Packaged 4/26/2023, tasted on 5/26/2023.
Fresh aroma of flowery hops and smooth caramel malts. Flavor of hop bitterness is quickly squashed by a full-palate fruit flavor, that finishes slightly thick and sticky with some dry hop flavor lingering in the background. Your mouth recognizes it just had a full flavored beer, but there’s surprisingly little to no heaviness left in the mouth.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Packaged 2/15/2023, tasted 5/25/2023.
Aroma of sharp hops and a hint of yeast. Fairly crisp hop bite mixed with some malt sweetness and yeast tang. Leaves a mild aftertaste of hops, but overall quite clean.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Sweet aroma of apricots/peaches. Taste is fairly smooth but has a little bitter edge just staying slightly in the background. Overall full palate of flavor that leaves mid fruit sweetness lingering. So delicious.
5 out of 5 stars.
Aroma of dark sweet malt. Crispness of malt with a slight yeast sweetness that comes in to push the malt flavor away. Slightly crisp hop bite can also be detected up front. Very clean, with lingering hints of dark malt sweetness.
5 out of 5 stars.
Sweet aroma mix of caramel malts and crisp hops. Initial taste has a crispness that fades rapidly and then slowly builds a butter hop edge. Cleans the palate fairly well and leaves a slight lingering sweetness with a mix of malt, hops and yeast.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
It’s been years since I had this. I haven’t seen much from Dark Horse since they were bought by Roak, so I was excited to see a throwback. This was canned on 03/25/23, drank on 04/29/23.
Aroma has faint caramel malts with some sticky hop aroma. Taste starts clean with a slightly sharp hop bite, then slowly builds a thick hop bitterness mixed with some caramel malts. Finally finishes clean as all the flavors somehow disappear.
If you’re in the mood for a caramel-y IPA, this hits the spot.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
This brew is well-known in the homebrew world. A recipe by a well-known homebrewer that was always well received, that gained in prominence after he died from cancer. It is regularly done as a basis for various charity/fundraising for cancer research.
A lot of malt flavor/complexity, but not too overwhelming. A nice, noticeable hop flavor and bit of bitterness make a nice combination.
Brewed: 2/12/2023. Distributed: 3/14/2023.
ABV: 5.6%, IBU: 44
Malts: Brewer’s 2-row, Caramel 40L, Carapils, White Wheat, Chocolate Malt.
Hops: Northern Brewer, Cascade, Centennial.
Yeast: Wyeast 1056 American Ale.
This was just a random beer created in a time window I had to brew something. I attempted to create a bright hop profile.
This turned out OK I thought. Fairly clean taste with some hop flavor, but not much bitterness.
Brewed: 12/27/2022. Distributed: 2/3/2023.
ABV: 5.7%, IBU: 36
Malts: Brewer’s 2-row, Munich, Caramel 20L, Flaked Wheat, White Wheat, Red-X, Vienna.
Hops: Cluster, Cascade, CTZ, Amarillo.
Yeast: Wyeast 1056 American Ale.
This was originally envisioned to be a beer that I brewed over the summer (Isolation IPA) that was decent, but I wasn’t happy with the hops. This Lone Fish IPA was going to be focused on Centennial hops, but when I had a chance to brew it, I had accidentally used most of the Centennial hops for something else. So I improvised.
The beer turned out much higher ABV than planned. I’m not a fan of Double IPAs in general, but thought this turned out OK. But overall, I think the alcohol taste is too present.
Brewed: 12/21/2022. Distributed: 2/3/2023.
ABV: 8.4%, IBU: 78
Malts: Maris Otter, Brewer’s 2-row, Munich, Caramel 20L.
Hops: Cluster, Citra, CTZ, Amarillo, Centennial.
Yeast: Imperial A07 Flagship.
Says canned 11/15/22, tasted on 1/14/2023.
Fresh, bright hop aroma. Taste is slightly crisp, and builds a slight edge of hop bitterness slowly. Never a strong bitterness, and mellows and calms as mild caramel malt flavors come in. Finishes very soft and smooth, with a mild nutty flavor at the very end.
4.5 out of 5 stars.