-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Plasma
Element Brewing Company
- From:
- Element Brewing Company
- Massachusetts, United States
- Style:
- Imperial IPA
- ABV:
- 9.3%
- Score:
- 86
- Avg:
- 3.82 | pDev: 11.78%
- Reviews:
- 13
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Nov 13, 2017
- Added:
- Apr 27, 2013
- Wants:
- 3
- Gots:
- 10
Plasma is a Sake-I.P.A.™ style beer brewed with pure water, brown rice, malted millet, and generous amounts of Aramis hops. This gluten free beer has everything you want from an I.P.A and a Genmaishu Namazake Sake.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Petegrieco:
Rated by Petegrieco from Massachusetts
4/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Jun 01, 2015
4/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Jun 01, 2015
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by fitzy84 from Massachusetts
3.56/5 rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.56/5 rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Had this on tap at Judies Restaurant in Amherst. The beer had a copper appearance with a decent sized head and lacing. The aromas definitely had a good hint of booze near the end of each sniff, but it was mostly wrapped in this herby smell. The taste was pretty bitter up front with a mostly earthy malt flavor. Decent body. Overall, it was ok.
Nov 13, 2017Reviewed by threeviews from Florida
4.29/5 rDev +12.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.29/5 rDev +12.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Gluten-free and bottled conditioned DIPA...yes, please!
Poured from a 750ml bottle (BOD: April 6, 2016) into a Catamount Glassware IPA glass.
A - Pours an attractive, clear sunset orange color which screams DIPA. A conservative pour yielded a full, one finger's worth of a frothy white head. The lack of retention is due to the lack of gluten-rich malts and elevated ABV. (4.5)
S - Not overwhelming, but very pleasant and well balanced. Orange flesh, floral (honeysuckle), mild peach, woody (cedar)/earthy and grassy. The 9+% ABV is nowhere to be found. (3.75)
T - All of the aromas play out in the flavor with a piney finish which grows as it warms. Being rather familiar with Elements beers, the earthiness found in the nose and flavor is most likely contributed to their proprietary yeast stain. Assuming this is a single-hop (Aramis) beer, the bittering is clean and dances playfully atop the very, very unique grain bill (Brown Rice, Malted Millet & Malted Buckwheat). Like the nose, the booze goes undetectable. The more I drink it, the more that woody/earthy characteristic grows to the point that it gives the impression that wood was involved in the conditioning process. Being a fan of Oak-Aged IPAs (Burton Baton, Hop Crisis, Burton IPA/Ale), this is hitting all the marks for me. (4.75)
M - Medium bodied and finishes with an woody/earthy dryness. Absolutely clean, refreshing and highly quaffable. (4.5)
O - Not only does Plasma stand on its own as a well-constructed DIPA, I dare anyone to find a better example of a gluten-free beer...and an Imperial one at that! Although I wish the aroma was more pungent (especially with regard to citrus and stone fruit), this is a really delicious, unique, well-crafted and boundary-breaking beer that I will get whenever available...and no, I am not gluten intolerant. The only other slight knock is its price...at ~$12/750ml bottle, it is not an offering that would constitute an everyday drinker (4.5)
Postscript: I lost track and found another bottle of Plasma lurking in my inventory with a BOD of Sept. 1, 2015! Yikes, 9+ months does not look promising for an IPA. However, I am supremely excited to announce that this tasted as good aged as it did fresh. All of the aroma and flavor remains intact (per my initial review) without any signs of oxidation...no doubt courtesy from the bottle conditioning. For a beer I anticipated to be a drain pour (as most IPA's are after 4-6 months), Plasma reigns supreme and remains a favorite of mine...fresh or "aged" (as IPA's go).
May 08, 2016Poured from a 750ml bottle (BOD: April 6, 2016) into a Catamount Glassware IPA glass.
