Whambo IPA
Pizza Port Solana Beach

 

On-tap at Pizza Port Carlsbad
*08/18/11

A: Whambo has an awesome appearance with a classy golden caramel pale hue that was adorned with a rounded cap of off-white foam. Bubbling with slight clarity and great retention. Just oodles of spider-webbed lace.

S: Some really great citrus fruit aromas jump out at the nose. Sweet Grapefruits. A dash of pine. Fresh water and ale yeast.

T: Tastes really follows the nose with an intense citrus hop bitterness. Grapefruit. Lemon zest. Really zings at the palate. A bit more caramelly bread chew on it than say Poor-Mans but with that sharp dry crisp finish. ABV's are masked. Such a tasty refreshing IPA.

M: Nice creamy texture with light to med. body and bit of a sticky hop resinous mouthcoat that dries up the palate.

D: Just another reason to love PizzaPort. They keep putting out fantastic IPA's and Whambo is no exception. Great citrus hoppy bite with a balanced caramel body and light dry finish. Really well done.

Spicy JBaggs is at it again! Story goes that "Whambo" was an expression used by Bagby's Grandpa to exemplify the point of his stories. Well this IPA sure fits that bill. So delicious and in your face with hops. Highly recommended.

On Tap

Pizza Port
Carlsbad, CA

Clear orange and amber with a thin nearly white head. Not much lacing down the glass.

Citrus and pine aromas combine, but this doesn't have nearly the aromatic punch that some other Port IPAs have.

Huge initial bitterness and then lots of citrus flavors, particularly grapefruit, tangerine, and some orange. Just awesome!

Medium mouthfeel. Incredibly drinkable.

A classic, bitter, citrus hop-forward IPA.

Enjoyed on-tap @ Pizza Port Brewing in Carlsbad, CA for $5.50. Tapped from the Black Non-Labeled Tap Handle into a Pint Glass and split with Ralph.

Aroma- Very big hops and extreme on the citrus and floral side. May be dry-hopped? Has a finishing grassy aroma with the well blended malts.

Appearance- Pale Gold body with an orangish tint and semi-hazy. 1.5 finger head and leaves HUGE coating of lace on the sides.

Flavor- High hop flavor, floral and citrus all the way through. One of the hoppiest brews I've had this whole trip. High hoppy bitterness but still sweet from the malts. Great example of this style.

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied but thin, High Carbonation, and Leaves sweetness with hops on the back of the tongue and cheeks.

Overall Impression- An extremely sweet but high ABV American IPA. Huge hops all the way through, and bitter at the finish. You REALLY need to be a "hop-head" to enjoy this beer. I sure did!

On tap at Pizza Port Carlsbad

A: Dark golden color with a huge off-white head.

S: Dank hop aroma with a big hit of pine sap and pine resin. I'm liking it.

T: Lots and lots of hops. Big pine hops with a faint hint of citrus in the back. Not much in the way of malts to balance this out and it got a little shaky for me on the finish. Not their best, but another good IPA from Port.

On cask at O'Brien's, San Diego.

Pours a pale hazy apricot color. Lots of orange and apricot in the aroma. Very tasty with some light and bitter citrus, and a bit of apricot. Has a fair amount of 'resin', but not syrupy at all. Smooth, with lots of tingly carbonation. Enjoyable and tasty, though after just having a pint of the PP Nickel Bag IPA, I didn't find this quite as impressive.

Into a pint glass at the brewery.

A- Clear amber. Half inch head that fades quickly. Not much lacing.

S- Light citrus with a bit of pine. No notable malt presence.

T- Follows the nose. Tangerine and pine. Perfect balance with the malt that let's the hops really shine in this one. Finish is dry and bitter, exactly how I like my IPAs!

M- Perfect level of carbonation. Feel is light and satisfying.

D- I could drink this all day! A very nice representation of the style. Exactly what I expect in a west coast IPA.

Really enjoyed this one and will certainly revisit next time I'm in. Highly recommended !

10/16/10

A: On tap at the Hop Suey release. Light golden with a frothy one finger white head, decent retention, nice lacing.

S: Tangerine, honey dew, peach, stone fruit, light crackery malt presence. Dry. Some orange and grapefruit, and a touch of pine.

T: Dry bitterness throughout, with crackery malt and much stone fruit, with little traditional citrus and just a little pine. Do I detect melon? High bitterness and quite dry. Alcohol is well hidden.

M: Very dry with some stickiness. Upper light bodied - lower medium bodied. Upper moderate carbonation.

Overall: an interesting IPA, different from Carlsbad's other hoppy offerings but good.

On tap at the Fat Heads 'Celebration of the Hop' IPA festival. Described as "an American Styled IPA with bright notes of citrus hop aroma". 7.8%, brewed by Jeff Bagby at Pizza Port, Carlsbad.

Whambo was easily the best beer from the 10 or so Port offerings at this festival. It was the first and last beer I had, and with the lineup that's saying a lot!

The beer is a golden color with some hints of copper and orange. The head is adequate, not insane, but good for the style and has excellent cling. Some lace and active carbonation are also noted.

The hops in Whambo are kicking ass and taking names. They jump out of the glass with orange, grapefruit, pineapple, mango and every other citrus note under the sun. Just a kiss of sweet malt is noted, but the hops dominate.

The taste flexes even more. This isn't Stallone in Rambo 12 or whatever the last one was. This is the guy from Rocky with a machine gun. Some pineapple and orange, well integrated and amazingly expressive. A touch of pine but the citrus comes back for another round. The malt is sweet and just north of water. Holy cow, this is a beer I could fall in love with!

The mouthfeel is not too carbonated but is perfect for the style with an immaculate medium body that grooves with the bubbles. Drinkable all day long. A best-in-show beer up against the best hoppy IPA's in the world.