Caught In A Rip
Rip Current Brewing

Thanks, Chris and Shane!

A clear light amber with a dense, off-white head with good retention and lacing. The nose is old school TIPA with a big,pungent hop character, dank grapefruit pith, orange, pine and a prominent malt character. Mildly warming. The palate opens bitter, a little boozy and sweet with candied orange peel, grapefruit pith, a serious pith bitterness, and pine. The mid-palate has a mild sweetness, with sugar and some malt. Smooth, bitter, pungent on the finish. Boozy, a little brash. Tasty!

2020 seasonal Triple IPA at the taproom in the midst of a sea of triple IPAs in San Diego at this time - this version 11.5%.
Pours a clear golden pushing to orange colour wit uniform 1/2 finger white head.
Aroma is killer - orange, citrus, mango, almost creamsicle like with notes of piney hops.
Taste starts with sweet maltiness, tangerine, orange, grapefruit, but at back some sticky pine, resinous; bitterness builds and fights the sweetness balancing fairly.
Medium full mouthfeel - sweeter than some of the TIPAs I have sampled - not overtly bitter though a boozy warming bittersweetness lingers at the back of the throat. Quality.

September 20th, 2015 - Caught in a Rip is admittedly a great big San Diego style hop bomb. And this is especially rare, but I enjoy it. Typically these hop-cone-in-your-face beers don't do much for me even after being in San Diego more than a few years but Caught in a Rip is the best version of this beer in town. A high hop scent leads to a pungent and powerful shot of hops in the flavor. But it is bright and clear and balanced. The residual aftertaste is also hoppy but calmer, stickier and more flavorful, with an acidity and brightness that I really love.

 

 

 

Type: 5-oz. draft
Glass: Rip Current Brewing snifter taster
From: Rip Current North Park in North Park (San Diego), Calif.
Price: $3.00
Purchased: Jan. 20, 2017
Consumed: Jan. 20, 2017
Reviewed as: American Triple / Imperial IPA
Misc.: N/A

Snuck out early from work to try Barrel-Aged Rescue Buoy and their Fourth Anniversary beer, but they just kicked the latter. So decided to have a few others after the BARB. Going in I thought this was going to be decent, maybe hovering right around a 4 for me.

Poured a deep gold yellow clear color with 1-to-2 fingers of frothy white head when I got it. Light bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass. Very good watery lacing. Very good retention. (Sight - 4.00)

Smelled Simcoe and Citra for sure, but a lot more hops in there. Also orange blossom, tangerine, tropical, mandarin and a touch of peach. Very smooth for 11.2 pct. ABV. (Smell - 4.00)

Taste was slightly better than the nose getting tangerine, spicy Simcoe, Citra, lots of other hops as well, orange blossom and grapefruit rind. (Taste - 4.25)

Medium body. Oily texture. Average-to-lively carbonation. Slightly boozy abrupt finish. (Feel - 4.25)

Really liked this one. Pleasantly surprised. So smooth for 11.2 pct. ABV. (Overall - 4.25)

4.18 | 93 | A-

 

Had on tap at Rip Current brew pub in San Marcos during 2015 Beer Safari along 78 corridor. Great beer! Brewed just once a year. Big time Triple IPA. West coast San Diego style at its best. Watch out for the 11.2% abv.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Crush & Brew – Temecula, CA
04/14/14 - Snifter glass

A: Bright golden orange color taking on the appearance of honey nectar. Has a glowing haze across the body. Thin paper white brim settles out to a collar after a few lasting moments. Very few dots of stick noted and more in the form of some alcohol legs.

S: Dank floral nose chalked full of ganja berries, grapefruit zest, and a sweet mix of tropical mango. There is some light caramel malt sweetness there but no alcohol coming through surprisingly. A little gooseberry is revealed as the beer warms. A very nice hop medley and pretty much as to be expected here.

T: Gooseberry becomes much more pronounced in the flavor accompanied with some firm pink grapefruit, white melon, and ripe Cali buds. I get some lesser tropical notes of mango, passion fruit, and peach. Just a dash of the caramelized cracker to corral all the hop flavors. The beer has a restrained amount of bitterness and a high resinous quality to it. There is a bit of alcohol heat on exhalation but the flavor aspect is completely cloaked otherwise. Incredibly smooth for such a big beer.

M: Maintains a medium body and feels much lighter on the palate than an 11%+ ABV brew should be. Creamy texture with an upper moderate bitterness on the palate. Sticky and resinous leading to that dry finish. Touch of alcohol warmth on the back end.

D: Scary good how drinkable this is and with such a graceful balance. Alcohol and malt are subdued maintaining a dry resinous feel. Not totally mind blown here as the hops were not quite as vibrant as I hoped. But this drinks like a single IPA and the fact that it is not is quite commendable. Will need to get this on fresh at the brewery to compare. Definitely worthy of a revisit.

 

 

Had several of Batch 2 at the Brewery and on tap around SD. They nailed it, all the makings of a proper Cali IIPA-IIIPA (dry, little to no caramel malt character, hoppy nose and flavors without too much bitterness, minimal to no jet fuel/higher alcohol flavors). The dry smoothness and shocking drinkability are spot on.

Pours with a rapidly dispersed head, probably my only issue...the aromas disappear quickly unless you have more than enough room in your glass for an aggressive swirl.

Wonderful tropical fruit hop flavors balanced/complemented by some grass and pine notes. The newest group of California brewers seem to be fixated on all-tropical hops and you really need the other piney/grassy type to balance it or keep it from tasting like juice. Rip Current did this proper IMO.

The drinkability is shocking, almost scary. I put down the first one like it was a regular IPA, no alcohol flavors or aggressive bitterness getting in the way. Not heavy or malty like many other attempts at a high gravity hoppy beer. Gets a bit sticky and more grassy as it gets too warm, so don't stare at it too long. The damn thing is just really enjoyable.

I normally shudder when I hear people likening other (always inferior) IIIPAs to Younger, but I think this one earns a place there.