IPA

Picked up this can of NoDa Brewing Company Corn Star Southeastern India Pale Ale, 5.0% ABV in a four-pack a few days away for my local grocery store. Corn Star is brewed with flaked corn, Amarillo, Eureka, Ekuanot, and El Dorado hops. Corn Star pours a gold color with a three finger head that fades quickly down to two fingers before slowly settling in and sticking around to give you aromas of semi-sweet notes with some hoppy notes mixed in that take you to a big smooth flavor of some bitterness with hints os semi-sweetness with a somewhat smooth bitterness on the ends that finishes with a familiar smooth bitterness with a little sweet touch and an big bitter sweet hoppy aftertaste that lingers all with a light mouthfeel. I did not find NoDa Brewing Company Corn Star Southeastern India Pale Ale to be anything out of the ordinary it was average at best, so I give it a D+. It was more bitter and hoppy than crisp or sweetly smooth. I was able to finish a pint of Corn Star and found it not to be the worst IPA I’ve had, but it’s far from the good or the best. You could try it for yourself and see what you think but I would not really recommend it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

I saw NoDa Brewing Co. Dreamsicle, India Pale Ale, 7.0% in my local grocery store and picked up a four pack. This is a local west coast style IPA from Charlotte, North Carolina and is brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, and Citra hops with a little sweetness of vanilla beans and orange peel. Dreamsicle pours a light copper color with a billowy three finger fluffy white head that leave nice lacing behind with an aroma of west coast fruit flavors with a subtle yet faint sweet note that carries you into a light yet faint sweet fruited flavor with nice west coast tropical fruits like mango and pineapple with citrus orange and little bit of grapefruit with nice hoppy noted on the back with a hoppy yet smooth fruity finish and a mild hoppy semi-sweet aftertaste with a somewhat medium mouthfeel. NoDa Brewing Co. Dreamsicle, India Pale Ale is a good beer but I didn’t get much vanilla sweetness that I was hoping for so I give this IPA a B+. NoDa Brewing Co. Dreamsicle, India Pale Ale was taste and fruit with the right amount of hop notes but would have liked more vanilla beans. Would I have this again? In a heartbeat and so should you! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Central State Brewing Oatsplosion India Pale Ale , 6.5% ABV I picked up from Pop the Top Craft Beer Shop here in Charlotte, NC. This is an IPA brewed with oats and is the first oat IPA I’ve ever had. I don’t see many oat IPA out there but there are a few like on Oatsmobile from Bells Brewery, which I’ve not yet had. Oatsplosion pours a bight yellow color that is similar to a Pilsner with a three and a half finger white slow head that leave behind decent lacing giving off a sweet citrusy aroma with a bit a juicy note that take you into a smooth sweet fruity juicy flavor of citrus fruits, orange, and grapefruit with a mild hoppy not on the end with a smooth finish with touches of hoppy fruit sweetness and a smooth semi-sweet mild hop aftertaste with a smooth light mouthfeel. Overall Central State Brewing Oatsplosion is a great IPA with a nice smooth light sweetness with the right amount of Citra hop flavors to really make it good and deservingly an A+. I highly recommend Central State Brewing Oatsplosion India Pale Ale and will have this again.

This new year-round offering from Stone Brewing in Escondido California, Scorpion Bowl IPA, 7.5% is a tropical IPA using hops to create a tropical fruit flavor without any addition of tropical fruits. Scorpion Bowl pours a dark yellow color with a big four finger white head with great retention that leaves behind nice lacing throughout giving your senses a tropical fruit aroma with bitter/hoppy notes that take you into a semi-sweet tropical flavors, mango, pineapple, and some guava with old-school IPA bitterness with that familiar hoppy note towards the back of your tongue with a bitter tropical finish and a very smile at aftertaste of bitterness and tropical fruits with a medium mouthfeel. Stone Brewing Scorpion Bowl IPA is pretty well brewed and getting an A-. Just a little off the perfect mark due to the tropical flavors could be slightly bolder and more pronounced, but they were good as was the fact that Stone gave me a tropical flavor by just brewing with hops. I recommend Stone Brewing Scorpion Bowl IPA. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Revelry Brewing from Charleston, South Carolina is now being distributed here in Charlotte and other places in North Carolina. I picked up Lefty Loosey India Pale Ale, 7.0% ABV from The Good Bottle Co, and Lefty Loosey is in the west coast style. Lefty Loosey pours an Orange color with a trio finer tight white head with some good retention giving off aromas of nice clean grapefruit with some hints of bitter orange that takes you into a flavor of nice grapefruit with a light bitter orange notes that has a nice hop flavor to it with a nice smooth but citrus bitter finish and an aftertaste of nice hoppy bitterness with touches of citrus fruits with a light mouthfeel. Revelry Brewing Lefty Loosey India Pale Ale is a great easy drinking IPA that is well deserving of an A+. Not one of the flavor overpower you palate. I think that Lefty Loosey is an IPA that you can have more than just a few without wrecking you palate. I highly recommend Lefty Loosey India Pale Ale. It is highly tasty beer! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Pick up Birdsong Brewing Co. IPA Series Goat Fuzz IPA, 6.8% ABV at the Birdsong Brewery over the weekend, this was another IPA Series brewery only release. Goat Fuzz IPA brewed with Ekuanot (Ee-kiwa-not) hops for their rich hop oil content. Goat Fuzz IPA pours light orange color with a three finger tight yet billowing white white foamy head that stick around for what seem like an eternity giving off nice hopes notes with aromas of slight tropical fruits with a fruity bitter flavor of orange candy, orange peels, papaya, lime and melon with a nice touch of bitterness hitting the back of your mouth with a nice hoppy bitter fruit finish and an nice smooth fruit bitter aftertaste with a mildly medium mouthfeel. Birdsong Brewing IPA Series Goat Fuzz IPA is a great beer an well deserving of an A. It is well brewed with a delicious flavor that doesn’t;t overpower the taste buds. If you have a chance to have Goat Fuzz IPA then I highly recommend that you have it! Cheers! please enjoy responsibly!

