Noah's El Camino IPA
Pizza Port Solana Beach

 

On tap at PP San Clemente on 8/09/08. Wasn't offered the last time I was here, a week ago.

Pours a slightly hazy dark golden, with minimal lacing.

Pine, hops, citrus on nose.

Wow, hops and citrus on the palate. Superb.

Medium mouthfeel, bitterness lingers especially if you aren't washing your beer down with any food (I was just drinking this afternoon).

Way drinkable. Maybe I'm biased cause this is my home town brew, but I am continually impressed by just about every PP brew I taste. A real good introduction to the higher ABV beers PP brews. A very nice stepping stone from the low abv easy drinkers to the real serious ones they offer.

On tap at O'Brien's

Appearance is a mostly clear dark orange hue, thick head of dense white creamy foam sustains, thick lacing

Smell is dominated by big pine hops, some grassy/floral hops, sugar and bubblegum

Taste is mildly bitter hops with light pine flavor, some grapefruit and light citrus, finishes bitter and dry

Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, creamy smooth texture with some oily resin, moderate carbonation

Drinkability is high, a solid single IPA that is very smooth and creamy for the style, hops are at a moderate level and not overwhelming, lacking some boldness here but otherwise very good

08/11/07- Had on tap at the Bistro IPA Fest.

Presentation- Via the tap into tasting glasses.

Appearance- Amber in color with a slight head and nice lace spots and streaks.

Smell- An even amount of grapefruit, pine and caramel malt in the nose. Could be well balanced.

Taste- Definite hops-o-plenty. Juicy, but pretty bitter grapefruit, a handful of pine and maybe a touch of spruce in here. Caramel malt compliments it nicely and is almost an equal to the hops. Reminds me of a better Moylan's DIPA.

Mouthfeel- Middle of the pack carbonation level with a nice overall aftertaste.

Drinkability- Another good effort from Pizza Port. I think they upped the abv on this batch, as it says 7.5 on my sheet and it seemed to be a bit stronger than the listed abv above. A bit to strong to be sessionable.

A: Very still, butterscotch rootbeer color with only a minor off white head.

S: Watermelon, grapefruit rind, tangerine juice and soft caramel.

T: Starts off with that pungent cheese flavor…or perhaps its iced tea…either way I’ve been associating this taste to massive dry hopping, but I could be wrong. Moves towards citrus rinds & chewy lime pulp. Some buttered whole grain toast comes next, with nutty nuggets of sunflower seeds. After the swallow a solid bitter wash shows itself and lingers long after the the last sip. Aftertaste is still the first taste, that pungent iced tea flavor.

M: Medium body, hard water mouthfeel with some carbo sting.

D: First sip and I was totally unenthusiastic about this beer. Second sip and the flavors started coming through. Halfway through the pint I was looking longingly at the “glass half full” knowing perfectly well that I had a long drive and had probably drank too much as it was. I wanted another but I couldn’t. And apparently I am stupid and didn’t get a growler for myself (although BA JeffKrenner will be drinking this beer from a growler in about a week). This beer won’t win the most complex award, but there’s a lot to be said about a beer that stays on your mind long after you drank it. Actually I couldn’t stop thinking about it as I drove back to Los Angeles. Good stuff.