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.