Swan Song IPA
Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery

 

 

 

First had: on tap at their brewpub

This was listed as simply a "pale ale," and I thought it tasted hoppy enough to be an IPA...apparently I was correct. Poured a golden orange with a lacy white head and moderate carbonation. Sweet malt base detectable in the aroma, overlaid with fresh, floral and pine hops, and citrus notes. Starts out sweet on the tongue, then the hops move in, with citrus and resin tones, leaving a crisp, dry finish. Light-medium mouthfeel, and generally a good, drinkable IPA.

A - Pretty, medium-golden hues lean towards amber; lovely whitish head billows

S - Citrus, sweet, almost tropical fruit notes of hops

T - For a hop lover, light but biscuity; citrus, fruity, tropical, sweet, juicy hop profile that does not overpower the lovely caramel/crystal malt tasting foundation; delicious malt backbone; wonderful balance; lasting bitterness

M - Pretty light and playful on the tongue; hop oils dance across the palate as if in stilleto heels; bitterness carries the finish

D - A very drinkable treat marked by an interesting, diverse and tropical-like blends of hops and delicious malt base

I'm having mixed reactions to this one. The nitro really smooths this thing out and, I think, deadens the hops. Maybe I'm wrong. Anway, it is smooth and very drinkable. A cloudy light rust/golden pour with that creamy head. Good lacing and rings.
Hard to pick out the aroma, pretty mellow really. A slight touch of tangerine and tree sap.
Taste follows the nose, but has a bit more pinch to it, but not much. This is just too smooth I think. It's not bad, but for an APA, this is more like a hop-lager.

This is one of many IPA's that Mountain Sun makes. Imagine that from a Colorado brewery. It was a bit light in color with a straw body. The aroma was great though. There was a bunch of grapefruit with some malt in the background. The flavor was a bit of a let down but still good. It had the grapefruit still, but was much more bitter than I expected. It has a medium body and decent drinkability, but is a bit too bitter in my opinion.

Had this on-tap at the Mountain Sun brewery. Appearance was just-right (clear orange with wispy white head). Smelled of hops, but not over-powering...

Taste was hoppy as expected, fits the bill for an IPA in my opinion. I'd say this is walking in the same direction as Stone, but taking only 50 steps instead of Stone's 100 (flavor-wise).

Not bad at all.

Obtained from the brewery and consumed a couple days later. Pours from the mason jar (ie, growler) with a half-finger white head (with light yellow tint). It's quite cloudy and rusty nail colored. Smells potently of tangerines, but also some nectarine, plum skin, and orange oil. Maybe a little bit of caramel malt character. Tastes hoppy orange and mildly hop bitter. There is some malt sweet beneath, but it's hard to get particular flavors...I'm going to guess honey malt, as there is a bit of that grain in the aftertaste. Back to the hops...the bitter is flat bland, but the rounded and strong orange hop flavor carries the beer into an interesting tussle. Further tastes reveal an apricot ester blended into the orange. It contributes to a sweetness that helps the oranges stand tall. In the aftertaste, the bitter corrupts the orange hop flavor leaving a dry blah in my mouth, as if I had folded up a tissue and laid it in my mouth. Md-light body with a slightly creamy mouthfeel. Lightly carbonated (probably due to sitting a couple days in a growler) which, I believe, allowed me better access to the beer's flavors.