Homegrown IPA - Spring
Bale Breaker Brewing Company

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a somewhat less than medium golden amber with a one finger white head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of pale malt, citrus and lightly dank hops, lemon and light catty dankness. Flavor is pale malt, citrus and dank hops, grapefruit, lemon, light yuzu and a little pine developing in the finish; fine citrus rind and light pine bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A nice bright IPA that has a profile much like fresh hop ales in the Fall, but this is apparently well stored hops that have retained much of their herbal character. Hops and malt grown on Bale Breaker's farm, which is great. This brewery is stellar with hoppy ales and I missed this one in the past, but will watch for it in the future; it's a little preview of fresh hop season in the Spring. Nicely done. This year's version has a somewhat lower ABV. Still appealing although it appears to have taken it's time traveling a short distance over the mountains.
I've said it before and repeat again: there is something seriously wrong with a distribution system that takes over a month to get time sensitive brews over a distance that can be covered in hours by any vehicle. Geez.

Clear amber brew with a modest foam in the chalice. Prickly carbonation and rather hot on the tongue. Dank and herbal aroma. Dark and bitter. Big resiny flavors with sharp pine in the back of the throat. Some lively hops in this batch. From the 16 oz can dated APR1222.

16oz can from Hops & Bottles. Clear golden, fizzy head, lively carbonation. Hoppy aroma, dank. Taste leads with the hops, dank, oily, herbal, resinous. Mouth coating, sticky. A lot more dank than some beers that use "dank" in their name.

Canned April 12th. Nice, clear, pour. A finger or so of thick head which sticks around for a while. Aroma has definite notes of fruit at the harvest plus a bit of earthiness. Solid IPA hop flavors over a well-tempered malt base. Long clean finish. This beer hits everything that's needed for a standout IPA. Get 'em while they're fresh - won't be around for long.