Chehalem Mountain IPA
Golden Valley Brewery and Pub

underrated. still bitter but lighter than the other hoppy beers we had in here, golden in color, old school on the hopping but i think an easy drinker anyway, compatible with much of the diverse food menu here, and clean and fresh tasting to me, one of their better beers in terms of the ferment, at least that i had from them, grassy, spicy, peppy, higher alpha, without all the richer malts. good clarity, bright white head of average height and retention from the tap, stays well carbonated through the whole drink. aroma and flavor both hit notes of clover, fresh pine, and a light waft of lemon cleaner, the freshness is there, the grain base is simple, pale two row barley doing its thing, faintly nutty, from the earth, fermented close enough to dry that this seems light, and perhaps cooler fermented, almost crisp with the kick of bitterness on the swallow. every so slightly dank, citrusy in a generic way, and woodsy as it warms, some oils on the palate but pretty clean at the end. overall this is nice, one of the better beers i had here actually, and probably deserves a bit more favorable scores than it looks like its received over the years, perhaps its been improved recently?

 

Dark copper with a light tan head. Taste piney but a little acidic with a bright herbal dry finish. I felt it was too dry and the dry finish just wasn't balanced well enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: Pours a hazy orange color, good head with good lace down the glass
S: Smells fruity almost like sour apple scent. Also smells of English style hops
T: Slight sour flavor up front followed by some bitter hop flavor.
M: Medium bodied beer, carbonation is a bit on the high side
O: This beer is kindof weird, the label says its supposed to be a NW style IPA but it tastes more like an English style IPA to me. It also says its made with Centennial and Cascade but it doesnt taste typical for those hops at all. Not sure what to make of this. The more I drink the more i just dislike this beer. There is a problem someplace this cant be what the brewers are going for.

 

 

I actually was so disappointed by the first 22 ounce bottle I bought I had to go and buy a second to give them a fair shake. The second confirmed the first - this beer truly cannot be classed as an IPA ... or any other respectable style from a microbrewer in the great Northwest. It was weak...appearance - weak, smell - weak, taste - weak, mouthfeel - weak, overall - guess?
I hate to attribute any sort of shameful grade to a northwest brewer for a beer that has expected standards to reach for, but this one was well deserved. It's on par with a Yuengling IPA...sad. There is no style of beer to compare this one. BLECK!

 

Clear golden coliur with a nice creamy off white head. Good head retention. Great lacing.

Light caramelly aroma with notes of diacetyl cut by a grassy hop character. The diacetyl is a bit dominant.

Smooth pale malt with a dose of diacetyl. Good moderate hop bitterness with a small dose of grassy hops. Unfortunately the fermentation fault kills this beer.

Medium body with moderately high carbonation. Good.

There is real potential int his beer with some nice light malt and hop character. Unfortunately, diacetyl has killed this beer and renders it no more than okay.

Appearance- Pours a slightly hazed orange amber with a thin white head.

Smell- Slight Malts and hops with a slightly sour aroma mixed in. Not unpleasant, but not much happening either.

Taste- Quite a bit of sourness in the malts right up front, some flat bitterness and herbal and citrusy hops. Frankly, there's quite a bit of unpleasant flavors. Long, bitter, sour aftertaste.

Mouthfeel- Sticky, even greasy with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability- Low, not very enjoyable.

I've had this beer before and enjoyed it much more, but I can not identify any of the flavors as a specific off flavor. I'll be giving this another chance at some point and I hope I will have the more favorable experience.

Nice amber orange color with a bit of a haze to it,small off white head that fades quickly leaving little behind.The aroma was lightly malty with a decent hop showing a bit of grapefruit and pine as well.The flavor was pretty decent...mildly sweet with a nice malt side. Good showing from the hops with a nice bitterness...not really over powering in any way but drinkable and worth another try.

From the tap at Venti's Basement Beer Bar, 13 July 2009.

a: cloudy, medium copper
s: floral and citrus hops
t: citrus hops dominates / well balanced with malt
m: full and satisfying
d: very drinkable; less bitter than the flagship IPA of most NW brewery

Pours hazy amber with a moderate off-white head and minimal lacings. Mild floral hop aroma. Taste is medium citrus floral hops, some grapefruit, fair amount of malt backing. Mildly bitter finish. I admit I have had punchier Pale Ales but this had no bad attributes either. An enjoyable, sessionable IPA. Actually very close to what many British IPAs taste like.

Welp, this one pours decently - hazy amber, egg shell topping that does it's damnest to lace the ol' Corsendonk tuplip.

Light, subtle hints of a hoppy citrus in the aroma. Pine with a wood stalk sneak in during the quaff. A nice, drinkable IPA - not over the top as some expect. Sometimes you just need a sturdy drinker instead of a hop bomb. This is it. Finishes with just the lightest coat of oil - so this one rates well with me.

A worthy contender in the populated world of IPAs.