Maverick's
Breakwater Brewing

Looks like my sampling of this (Feb 6, 2010, 10th annual Bistro double ipa festival) was before the recipe change. Seems like it was more popular before that?

Anyways, an dark orange and amber colored pour, creamy, 1/3" white head on the top. Aroma hits the grapefruit and other citrus rind notes and some C hop like pine along with it. This was what dry hopping was like before proprietary aroma hops as we know them were around.

Taste is firm, bitter, not a dry or light finish, this is a maltier than current trends of ipa subgenre in this day and age. There is a decent amount of heat to the 8.7%abv. Its that 2010 ipa through and through. Old school citrus and pine. Dropping it in substantial quantities, this was about as much citrus as you could get from traditional hops without the use of any adjuncts/actual fruit.

 

 

Light orange and neat clear with a fine slight head that results in nice lacing. Orange and Sweetgrass on the nose. Grassy flavor dominates the taste with quite a bit of hoppy bitterness at the back of the palate. Finish is clean.

 

Since it appears Carlsbad-area breweries are in cahoots to be closed on Tuesdays, I made a pilgrimage to Breakwater, a place I’ve never heard of & knew nothing about. Half-pint so I can try something else, too.

Pour is a partially cloudy orange that’s heavily carbonated. After it settles, I don’t spend much time sniffing the beer, because, dammit, I’m thirsty.

Maverick IIPA is an explorer’s reward. Many oranges, or orange-like peccadilloes, went into this beer, for it fairly reeks of it, & they explode onto the tongue. Rip-wave of bitterness follows, along with a counter-current of tangerine pith (no, not the helmet), & more vaguely tropical fruit. More bitterness cleans up the stickiness. Half a pint? I could go full, then some more, if I didn’t have car keys jangling in my pocket. But it is a rental…

This is how a IIPA is made – by throwing the bag of malt out the back door on brewing day rather than in with the precious hops. Bitter, tasty, unbalanced. Lovely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serving Type: Served into a pint glass from the tap at Breakwater Brewing in Oceanside, CA.

Appearance: Dark amber with a dense white head that slowly dissipates leaving behind some solid lacing. Very good.

Smell: Nice aroma but not overwhelming. Citrus and fruity hops with some malt backbone. The aroma is not bad by any means but I usually expect more of a punch from a DIPA.

Taste: Firstly, the bitterness is just perfect on this beer. That said, there is some sort of flavor gap between the hops and the malt. While the hops are nice with pine and citrus, it does not seem to be balanced correctly with a malt base. Furthermore, while the hops lend a strong amount of bitterness, I felt that the flavor of the hops could be stronger.

Mouthfeel: Just the way it should be. Nice consistency for a DIPA with a perfect amount of carbonation.

Overall: This beer had a lot of great qualities but was slightly disappointing in the taste profile. I must point out, as a regular at Breakwater, that I absolutely love this place and they provide a a plethora of amazing brews. This is actually the only house brew that I find somewhat lackluster considering the quality of the other offerings.

 

 

 

Thanks to Popkas for getting this out my way. Served in a Mikasa tulip. Reviewed from notes.

Pours moderate copper-orange color with a good, creamy white head and a bunch of nice, spotty lacing on the way down. The nose carries a good amount of tropical fruit and resinous pine hops. There is a bit of bready and lightly caramelized malt in the background. The flavor brings a nice hoppiness and also contributes a solid malt backing. A bit more than I'd like, though the hops are still front and center. Medium body with good carbonation and a nice bitter finish. Thanks again for this--a very solid DIPA.

Thanks to Jason for sharing this.

A - Nice looking beer. Golden orange color with a great head that left behind some nice lacing.

S - Nice smell! Tropical fruits are nicely balanced by some bitter pine and resin notes. The malt backbone is there, but not dominating. Tastes like something I want to drink.

T - Great taste, a lot like the nose. Easy drinking with tropical fruit and bitter pine being the focus. It all works quite well. Malt backbone is complementary.

M - Medium bodied, nice carbonation, dry.

O - Really great beer that was an easy drinker and I enjoyed quite a bit. Recommended.