Sunrise English IPA
American River Brewing Company

A) 4 golden copper clear, nice lace, thick head. Around the horn,
S) 3.75 Suitable English malt cross with American Hops. Grassy, earthy, musky.
T) 4 Follows nose into Grassy, earthy, musky territory. Less tropical, more earth and bitters.
F) 4 Suitable, nice tongue twinge.
O) 4 Overall - nice balance. I tire of EIPA so this one strikes my fancy.

No freshness date, but I'm aware this was just recently re-released.

Appearance - Pours crystal clear and red-tinged copper in color with a khaki colored, half-finger width head. Sub-par retention, resulting in a thin. broken layer of suds across the surface and a fair ring of suds encircling the edge. Fair lacing, with broken lines and small spotting found around the glass.

Smell - Hoppy aroma hitting on floral hops and lesser citrus, backed by caramel malt and oaky wood character. Also, a faint whiff of booze.

Taste - More balanced than the nose leads on. Primarily floral hops, caramel and lesser oak upfront and throughout. Notes of citrus hit by-mid-taste, and is joined by a wee hint of grassiness and it finds itself battling with caramel and, to a lesser extent, toffee sweetness as it rounds to the finish. Bittersweet aftertaste, but grassiness seems to linger the longest.

Mouthfeel - Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation. Texure is silky with a hint of creaminess. Easy drinker with a semi-dry finish.

Overall - As a whole this is a very good beer, within the style this is definitely one of the better English IPA's I've had. In fact the only one that comes to memory that I know I loved more is 3 Floyd's Blackheart. I don't know that I'd drop $16 on a sixer of 16oz cans again, but the occasional bomber or single can will certainly be in my future.

Reviewer's note: I originally reviewed this from a snifter earlier tonight, but it tastes better from the can. More notes of toasted oak come through and give this beer an added depth that takes it another notch further. +.25 to taste.