Cluster IPA (2008 IPA Project)
Sly Fox Brewing Company

Runner up at the 2008 IPA Project at Sly Fox 12/12/08.

A-Bright copper with a thin off-white head that reduced to a thin ring and left spotty lace.

S-Spicy/earth hops with a touch of light citrus. Backing caramel malt sweetmess supports the malt bill.

T-An aggressive spicy bite, much more so than the Amarillo IPA. A lighter citrus twang comes in as a secondary flavour. Finishes with honey like sweetness.

M-Medium-light body with a long lasting spicy hop bite.

D-A well done single varietal. A spciy / light citrus hop that provides plenty of flavour and hop bitterness.

Pours an interesting dark orange touched brown. Citric floral nose. Flavor is earthy and citric, but leans more towards the earthy. Leafy, almost mud like tones. I just think "dirt" when I taste it. Smooth feel on liquid and the carbonation is low. A decent IPA. Unusual in ways, but still nicely drinkable.

I was able to try this Sly Fox IPA Hop Project on tap at High Street Grill's Sly Fox Tuesday promo on 9/2/2008. They served it to me in a Sly Fox pint glass.

This Hop Project poured a dark blood orange that had a small trace of amber along the sides. The head of foam was 3/4 of an inch in height and a solid white color. This head of foam had good retention that left behind a small white film, foamy white rings along the edge, and a few streaks of white lace around the glass. It had a strong citrus hoppy aroma of dry and biter citrus hops, a hint of pine needles, a pinch of sugar maple, and then it finishes up with a subtle touch of toasted nuts. For such a strong smelling beer, the taste was mildly hopped with bitter citrus hops, plenty of grapefruit, spruce, a touch of lemon and orange peel, and then ends with a subtle taste of toasted malts. The citrus element clearly reigned supreme over the taste of this beer. This was a medium bodied beer with a hoppy aftertaste of tart grapefruit, bitter citrus hops, spruce, and a touch of sweet caramel. This aftertaste will linger on your tonuge for a few minutes. In the end, this was another well rounded Sly Fox Hop Project. I wouldn't mind another one of these.

From a growler fresh from the brewpub.
Looked pretty good, just like all the Sly Fox IPAs do. Clear orange/amber with a dense cap of off-white foam. Perhaps more lacing than average for these IPAs, with thick layers of bubbles clinging to the glass throughout. Great head retention. The aroma was strong with pine and grapefruit, sharp but not overpowering, and quite resinous. Spicy and fruity (tropical) notes appeared as it warmed up a bit. Sweet malts kicked in up front along with strong bitterness. This was followed by fruity orange and grapefruit, plus pine resin. There was a mild spiciness at the end and the bitterness lingered long on the palate. Soft carbonation with medium to light body, nice texture. Pretty good drinkability. The cluster hops were a little aggressive, but stayed away from actual harshness, giving this a powerful hop presence that was balanced nicely by the malt bill. Seeing cluster in this light, I might give it a try sometime soon in the home brewery.

Pours amber color with a nice head and decent lace.The aroma of floral hops and grapefruit. The taste is sweet,syrupy,malts and piney hops.

The overall feel was smooth,slightly bitter but well balanced.A medium body,medium carbonated beer.Decent and quite worthy.

Notes:Something the waitress suggested at Muggs.She did not steer me wrong.Not an earth shattering brew,but fine enough.

Had the chance to try yet another fine example of the Sly Fox ingenuity courtesy of Jay. Grabbed this one from the mail, popped it in the fridge and devoured it the next day. Growler was served cold and into pint glasses. Consumed on 08/15/2008.



The pour was beautiful. One of the riches, darkest ambers I have ever seen comes out of an IPA. Seriously large amounts of deep, reddish orange in here. A good amount of haze, but not enough to block the copious amounts of carbonation that could be seen streaming upward. A good two inches of white frothy head then capped off the top and quickly settled down to a nice thin layer that coated the sides as well as the inside of the glass.



The aroma was hop heaven. Thick, sticky, resin infused hops just exploding into the air. Rich notes of orange, grapefruit, hints of pineapple and tar, all conspiring into a beautiful cornucopia of hop freshness. Rich flavor started out with a sugar and candy coated goodness that never strayed far from the original. Rich notes of sticky pineapple and orange coated the inside and made for a wonderful excursion into the world of the sessionable and rich IPA's. This was classic west coast style, really thick and full, with a stickiness you can feel on your gums.



Overall this was easily one of my favorite of the lineup so far. Definitely the most bitter and sugary at the same time. Really full and just well, slamming all around. I have to say this was one you need to go out and try, at all cost, really seek this one out.