Phantom IPA
Phantom Canyon Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

For my first Colorado brew pub brew I apparently picked a good one. The glass is filled with a dark tan brew that's cloudy and has a thick tan head that cascaded for a while after landing at my table. The aroma is more malty with some pine notes. The taste has more hop presence than the malt giving a nice citrus taste with pine and atouch of floral, perhaps. There seems to be an added weight from the casking that made this a bit heavier than a typical IPA but in a good sence. I happily ordered another one when finished.

This beer was slightly cloudy and a nice orange/light amber color. No head, due to the low carbonation.

Smells like an English IPA, and some wonderfully warm hops in the nose, very sweet floral and nearly fruity smells. A little malt underneath.

Wow, the low carbonation and cellar temp serving temp make the hops stand way out. Amazing, I don't think I have ever tasted more flavorful hops paired with an almost total lack of bitterness. I love the flavor of hops, but don't usually like the bracing bitterness that comes with them, and this beer seems like the perfect balance to me. The hops are clean, perfumy, floral, and slightly citrus. They kind of taste more on the English side then the American (especially not Northwest hops). Some nice malts for a base but never take center stage.

The mouthfeel is smooth and rich, with medium body. I have always been a fan of lower carbonation and warmer serving temps, so this beer nails this category spot on.

Overall drinkability is simply outstanding. I could quaff this till I was unconscious, but due to having to drive, I drank only one with the utmost pleasure.

Conclusion: This beer is simply the best IPA I have ever tried, and I have had and enjoyed many. My wife has never like a hoppy beer, but when she tried this she loved it. The low bitterness, high hop flavor, low carbonation and warmer serving temp just pushed this over the top.

On cask at Phantom Canyon. Happy hour $2.50/pint!

Appearance:
A rusty copper full of haze. Nice creamy head that laced beautifully.

Smell:
Very floral, very hoppy. It wasn't very cold, which really let the aromas spread like a perfume. spicy hops and caramel notes were noticeable while leaning back in my chair.

Taste:
The first thing to hit me was the lack of carbonation. It wasn't a surprise, but not having the bubbles on the tip of my tongue makes everything else much clearer. A semi-sweet ginger kind of taste accompanies bready malts. Less hop taste than the smell led me to expect. It comes in after a bit though, the floral hops tastes kind of washing through your mouth.

Mouthfeel:
It feels thick to me, probably because of the low carbonation. Oily but still smooth, and not too much of an alcohol presence.

Drinkability:
Certainly easy to drink, and as I mentioned in the beginning, the happy hour prices are unbeatable as craft beers go.

Phantom Canyon Phantom IPA--2010 2-16 oz. Drafts at Brewpub on 11/24/2010. 7.9% ABV. 75? IBU's. Served in short pints--2nd was 1/4th foam. Expensive short pour @ $4.50 each. Served warm, but not cask. Foamy lacy off white head. Cloudy unfiltered uglyish bronw orange gold color. Yeast fruit ester hidden floral hop front. Creamy unfiltered caramel fruit ester mildly hop infused fresh malt body. Mild hop fruity hint somewhat weak mild bitter end. (3.0 / 5.0)

On cask at Phantom Canyon brewpub on 8/13/10.

A - Hazy reddish, rusty copper-colored body with half an inch of smooth, creamy off-white head that retained nicely, leaving lots of foamy lace around the glass.

S - Pleasant fume of perfumy and floral hops with sweet malt notes suggesting toffee, caramel and baked bread. A hint of spicy hops also emerged as the liquid warmed.

T - Initial taste seems to take a turn in the opposite direction as the aroma, with spicy hops paired with a doughy cookie-like malt character. Think ginger snaps. Soon, a fairly assertice floral and perfumy hop character develops, but is kept in check with the sweet malt backbone. Finishes sweet and spicy with fair amount of hop bitterness and a hint of toasted grains.

M - Medium bodied with a smooth, velvety cask mouthfeel and a hint of hop oils. Very nice texture. Finishes with moderate hop bitterness and a slight dryness on the palate with virtually no alcohol warmth at all.

D - Excellent cask IPA that is easy to drink, well-balanced and flavorful. Another fine cask offering from Phantom Canyon!

From Notes: 9/9/09
Phantom Canyon Brewing Co.
Phantom IPA
Abv ?
On-tap into Pint glass.

First beer in Colorado Springs in a long time. I'm anticipating this place. I've heard good things.

