Tectonic Event
Great Basin Brewing Co.

On tap at the source in Reno - clear medium gold straw color with short white head leaving moderate lacing. Nose and taste fall in line with a typical WCDIPA. Tasty enough to quaff a couple pints. Paired well with the fish and tots I had for lunch.

granted the can we shared was pretty old and fading, but this was a little whack to me, more than just old tired or oxidized ipa, its weird on the yeast side, almost a little bacterial thing setting in, its unclean anyway, and sort of chemical to me at the end, past phenolic, and although i do not know what this tasted like fresh, its not old enough for this level of weirdness in the ferment to really be permitted, it cant be intentional. higher alpha hops in here really stand out now, lots of bitterness but its not harsh, and fresher i could see this being quite good, old school, northwestern, C varietals, that sort of thing, even some dank sticky west coast vibes to it despite it being a little hazy in the glass. notes of lemon cleaner and molten plastic in the finish though, and this is breaking down in an unflattering way. its also massively bodied and alcoholic beyond its stated strength, and it stays with me awhile. i cant be too harsh with the ratings, obviously we caught this one well removed from its prime, and i have liked the great basin stuff a lot since they have come to idaho, so i will track this down again hopefully in a better situation for it, but suffice it to say this does even worse than the style standard over time, drink fresh or be prepared to dump it...

16oz can from Brewers Haven. Dark golden, hazy, sparse head, thin, foamy ring. Aroma features notes of caramel and citrus. Taste is a nice blend of old school hops, caramel malts, sweet, bitter, earthy. A little bit hazy, a little bit NW.

 

Great Basin is known for their flagship Icky IPA that is about the maltiest ipa you'll ever come across, solidly English in style. This I believe might have been their first foray into an American ipa.

Pours a solid copper color like an older penny that gets cleaned up. 1/2" white head. Aroma wasn't really hoppy. Might not be any dry hopping. Caramel and bittering hops. The commercial tug job references Citra and Columbus hops, but I don't think I can smell any.

Taste is largely bouyed by the classic C hops for bittering. There is still a huge malt base on this one, similar to that of Great Basin Icky. But better than Icky. Brings a lot of pine and grapefruit to the caramel party. Carbonation is fine on this one. Would appreciate it more if it wasn't as thick and sticky with the malt. Hides the alcohol ok, not bad, not great. At least it is a step in the right direction. I can dig these classic C hops, but don't do the heavy crystal malt thing with 'em please. Good price on 'em at least.

 

Copper and liquid honey like with lots of white floaty’s and a finger of off white head.

Smells a crème brûlée, a bit of pine and pineapple.

Tastes of pineapple, crème brûlée, grapefruit, caramel and toffee floral notes.

Medium body, slightly syrupy with little carbonation.

I got this in Reno Nevada and am it drinking in Redding California September 23, 2019.

 

 

Was not impressed. Usually Great Basin is good. Maybe I got s skunked batch. Fruity up front but middle and back were not tasty whatsoever

12 oz bottle courtesy of rnewt pours a lightly hazed gold color with an excellent cap of off-white head. Nice retention and even better sheet lacing.

Nose is biscuity - bordering on caramel, malt and citric hops. Fairly balanced and has some earth to it.

Taste also shows a balanced side of this IIPA, grainy and light with a sharp bitter finish. It drinks really light for an 8.7%'er. Smooth too. I like the bright, citric hop notes and it stays away from pine and tropical. Goo stuff!

 

 

I had this as a bomber about 4 months ago and guess I never got around to a rating. After seeing a 4 pack for an incredible price of $7.99 I had to grab this. My recollection of the bomber was that I was pleasantly surprised with expectations very low. Great Basin is a solid, older brewery but not someone I'd be itching to try a DIPA from. This is their take on a west coast style DIPA and I'm happy to say they've done a great job.

Yellow orange hue with a smidge of haze. Smells of citrus, pine, evergreens, faint onion. Not too strong a smell. Taste is a nice citrusy hop juice of orange, lemon zest complimented by a mild white cracker malt and pine sap. This a nice example of a west coast IPA. Bitterness isn't too prevalent thanks to 9% and a juicy mouthfeel. For a price of $7.99 a four pack that is an absurd steal. Nothing is as cheap as this for a DIPA and tastes this good. Having recently had Scytale from Great Basin as well, this brewery is really going to another level and putting out some quality stuff recently.

 

 

Unbalanced and soapy. Hides the ABV but doesn't make me want to buy another. Falls flat in the face of the style, a dozen better example immediately come to mind. The color is too light, the middle note hits with an solvent-like lemon-apricot and doesn't get better. Different hops? Different dry-hop timings? I don't know, but this is a swing and a miss, for sure.

Bottle poured into a Great Basin Brewing Co pint glass

A: Pours deep golden amber with a frothy off white head that settles to a nice layer and laces well.

S: Tropical fruit jumps out, followed with citrus, some dank herbal notes, a little pine, and some caramel malt sweetness.

T: Pine and citrus, orange, grapefruit, tropical fruit, mango, pineapple, a little passion fruit, dank herbal notes, a bit spicy, and nice caramel malt sweetness.

M: Medium to full body, moderate carbonation, very smooth and drinkable.

O: Very nice DIPA. This is the first hoppy beer from Great Basin that has really impressed me.

A: SRM 5/6, plenty of head with fine carbonation and nice lacing
S: Orange and pink grapefruit with a little resin
T: Surprisingly light and citrusy; nice hop presence. Lingering sticky resin on the finish and a little ethanol.
M: Very drinkable. Smooth and light on the palate.
O: The alcohol is disguised well; it drinks like a lower ABV IPA. Refreshing...another great IPA from Great Basin. I wish I could find more of their stuff around here. I've had this and and Icky and both were very good.

 

 

 

On tap at the source.

This was described to me of "more of their take on a San Diego IPA."

To my surprise I found it as good or better than most of the highly regarded San Diego DIPAs.

Clean, crisp and dry. Delicious tangerine and the lighter of the tropical fruit notes backed by just enough malt to let you know it's there, keeping the citrusy & dank hops at the forefront. Just enough pine to compliment the citrus without making this a pine BOMB, nor is this a compete citrus bomb. Not sure I'm willing to call it balanced, but it just hits on all hop fix notes for me.

•EDIT• brought home a bomber which was very good, but not quite up to what I had on tap, definitely fell short. Still very good but not near what I experienced on tap.

Best hoppy offering by far from these guys. Very Niiieeeece. I like.

 

 

 

 

 

Bomber to a snifter, no bottle dates

Pours a dark golden orange with a finger of slightly tan foam. Pretty good retention, moderate carbonation stemming from the center of the glass. Nice lacing, looks great 4.5/5

Smells pretty good. Lots of tropical fruit and citrus held together by a sweet caramel backbone. Hints of alcohol on the finish 4.25/5

Taste follows really well. Lots of juicy tropical and citrus fruit, also a bit of pine with melon notes. Sweet caramel malt composing a robust finish. Again, just a little alcohol 4.25/5

Feel is a medium body with a wet finish. Definitely some alcohol giving a slight warming, very drinkable 4/5

Overall my favorite beer from great basin, I'm really glad to see them putting out bombers now. One word of advice- a bottle date ! 4.25/5