Where's the Hops?
Written: Feb 11 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A pretty good beer
Cons: Not really too hoppy
The Bottom Line: This is a good drinking beer although it may not be a true IPA.
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| fuche_bu's Full Review: Saranac I.P.A |
The Saranac IPA is a seasonal that is only available in their Twelve Beers of Christmas Sampler pack. The IPA is not to be confused with their pale ale. The pale ale is available on a year round basis. This IPA which is a little better is only available in winter months.
Saranac IPA pours slowly with a healthy head. There is a bit of a hop bouquet which strikes the nose. It's not reminiscent of grapefruit but the flowery aroma is pleasant. This one is closer to an English style IPA than to an American IPA. It lacks that insanely super hopped character of the American IPA. But it even seems to come a little short of the English style IPA as well.
This still manages to be a quality brew that will please a lot of beer drinkers. Saranac IPA would be a good IPA to give to someone who doesn't appreciate the full hop assault of an American IPA.
The flavor of this beer is nice and round. The cascade hops assert their presence in a very delicate manner. They are at no point aggressive. This beer has a smoother, evener taste than a standard IPA. I'm sure that many beer geeks would insist that this is not a true IPA. That claim would probably be correct. This seems to be a better pale ale than their pale ale is.
I think this would be a good beer for a picnic. (That is a dilemma as it is unavailable in warmer weather) It goes well with BBQ and sandwiches. Add a little blues music to the mix and you have a real good time. It is a shame that they don't apply this recipe to their year round pale ale and come up with a slightly hoppier recipe for an IPA for next year's batch. It is an enjoyable beer if not exactly what they advertise it as.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
fuche_bu
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Member: George Schaefer
Location: West Bristol, PA
Reviews written: 1103
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About Me:
Busy at work and missing a lot of epinions fun.
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