Styrian IPA (2008 IPA Project)
Sly Fox Brewing Company

On-Tap. Man I love the Sly Fox IPA Projects. They have really been solid and this has been the best thus far...

A- Cloudy golden orangey color with some haze. Some serious lacing going on with a creamy off white head, retained throughout the entire beer.

S- Smell was of resiney, piney, citrusy hops. Straightforward with no bullshit attached, just hops. Fresh smelling too.

T- Ahh. Very similar to the Cascade IPA with a fresher serious hop flavor. Perfect balance with the caramel sweet malts. This is a hop heads IPA, not too bitter either.

M- This one seemed a bit creamier to me than the other IPA projects. Medium bodied and lucious.

D- Sly Fox has a winner here. This is an awesome IPA that just flat out did it for me. I would love to enjoy another one of these on tap.

This was the first of the Sly Fox IPAs that I can remember having a bit of haze in the appearance. Otherwise, it had the same orange colour and off-white cap of the others. The hops gave it a bit of a perfume/soap aroma, very floral, with just a bit of citrus zest thrown in. The bitterness was surprisingly sharp, backed up by the same citrusy and floral hops as in the aroma, plus a bit of spiciness in the finish. Medium bodied, average carbonation, good texture. I liked what these hops brought to the party. It's not your average IPA, but tasty nonetheless.

Much thanks again goes out to Dr Jay for sending yet the latest from the 2008 IPA project. A lovely grolwer arrived on my doorstep on Friday. Served in a few different pint glasses and consumed over the course of the weekend from 07/18/2008 until 07/20/2008.

Chilled this one down and served my first pint of Friday night. Poured your classic deep dark amber with a nice two finger frothy white head. Very nice side glass lace and some decent carbonation rippling throughout. Quick fade on the head, but other then that, pretty darn solid.

The aroma was classic IPA. Nice mellow piney hopes led the way. Nothing too terriby strong at all, just a solid IPA here. Slight bicuit like aroma mixed in with the hops, and as it warmed it tended to get a touch sweet to the nose. The flavor was very solid. Rich piney hops, touchs of caramel malts and loaded of grain. Very nice balance here all around. Smooth medium body with a good carbonation profile. This one went down way too quick and was a borderline session ale to me.

Overall this was definitly a very solid IPA. I love this series, how you can see the subtle differrence between the varieties. Never getting bored here, this is just a great IPA. Thanks again!