Citrus Mistress
Hop Valley Brewing Company

 

 

Look: Slightly opaque burnt orange with a billowing white head that pillows up and slowly settles, leaving good lacing behind
Aroma: Grapefruit flesh, orange, lemon-lime, some pine, wafts of berries, and sweet bready malt
Taste: Pureed grapefruit – both white and ruby-red, come rushing onto the palate and hold some before the rest of a citrus fruit salad join in. Pine and berries peel in from time to time, more so with the former, and closes with more grapefruit
Mouthfeel: Full, lightly slick, medium-high carbonation, and lightly dry on the finish
Overall: I dig it. This was one of the first beers from these folks that not only grabbed me, but also changed my mind about fruit in beer working well and adding to the overall flavor in a good way. Still a good one and a classic WCIPA that quenches the hop fix well

Had on tap at Bulldog Saloon Lynnwood, WA

Purchased, poured and consumed from a can, actually 5 cans, in Elmira, Oregon (20 miles west of). A nice subtle IPA, hop easy not overpowering. Nice creamy head, beautiful amber-red color. The carbonation level was low although not sure at what level the carbonation typically is. Can's were dated to expire March 2022, so hopefully the low carbonation level was the norm although my thought is a bit more carbonation and this beer would have rated higher in my IPA book.

That said, the flavor was not, as mentioned overly hoppy or over the top citrus/grapefruit. The citrus is there and allows for a very smooth flow for drinking. I enjoyed the flavor and mouthfeel very much and recommend the Mistress to all IPA lovers.

Prost!

I think this was part of a variety pack, don't really recall getting six of these before.

Pours an auburn/dark amber/burnt orange/light brown kind of appearance SRM. 1/3" off white head. The aroma was all bitter grapefruit rind.

Taste, wow this imparts a hefty amount of barley. Seems to be crystal malt draped all over it in a throwback to the IBU war IPA days. I mean, some is good, look at SNPA. This just doesn't come close to SNPA's sweet spot though, lacks the levity of that beer. Hopping is 100% for bittering it tastes like, mouth feel confirms as much as well. If you've been drinking ipas for over 20 years like I have, this is a callback to the days of not much hop flavor but massive bitterness, and a notion that you want 'balance' by using a buttload of crystal and/or Munich oktoberfest like malt heft to bring about a caramel + grapefruit rind combo that used to be all the rage, but now seems to induce a bi of rage.
Not my jam, I think they make a few better hoppy beers using newer hops and less malt.

 

 

Average hoppy IPA experience. Golden pour, some head. Taste does have a nice citrus, grapefruit overtone, ‘pep-in-your-step’ across the tongue. Fresh up front with a good pop but a bit watery by the swallow and kinda flat after the initial pour. Maybe better if drank from the can? A fairly good WCIPA offering but doesn’t quite hit the fruity-fun I was looking for. Hop Valley has better offerings in my opinion, but not bad. I’d drink it again if someone was buying!

 

A-dark amber, good head retention
S-grapefruit and some crackery malts
T-sold citrus profile (true to its name), with grapefruit pith and orange in the front. Above average sweetness, well above average bitterness
M-Light (+) body, below average carbonation.
O-Solid WCIPA with a few areas of room for improvement

Peel

 

 

12/22/19...pours medium dark copper, patches of white foam, mostly settled. Malty, pine, lemon, citrus nose. Quick sharp peppery bitter. Chewy. Nice peppy IPA. Tasty.

Look - slight amber copper color
Smell - grapefruit citrus scent with some caramel
Taste - bitter citrus pine with some grapefruit peel
Feel - medium body and carb
Overall - pretty good

Flavor-free on the tongue, a tangy full dull kick to the roof of the mouth. Grapefruit flavor without citrus burn or sweet. Hop game boring, take bad vodka and add 100% juice (because the grapefruit is quality). Mild bar of soap. Water at the tip of the tongue, swallows into its light smack. Shallow experience. Watery burp

Bought a 6-pack cans $8.99 Don Quijote
103 days past best by date. Thought it was canned date until I read reviews below.
Citrus and wheat smells
Hazy Amber-golden tinged color
Medium-heavy mouthfeel
Medium carbonation
Citrus flavors, bitterness
Overall an ok IPA. More bitter than I like so probably won't buy again.

 

Light copper hue with great lacing and retention. Light pineapple aroma with some stone fruit. Spicy, robust, bitter, and extraordinarily fresh. This is a profoundly good brew. Comparable to Stone. Very fresh and tasty.

Draft pint at the Rampart Casino Las Vegas. Orange gold color with one inch foamy creamy cap. Quite a bit of carbonation. Aromas of orange, lemon, and a bit of pine and menthol. Mouth a bit thin but drinks easy. Flavor leads with sticky caramel malt followed by mild dank bitterness and orange rind. Leaves considerable dankness on the tongue along with an orange water taste. On the better side of Okay by a smidge.

L:. Pours a brilliant orange gold color with a medium white head and no lacing.

S: Orange and lemon candy, grapefruit rind, a bit of caramel underneath and some earthy hops.

T:. Orange, lemon and grapefruit, with a grapefruit rind bitterness, some lemongrass.

F:. Lively carbonation, medium body.

O:. This is a solid if not unique IPA.

 

 

 

Good two finger head supported by a burnt orange colored brew. The six hopped IPA has a grapefruit finish from the addition of peels. A good choice for hop heads.

 

 

 

 

Compared to the other Hop Valley offerings this one has to be the worst. I love the IPA's with the grapefruit taste (see Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin) but this does not taste like grapefruit....it's just kind of nasty and acrid tasting . This is from multiple tastings the latest of which is extremely fresh (2 weeks from bottling) and purchased in a variety 12 pack including 3 other excellent beers, Alphadelic, Alpha Centauri and Cryo Stash. I've been through 3 of these 12 packs recently and this is the one I leave until the last and then just drink it because it's there :^ /

 

Didn’t get a tremendous amount of citrus off this one - maybe some red grapefruit, but otherwise it is a pretty alpha-forward PNW style IPA. Not bad but lacks stand-out notes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clean, crisp, very citrus, very hoppy. Third favorite after Space Dust and Fresh Squeezed.