Hop Java
Napa Smith Brewery

 

Went into trying this beer thinking it was going to have a stronger coffee flavor. Almost like a porter. I was totally wrong. It is a very hoppy beer with a slight coffee after taste. I personally was not a big fan of it but if you like IPA's this might be up your alley.

 

Bottle shared by Will tonight, thanks man.

This one pours a moderately dark amber, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

So there's definite hoppiness and definite coffee on the nose, but neither of them are really strong, at all. It just feels muted, and the hoppiness just seems like a general stale grapefruit kinda thing.

This is pretty boring, and this is a style (coffee IPA) that seems kind of hard to make boring. There's really not that much coffee here, must have not been a very good roast. The pale ale itself just seems sorta boring, malty, vaguely bitter, not much bright hop flavor. This is just very meh.

This is light bodied, fairly crisp, with a good mouthfeel. It's not super drinkable due to how boring it is, though.

This is entirely forgettable.

 

 

On nitro at Flying Saucer. Great flavor balance in this one. The hop bitterness blends nicely with the coffee and the cream feel from the pour. Very sessionable.

Pours a finger of head on a hazy straw body.
The aroma is dry hay, burnt coffee beans and a chili pepper smell.
The taste is grain, mild coffee roast flavor and orange.
The texture is crisp.
An interesting brew.

I'm sorry, this is just a dreadful beer, though that may have more to do with concept than the actual execution. I expected a black IPA so the fact that the beer looks like a reddish IPA was surprising. But the look of the beer is the best thing about it. Clear, medium copper hue with decent lacing. Very strong coffee on the nose, which fits the description. But combined with the subtler hop aromas makes for a disjointed overall smell. But that's nothing compared to the taste. Coffee bitterness plus bitter hops plus a not insignificant malt backbone result in an overall flavor that comes off as "ashtray-esque." Not good. Feel is medium bodied with a solid heft, which is good. But overall the beer comes off as a mess, probably because concepts too far removed from one another are forcibly being combined.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Served on Nitro in Nashville TN

From the bar:
At first glance this beer will look like any other Pale Ale you might come across. Vibrant orange to copper in color with a nice thin white head. Once you put this brew to your nose, you will realize there is something special about it. Napa Smith used Napa-roasted coffee beans in the brewing process to give this American Pale Ale an interesting combination of aromas and flavors including fresh brewed coffee, and citrusy, spicy hop characteristics--neither flavor dominating the other.

Great aroma with coffee and lighter malt and hop. Interesting mix.

The flavor is odd with an unusual combination of coffee and pale ale. I wouldn't repeated go to this beer, but it is worth trying just for the experience.