Brew: Art Car  IPA
Brewery: Saint Arnold Brewing Company
When Tasted: October 18, 2015
How: Can
Hops: Columbus, Cascade and Simcoe in the boil, then dry hopped with Amarillo, Simcoe and Mosaic.
ABV: 7.1% IBU's: 55

What the Brewery Says about this Beer: Art Car IPA is an American IPA featuring a blend of both new and old hop varieties from the Pacific Northwest.

The nose is a blend of apricot and tropical fruit and mango. The taste starts with a big bitter blood orange that morphs into mangos and sweet tropical fruits. There is a lightly sweet malt body that allows the hops to shine while maintaining a nice complexity to the flavors.

Appearance: Lightly filtered with plenty of head with staying power. I estimate the SRM at 4-8.

Aroma: A wave of tropical fruits and citrus, heavy on the grapefruit. All the aromas you want from an American IPA,

Taste: Like drinking really good grapefruit juice. Bitter hops balances the sweet fruity citrus well. Less of the resinous, piney flavors of other hop bombs and mostly citrus and fruity.

Overall Impression: A great new IPA and instantly one of my favorites. A sipping beer for sure.

Shiner Wicked Ram IPA - Spoetzl Brewery

Brew: Shiner Wicked Ram IPA
Brewery: Spoetzl Brewery
When Tasted: October 24, 2015
How: Bottle
Hops: Crystal, Bravo, and Centennial
ABV: 6.0% IBU's 55

What the Brewery Says About this Beer: The first India pale ale in our 106-year history, Wicked Ram IPA combines perfectly balanced floral and citrus flavors with a bold aroma and a crisp, refreshing finish,

Appearance: Amber to light amber SRM of about 10-12 estimated. How incredibly clear this beer is is what strikes you at first. Definitely a filtered beer. Pretty head but doesn't last long.

Aroma: Hints of tropical fruits and floral notes. Delicate is how I would describe it.

Taste: Mildly bitter as you would expect from the 55 IBU's.  Bitter citrus notes. Nice astringent mouth feel. The bitter finish while not strong has nice staying power.

Overall Thoughts: I find after three of them on the last two days I'm really liking this beer. Modern IPA's have become a hops arms race that no one is winning. I think an IPA like this with some restraint is a pleasant change of pace. I call this an excellent beer. Back off on the filtering and wow you'd have something special.

Citra on Top - 903 Brewers

Brew: Citra on Top IPA
Brewery: 903 Brewers
When Tasted: October 10, 2015
How: Can
Hops: Not listed but I'm guessing mostly Citra

What the Brewery Says About this Beer: Thanks to a generous addition of Citra hops, our IPA bursts with citrus flavor and aroma. The large addition of brown sugar at the end of the boil lends a unique flavor and balance.

Appearance: Amber to light amber color, estimate an SRM of 6. Cloudy appearance. Plenty of head.

Aroma: Not the flora and citrus notes I would expect from generously hopped Citra beer.

Taste: A lot of bitter notes and really not the citrus and floral I was expecting from the label. Perhaps not dry hopped and only hop in the boil?

Problems: The first three cans in the six pack were fine and enjoyable. The next three had significant sediment and the last one had a brown lump come out of the can! This appears to be a seasonal brew or a one off for the brewery and isn't listed now on the brewery website. Perhaps these cans suffered from being the last of the run and the Citra hops flavors had now degraded.

Hercules Double IPA - Great Divide Brewing Co

Brew: Hercules Double IPA
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company (Denver, CO)
When Tasted: March 16, 2014
How: Bottle
ABV: 10% IBU's: 85
Hops: Not Listed

What the Brewery Says About this Beer: HERCULES delivers a huge amount of hops from start to finish. Its hefty backbone of nutty, malty sweetness balances its aggressive hop profile.

Appearance: Pretty dark, SRM 9-11 I would guess, a medium amber color. Not a huge amount of head, but one with a little staying power

Aroma: very light floral notes, just really a hint.

Taste: Bitter up front and not much citrus just like the aroma would predict. A malty and caramel sweetness in the middle. Finish is surprisingly crisp and bitterness dies off quick leaving a pleasant astringent mouthfeel.

Southern Hops'pitality India Pale Ale - Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company

Brew: Southern Hops'pitality India Pale Ale
Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company (Kiln, Ms)
When Tasted: March 14-16, 2014
How: Bottle
ABV: 6% IBU's: 60
Hops: Citra, Cascade, Centennial, Nugget, Simcoe, Summit

What the Brewery Says About this Beer: Bold Grapefruit, Orange, and Mango with a dry-hopped Aroma; Crisp and Smooth Finish

Appearance: I would put this visually at about SRM 3-6, call it between straw and deep gold.  Weirdly the brewery's website calls it 15 Lovibond degrees which would put it in the range of Amber-brown to Brown. A medium head that has some staying power.

Aroma:  I get lots of citrus and the tropical fruits mentioned by the brewery.

Taste: A bold grapefruit taste right away then tastes of bitter mango and the very crisp tingly feeling on the tongue. I actually get bit of creaminess in the mouthfeel and  a long crisp bitter finish.

Other Notes: I actually visited this brewery coming home from my honeymoon, hence that's how I got a glass from the brewery. I don't recall tasting this one there. Over weekend I've enjoyed a whole 6-pack of this though. Lazy Magnolia calls this one session IPA, but I think the stats pretty much put it in the class of a straight up American IPA.

West Coast IPA - Green Flash Brewing Co.

Brew: West Coast IPA
Brewery: Green Flash Brewing Co. (San Diego Co, CA)
When Tasted: March 15, 2014
How: Bottle
ABV: 7.3% IBU's: 95 
Hops: Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial, and Cascade

What the Brewery Says About this Beer: A menagerie of hops is layered throughout the brewing process: Simcoe for unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes and Cascade for floral aroma. A multi-dimensional hop experience.

Appearance: Somewhere between medium and deep amber SRM 12-15 perhaps. Lightly filtered. For all that hops not much of a head.

Aroma: Lots of floral notes and citrus on the nose.

Taste:  Loads of citrus and pine right up front, but a deep solid bitter flavor under everything. A medium long bitter finish. There is a certain crispness with every sip too. A great example of what you can do with a blend of many hops like this.

Modus Hoperandi India Pale Ale - Ska Brewing Company

Brew: Modus Hoperandi India Pale Ale
Brewery: Ska Brewing Company (Durango, Co)
When Tasted: March 10, 2014
How: Can
ABV: 6.8% IBU's: 68

What the Brewery Says about this Beer: Strong citrus aromas followed by pine rise from the glass. As it moves across your tongue... bitterness... following close behind is a melding of citrus and pine with light caramel sweetness.

Appearance: Medium head copper colored, very clear filtered brew.

Aroma: Light citrus and pine aromas.

Taste: Moderate bitterness, citrus fruits and pine in the middle, then a balanced bitter finish. Overall a beer I could drink a lot of.