Williwaw IPA
St. Elias Brewing Company

This was poured into a pint glass. The appearance was a glossy orange color with a one finger white foamy head. The lacing was there as it clung decently and then slid after a good minute. The smell had a decent bittersweet citrus to pine hops and a decent see malt balance. The taste was there with a sweet citrus and malty content. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a decent harshness over my tongue. Sessionability was there. Overall, good AIPA I would have again.

04/14/2017.

Growler was poorly-filled at the brewery the day before, lots of empty space and foam in the glass. I have a feeling this causes the beer to lose much of its aroma, and impacted negatively to the flavor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at the Brewpub on 7.21.12

A - Served a dark hazy orange with a fizzy white head that last through the whole beer.

S - Orange peel and some pine.

T - Again orange peel and dank pine. Pretty light.

D - Good carbonation and a very light body. Fizzy.

O - A pretty decent IPA. Fizzy and not bitter. Worthwhile.

Had on tap at St. Elias

Having tried a large sample of their brews, I would probably say this is their second best effort (behind their Saison) and one I would recommend. Drinking it, I kept thinking how pleased I was with how softly it tasted for an IPA and how eerily familiar it tasted. It wasn't until the second to last sip that I realized this beer is nearly identical to Mission St.'s IPA available from Trader Joes (which I really enjoy quite a bit).

If you like Mission St. IPA, you will like this one. Its solid all the way around. Not a top example of the style, but one you can hang your hat on.

Grade: B

 

Stopped by the St. Elias brewing company in Soldotna on the way down to Homer. I was thrilled to see the place and my friends and I decided it would be a great place to stop and grab some lunch and brews.

I went with the IPA first, always best to get the hoppiest beer out of the way first off. I was extremely inmpressed. The smell was strong with citrusy hops and quite inviting.

Delicious taste, bitter citrus hops and slightly sweet... I was very impressed with this one.

Floral hoppy, mellow, malty. Golden yellow appearance. "A northwest style IPA". Brewed with pale, munich, caramel malts, and hopped with four different northwest hop varieties. My favorite of the sample minus the even keel.

ABV is 6.5%, check with the website to confirm. Overall, this beer is pretty average although worth a try.

Appearance- cloudy amber pours with a thick off-white head. Leaves nice lacing on the glass.
Smell- All I can smell is hops. Very citrusy.
Taste- First thing that hits me is the hops with both bitterness and a nice floral/citrus taste. The bitterness is on the high side. There is a nice maltiness to back it up but the hops definitely take front stage.
Mouthfeel- light-moderate mouthfeel. Carbonation is moderate-high.
Overall- This is a good IPA. It has some bold hop flavors and aromas though I think that the bitterness might have been on the high side. This is an enjoyable beer and if you have the chance try it.

Had this on draft at the brewpub on several different occasions. Consistent quality.

Copper-colored. Nice head with good lacing. Nice aroma of American hops (Summit?). Good mouthfeel, pleasant pucker, just a hint of alcohol. Smooth finish. Very drinkable, leaves you wanting a second round.

A nicely balanced American IPA, with plenty of hop aroma and flavor.

A shocker from the penninsula. Two in the... nevermind.

Picked this one up on a drive down to Soldotna yesterday. I would estimate the abv to be right around 7%

Pours a nice glowing orange/amber color. Totally clear with a nice fluffy white head that retains well and leaves good lacing.

Nose is of west coast hops and a bit of fresh hop earthy dankness. Some malt backbone appears in the nose but not alot. Slight perfume.

Wow! I will admit i was not expecting this from such a new brewery. Taste follows with great fresh hop flavor. I would guess the hops used in this beer were quite fresh as there is a sculpinesque earthy, dank resiny sweetness. The malt backbone is right where it should be on this one, the slight malt sweetness backs up the earthy flavors of the hops. Hop bitterness is subdued at first, but picks up quickly around mid-taste and holds on for the long haul. Grapefruit and citrusy pine hops come through strong towards the finish. A nice dry and bitter finish. Perfuminess and earthy tones hang on in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is close to perfect here, except it is slightly undercarbonated. Keeping in mind this growler did sit overnight. Certainly not significantly undercarbonated in any way, i am just a picky bastard. Other than that mouthfeel is spot on.

Drinkability gets very high marks for this one as it is insanely balanced, and goes down dangerously quick. A very very sessionable beer.

Overall a very suprisingly good IPA from the fresh face of St. Elias Brewpub in Soldotna. This (What I'm guessing is a fresh "wet" hop) IPA is one i would really love to have around anchorage. Hopefully it will show up on tap soon in some of the bars (Im looking at you Taproot) for some more people to enjoy. Would LOVE to see this one on cask someday! Otherwise, I will be making another trip to Soldotna soon! haha. If you make it down that way, I strongly suggest grabbing a pint or growler of this one to try. Very suprised and impressed with St. Elias' IPA offering. Very good beer.