Appearance=Excellent head retention!!! Nice lacing! Too dark in the place to really get a good look at the color of the body. 2 finger head

Smell= Weak nose. Hops are present but muted.

Taste= interesting flavors. Malt presence, minimal hops. The beer "speeds up," the flavor on the back end. NOT a hop forward IPA.

Mouthfeel= Finishes clean, minimal carbonation. Slightly creamy from the head. Heh.

Drinkability= Average IPA. Nothing bad about it. Decent nose, decent flavors, good mouthfeel. Almost like a cream stout IPA with the extreme head retention.

Poured a lightish copper, a flat head and the nose is a little floral and slightly hoppy. Taste was rather malt forward and hop light, slight bitterness on the finish with some floral and citrus notes way back there. Mouthfeel was medium to light bodied and not much going on with it as far as hops, bittnerness or taste.

Served on cask at the brewery. Pours an oaky brown with a creamy tan head. Nice lacing. Nose has sweet malts and floral hops. More along the line of an English IPA. Taste is also on the malty side but has a nice balance of fruity hops. Great beer to enjoy from a cask.

The Phantom Canyon IPA is one of the better Phantom beers. It could use a bit more hop. The beer had no downside, but lacked the punch that would move it into the great category. The aroma was pretty good and there were no odd tastes associated with this beer. This beer is worth trying.

Tasting notes from visit to Colorado Springs 4/25/2008:

Look: Pale-amber color, poor heading

Smell: grapefruit with faint malt in background

Taste: Hops!!!...H20!!...Alcohol...and umm...Malt?--pretty much in that order. Bitter finish per style.

Feel: lighter than typical mouthfeel

Drink: very easy to drink, perhaps too easy for an IPA

General Impression: not worth writing home about

Pulled from the cask into a shaker, Phantom's IPA is dark cloudy bronze with a tight, creamy tan head that leaves perfect lace rings all the way down the glass.

Smell is just a boat load of NW hops, strong and piny, centennial or one of other the C's...

Taste is good, with a more subdued hop flavor then the nose, still plenty of resin, a nice clean malt backbone...the bitter, linger finish reveals a slight tang to it that I've noticed in many of Colorado Spring's local brews, perhaps something in the water?

MF is smooth, luscious and super creamy...ahh, cask!

Highly drinkable, at least the 12 oz. I washed down some fantastic mnt. trout with, although I think I'd start to tire of over a session, in spite of how smooth this is.

A - 1/4" solid, creamy off-white head (nitro-like collar). Great retention, full lace. The IPA is a hazy orange/amber.

S - Orange and tangerine. Subtle pine needles. Crystal malt?

T - Light citrus. Resiny, piney bitterness long into the finish. Lacking much of anything else.

M - Between medium and full-bodied. Low, low carbonation.

D - Just average in its drinkability. I wonder if this keg was fresh or not. More of an English IPA than anything.

Pours to a chill-hazed medium amber, forming a nice white head with excellent retention and lacing despite being served in a tiny 4 oz sampler glass. Pungent green hop nose obscurs anything else. Large amounts of isopropyl throughout and much too bitter. The bitterness is so pungent I'm barely able to drink this, and this is coming from a hophead. Medium bodied, herbal and sharp mouthfeel. Long aftertaste and bone dry finish.

Short rant. I'm getting so sick and tired of brewers dumping as much hops into their beer as they can and then calling it an IPA. IPA's should be drinkable and this barely is. This beer is a telling example of this process. Avoid it.

Draft at the Phantom Canyon Brewpub. Golden-orange in color with an off-white head and good lacing. Aroma was a very pronounced grapefruit/citrus, which carried over to the flavor. Hps were clearly evident, which led to a slightly bitter, yet smooth finish. This was a tasty and enjoyable IPA.

A: Orange, almost ciderlike, with a beautiful creamy head.

S: Citrus and light lemon, with a very strong doughiness (biscuit scents) as well

T: Bitterness is earthy with little citrus on the palate. The body comes across as slightly thin, especiallyon the back end where a maltier body might have rounded the beer out better. The overall flavor profile might be enhanced by a fruitier, sweetness as well.

M: The cask-conditioning imparts a smooth (duh) texture. Overall, it's rather straightforward--a strong hop presence in the middle of the palate that leaves a long, bitter aftertaste.

D: Good but not great. Again, the imbalance takes away from some of the quaffability, as this just tastes less refreshing than many (better) IPAs.