Roundhouse Ale
Sun Valley Brewing Company

A little surprised this is listed as an ipa. Seems more like a winter warmer or amber/red ale. Certainly the bottle artwork is more evocative of winter.

Anyways, an abv of 5.3% doesn't usually scream ipa, but here we go. Pours an amber color, ample 2/3" off white head. Whoever said this was light for an ipa needs their eyes checked. Aroma of caramel and C hops to a lesser extent. Its kind of like if you muted 90% of the aroma (Chinook) from Celebration Ale, you get this.

Taste is ok. Still leaning like a C hopped winter welcome or amber ale. Just has all that toffee/caramel/tree hop feel to it. So yeah, for a winter welcome, it would be more like some of those ones that are hopped higher than BJCP's present guidelines (which to the rest of the world, seem like they're from the 19th century). I'd recommend this to someone if they wanted a Jubelale but couldn't get one for some reason. Its like a lightly hopped winter ale. There's nothing wrong with the beer, it just might not scratch the ipa itch in this day and age.

 

 

On tap at brewery, listed as an APA. I’m reviewing this more as an APA, and character matches the style. Decent solid pale ale. But still kind of weak as a representative of the NW

A: very pale pour. decent white head. little lacking in the color. bordering straw, just a little darker.

S: Some hops up front followed by some caramel malts. not too much there.

T: mild bitterness and hop taste, followed by some sweeter malts. the hops didn't have much flavor to them. not much at all. also got a little metal in the finish, but not too noticable.

M,D: OK little bit oily, but nothing too good or bad. Just average.

Not a bad beer just not a good one. Take it or leave it. There is much better you can get, even in Hailey, or even in 75mi north at the small small town of Stanley in the Sawtooths

I had this on tap at the brewery. Appearance was golden amber with minimal head retention. Smell was piny and citrusy, very well pronounced and a pleasant reminder of what I love about IPA's. Taste was a fair balance, a little less bitterness than I expect from an IPA though. Overall I could drink this brew all night, it was a good brew.

An aggressive pour on my part created a light, bone-white head with light retention. The color was a very lightly hazy light copper. The nose had a slight sweetness commingled with a mild hoppiness. Mouthfeel was medium with a mild hoppiness on the tongue. Finish had a light hoppiness tempered with a mild sweetness. In the south, this would have been a welcomed drink, but in Idaho, it was just kind of ho-hum.

12oz from the Boise Coop for about $1.35... poured into my New Belgium goblet.

Good head and nice lacing atop a golden copper brew.

Aroma is American hops and slight caramel malts... one-dimentional.

Flavor is bitter with no where near enough body/maltiness for the style... bracing metallic bitterness with American citrus hop flavor.

It's been a couple years since I've had this beer and nothing has changed... This and most of Sun Valley's other beers need alot more body and malt flavors to be enjoyable. The brewpub is a nice place to visit, but I honestly really do not appreciate their beers.

Drank from a 12oz bottle that I poured into a nonic glass. Has a nice story on the side about how this beer is named after Sun Valley’s original on-mountain restaurant.

Appearance- Pours a nice golden yellowish color with a slightly reddish tone. Nice frothy head that holds throughout the entire beer. Leaves spotty chunks of lacing down the side of the glass.
Smell- Very nice American citrusy hops dominant the nose. Light grapefruit and lemony tones are complimented by a very light sweet biscuity malt.
Taste- Different than what I expected from the smell. A very light citrus hop hits the tongue followed by a huge malt kick. Lightly roasted caramel malts add a big blast of sweetness that mellows and allows the bitterness of the hops to show. Leaves a light grapefruity and metallic aftertaste that finishes dry with a light alcohol warming. Has that familiar aftertaste undertone that I’ve experienced from other Sun Valley beers.
Mouthfeel- Nice medium carbonation. Finishes very dry. A very rusty/metallic feel to it.
Drinkability- Not the best Sun Valley beer I’ve had and definitely not the best version of an IPA I’ve had. Maybe a little off the style. I have 11 left so I guess I better start enjoying them.

Light golden yellow with a thick, long-lasting pad of off-white head. Lighter body color than your average IPA. Minor biscuity malt aroma mingles with a citrusy, slightly metallic hop fume. Not overly aromatic. Light biscuit malt flavors up front. Pretty weak and not sweet or showing any sign of crystal malts. Body is thin for the style. Hops come in citrusy and bitter, but only mildly so. More like an APA, and a mild one at that. Balance is good, but this beer just did not have much character and it didn't even seem that fresh. Disappointing.