I picked up Appalachian Mountain Brewery Zest Yo’self Grapefruit IPA, 6.8% ABV and 66 IBUs from Pop the Top Bottle Shop here in Southend area of Charlotte, North Carolina, and they are having their one year anniversary this coming Saturday. I posted more information about the event in this week’s The Beer News. I will be in attendance. Zest Yo’self Grapefruit IPA brewed Boone, with grapefruit zest, pulp, and juice, NC pours a deep orange/ruby red color with a two finger stead white head that leaves minimal lacing behind give off fruity grapefruit bitter aromas with Grapefruit flavors with nice bitter hop/grapefruit notes that are mild upfront and become a bit strong towards the back of the tongue with a smooth bitter fruit finish and a grapefruit bitter aftertaste with a fuller mouthfeel. This beer has too much bitter grapefruit to it that holds it back giving it a C. This is not a bad beer but it’s not a great one it’s average and I find that the beer’s flavor profile would overwhelm your taste buds after about two or three. I might have this again but too soon. Try if you like but just one. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Here is yet another version of Ballast Point Brewing Sculpin IPA this is Aloha Sculpin, 7.0% ABV a hazy India Pale Ale brewed with Brux Trois Yeast which is a Northeastern IPA yeast. Aloha Sculpin pours a Hazy orange color with a rocky three finger white slowly fading head that gives off tropical aromas of melon, pineapple with a bit of mango with a nice bitters that flows into a slightly similar taste if bitter topical pineapple, melon, mango that grows in bitterness as it washes over the middle of tongue and splashes on the back of the mouth with a hop bitterness and finishes with a nice bitter tropical note and an aftertaste of topical island fruits with nice bitterness of hop flavor all with a medium/full mouthfeel. Aloha Sculpin is a tasty fruity beer overall which earns it a B. This is not a tropical fruit salad it’s close to that but mild with a nice bitterness as well as good refreshing qualities. I recommend Ballast Point Brewing Aloha Sculpin. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

New distribution to the Carolina area Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Easy Jack IPA, 4.5% ABV from Paso Robles, California is brewed with a selection of new hop varieties from Europe, New Zealand and North America. Easy Jack pours a golden color with fluffy white three finger slowly fading head with aromas of light citrusy hop notes with light bitterness that lead you into a crisp citrusy fruit flavor that is hoppy with a mild bitterness that carries over the back of the tongue finishing with a citrus bitterness that’s refreshing with a fruity bitter aftertaste with a light mouthfeel. The name says it all, this is one Easy IPA, it goes down easy, smooth and refreshing. I give Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Easy Jack IPA an A+. This is a great IPA with easy flavors that a very well balanced as well as refreshing. I highly recommend Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Easy Jack IPA. This is an IPA you can have a few without the flavor overwhelming your taste buds. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

This Birdsong Brewing Co., Turn to Stone IPA part of the brewery’s IPA Series was a brewery only release, so I went to the Birdsong Brewery to purchase it. Turn to Stone IPA is brewed with an entirely new species of hop called Medusa. This hop is called Medusa due to the fact that is has multiple cones on it like the many snakes of Medusas hair. Turn to Stone IPA also has a simple malt bill tho really let the Medusa hop shine. Turn to Stone IPA pours a yellow gold color with three finger bright white head that slowly fades into nice lacing giving off tropical aromas of melon and guava with a nice bitter scent that takes you into a tropical bitter melon guava flavor that hits the front of your taste buds and a nice hoppy flavor that washes from the front hitting the back of your tongue with a tropical bitter finish with an a hoppy yet faint fruit flavored aftertaste with. A nice medium mouthfeel that coats your tongue with fruit. Birdsong Brewing Co, Turn to Stone IPA tastes as interesting as it sounds and one that I recommend that you try. I give Turn to Stone IPA a B+. It’s well brewed with a new interesting hop verity that makes for as wonderful flavor with out overpowering you mouth with bitter hops. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!