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X Brew Tasting Notes – X IPA 1

January 11, 2010 by Brewer Leave a Comment

Fruits of the labor: X Brew XIPA1Beer: X IPA 1 – 36/50
Tasting Date: 1/4/2010

Appearance [max 5] : 3

Solid head that keeps its form, and slowly settles into a 1/4″ blanket  on the surface that slowly gets consumed through the beer.

Deep copper color.  Definitely darker than what I remember West    Coast IPA would have.  Going to need to do a side-by-side comparison (good thing I have another couple of bottles).

Aroma [max 10] : 8

The Centennial aroma on top of Cascade finishing on top of CTZ/Simcoe backbone is definitely a pleasing hop chord.  With this hop schedule it’s feint but pleasantly floral, then piny, and even a bit summer fruity?

Palate [max 5] : 4

Medium to full body, rich creamy texture, soft carbonation, clean finish

Flavor [max 10] : 7

Nice duration, with a uniform flavor curve that works from the back of the throat towards the front and sides of the tongue, then finishing in back of the mouth with a nice, bitter.  Absolutely love balance of sweet to bitter.

There’s a noticeable light tart finish.  Similar to light lacto in the Boulevard brewing Saison-Brett.  Not really what I want on the end of this beer.  Will need to investigate the underlying cause of that.  It’s definitely a subtle off flavor, so not too distracting from the otherwise very pleasant beer.

The caramels from the Carastan and Cara-pils on the two row are really tasty.  I feel the malt and backbone is just a hair too much.

Overall [max 20] : 14

This is a very solid IPA.  I’d like to turn up the aroma, reduce the mouthfeel (maybe OG just a touch too), and clean up the tart finish.  Once those items are addressed, I can turn my attention to manipulating the IPA’s crowning feature … the hop aroma and flavor.

Filed Under: Small Batch

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