Ramapo Valley Trail Quencher IPA
Ramapo Valley Brewery

 

It pours a murky amber brown, buoying two fingers of initiallt dense beige head that soon disburses to a pillow of patchy froth. Cascades of lacing rim the glass as it drains.

The aroma brings a somewhat funky fog of toasted malt with odd off-butterscotch flecks. A thin piney hops stream bears some mention here.

The first sip brings a very round bolus of cooked grain, coming off as malty, though without much other real character. The hops take a brief stab at a coniferous show, but they clearly lack the muscle to maintain, and they fall quickly to an astringent back-of-the-throat bitterness. Everything soon drops away to not much, and overall is simply pretty thin.

Between light and medium bodied, it coats with a slightly resinous feel of hops, and leaves little of itself behind.

There's no shame in not standing out, but falling well short is another story altogether. The best part of this beer is how it looks in the glass, and from there it's downhill. While certainly not vile, it's average on its best day, and that's pretty damining with so many truly good beers readily available out there. With that in mind, though I'd never had it before, I can say now I likely won't again. Enough said.

The beer pours a dark amber color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a solid malt scent that boasts of pale, crystal, and roasted malts along with a bitter hop aroma. It is a bit piney with some mustiness. The taste is decent also. It has a rich malty flavor that goes down easy and finishes quite bitter with some residual sweetness. It's a bit sweeter than most IPA's. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a medium bodied beer with adequate/good carbonation. This is a very drinkable IPA, but it's a little too sweet for my taste. Also, the musty off-flavor turns me away.

poured a nice amber color with a modest white head. Smell is more of malts than anything else. Taste is also malty with an annoying sugar-like sweetness. Finish in unremarkable with more sweetness. Label calls itself an "Indian Pale Ale" ??

Plain, photo copy labelled bottle found at Half Time in Poughkeepsie.
The beer pours forth from the bottle to reveal a surprisingly dark woody brown brew. Very little head, a vigorous pour garnering a thin collar with a striated wisp in the middle. Definitely not filtered, with dusty sediment readily apparent. I like an unfiltered beer, so that's no problem. I could stand for a better presentation on the head, along with some retention. I certainly expect it from an IPA.
The aroma immediately suggests an english IPA. Soft buttery diacetyl mingles with darker roasted malts, a crude earthy hop aroma lurking beneath. Soft floral esters, with some chocolate and caramel malty notes.
The flavor opens up with a mild roasty caramel maltiness, moving quickly into a soft plum and pear fruitiness. Hints of flower and mint leaves, along with a vague nuance of licorice. The diacetyl is well hidden in the flavor, only a bit of butterscotch that serves to add complexity. The hops are surprisingly restrained, even though they present some citrus and pine notes you expect from american hops. A dimming woodiness seems to dominate, making the finish a bit more gentle. The body is a bit light, leaning towards something you'd expect in a brown ale or mild from northern england. Smooth enough, easy going on the palate. I'd drink were I to visit the brewpub. I bet it would be fantastic cask conditioned.
A nice change of pace from the super-hopped american IPAs I've been drinking lately. Good for an english IPA, or some sort of english mild/IPA hybrid, if that's possible. A very soft, inviting brew. Aptly named, because this is what I'd be thirsting for at the end of a long hike.

This is a good looking dark ruby orange pint with a head that scoots over to a halo cover. No bubbles. This is interesting.

Balanced scents of mixed hard candy malts and hops pervade the nose.

Deep balance of sweet sticky Maple Syrup hops and malts that follow the aromatic aspect. An enjoyable taster with complexity that flip flops back 'n forth. Mostly ripe red apples and orange notes take up the flavor department.

Caramely soda feel. Sticky syrupy sweet. I could have another. It is a little heave for an IPA. Almost knife 'n fork body.

Last swigs: This was Lew Bryson's pick from his book NY Breweries. Overall, a mighty solid sipper. Malts and sweet apple meets melon fruit flavors.

*** UPDATE *** This review has been updated from my first bottle review. Pretty much the same a month later. Stickin' by me numbers.

Beer is good. Happy beering.

This came into a local beverage place, figured it was fresh, gave a sixer a try. 12 oz bottle, no freshness dating. Pours almond, minimal head, wee bit of lacing. Low carbonation, medium body. Not much of any aroma. Moderate malt notes, finish is dry and gritty and also sadly, watery. So so attempt at the style. Needs to have a major injection of malt and hops to get it up to speed. Middle of the road micro.

Deep copper color with a thin head. No lacing developed. Aroma is sweet and of over-ripe fruit. The flavor is way too sweet for an IPA. The bitterness also seems seperated, not married with the sweetness. Very noticeable fruit tones also.

The mouthfeel is smooth with a slight tingling sensation while swallowing. Sweetness lasts a bit on tongue instead of the bitterness you would expect. Very average drinkablility.

This beer was OK for a pale ale, but it was nothing like an IPA! It had a nice dark copper colour and a good, white head, but the aromas were too malty for an IPA. The taste was also too malty and the mouthfeel was a bit too thin. The drinkability suffers for all of these reasons!

F