A - Pours an attractive, clear sunset orange color which screams DIPA. A conservative pour yielded a full, one finger's worth of a frothy white head. The lack of retention is due to the lack of gluten-rich malts and elevated ABV. (4.5)
S - Not overwhelming, but very pleasant and well balanced. Orange flesh, floral (honeysuckle), mild peach, woody (cedar)/earthy and grassy. The 9+% ABV is nowhere to be found. (3.75)
T - All of the aromas play out in the flavor with a piney finish which grows as it warms. Being rather familiar with Elements beers, the earthiness found in the nose and flavor is most likely contributed to their proprietary yeast stain. Assuming this is a single-hop (Aramis) beer, the bittering is clean and dances playfully atop the very, very unique grain bill (Brown Rice, Malted Millet & Malted Buckwheat). Like the nose, the booze goes undetectable. The more I drink it, the more that woody/earthy characteristic grows to the point that it gives the impression that wood was involved in the conditioning process. Being a fan of Oak-Aged IPAs (Burton Baton, Hop Crisis, Burton IPA/Ale), this is hitting all the marks for me. (4.75)
M - Medium bodied and finishes with an woody/earthy dryness. Absolutely clean, refreshing and highly quaffable. (4.5)
O - Not only does Plasma stand on its own as a well-constructed DIPA, I dare anyone to find a better example of a gluten-free beer...and an Imperial one at that! Although I wish the aroma was more pungent (especially with regard to citrus and stone fruit), this is a really delicious, unique, well-crafted and boundary-breaking beer that I will get whenever available...and no, I am not gluten intolerant. The only other slight knock is its price...at ~$12/750ml bottle, it is not an offering that would constitute an everyday drinker (4.5)
Postscript: I lost track and found another bottle of Plasma lurking in my inventory with a BOD of Sept. 1, 2015! Yikes, 9+ months does not look promising for an IPA. However, I am supremely excited to announce that this tasted as good aged as it did fresh. All of the aroma and flavor remains intact (per my initial review) without any signs of oxidation...no doubt courtesy from the bottle conditioning. For a beer I anticipated to be a drain pour (as most IPA's are after 4-6 months), Plasma reigns supreme and remains a favorite of mine...fresh or "aged" (as IPA's go).
Reviewed by BeerAdvocate from Finland
3.98/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.98/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
From BeerAdvocate Magazine #91 (Aug 2014):
Savory, Musty, Grainy, Yeast
This is where extreme brewing can go, naturally gluten free from a grain base of brown rice, malted millet, and malted buckwheat. All of that and its a sake-hybrid. A bit of funk and a whole lot of unique grainy complexities that are thrown up against a massive Double IPA strength hop character. As interesting as it is amazing.
STYLE: Sake IPA | ABV: 9.33% | AVAILABILITY: Rotating
Jul 08, 2015Savory, Musty, Grainy, Yeast
This is where extreme brewing can go, naturally gluten free from a grain base of brown rice, malted millet, and malted buckwheat. All of that and its a sake-hybrid. A bit of funk and a whole lot of unique grainy complexities that are thrown up against a massive Double IPA strength hop character. As interesting as it is amazing.
STYLE: Sake IPA | ABV: 9.33% | AVAILABILITY: Rotating
Reviewed by buschbeer from Ohio
3.56/5 rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.56/5 rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
1 pint, 9 fluid oz. bottle
Served in a tulip glass
It pours hazy with an orange hue and golden highlights. It is topped with two inches of off-white head that leaves little lacing.
I get hints of citrus. It is not a real aromatic beer.
The taste is mostly bitter. I pick up some citrus in the aftertaste.
Highly effervescent
This beer is one of those IPA's that are just bitter for bitter's sake in taste. I wish more citrus would have come through for me. Now it did pair nicely with my sushi. The carbonation cleansed my palate leaving me eager and ready for another bite of food.
Jul 03, 2015Served in a tulip glass
It pours hazy with an orange hue and golden highlights. It is topped with two inches of off-white head that leaves little lacing.
I get hints of citrus. It is not a real aromatic beer.
The taste is mostly bitter. I pick up some citrus in the aftertaste.
Highly effervescent
This beer is one of those IPA's that are just bitter for bitter's sake in taste. I wish more citrus would have come through for me. Now it did pair nicely with my sushi. The carbonation cleansed my palate leaving me eager and ready for another bite of food.
Plasma from Element Brewing Company
Beer rating:
86 out of
100 with
69 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!