Nelson IPL
Saint Archer Brewing Co.

 

Can from Bois Co-op. Pale golden, mildly hazy, small but tough creamy head. This really showcases the Nelson hops, wonderful fruity, citrus aroma. And it gets better. Taste bends towards tropical fruit, sweet, yet with a nice crisp bitterness. Bitterness lingers for a while. One of my favorite styles done extremely well. Worthy of its top 50 status.

Review from April 2017, back when they had the teal can for this.

Pours the most common color for beer, that golden yellow with a hint of brass to it. 1/2" white head, good clarity underneath it. Aroma pops for that dank Nelson, similar to Mosaic but less fruity, more dank hippie weed and body odor than tropical fruit slushee pops.

Taste, oh yeah, great yeast influence, you can actually taste the lager effect, its not some neutral one, its relatively pronounced, but still not a match for that beautiful deluge of Nelson hops, at this point I'm questioning whether Nelson might be even better situated to IPL than IPA. One thing for damn sure, it works in both of them quite well. This is some heavily fertilized indoor weed like notes to it. So earthy. Good light and crisp malt base. Bitterness helped along quite nicely with those Dr. Rudi and Wakatu hops, finally a great beer using those hops, they haven't measured up in previous attempts, but they rock here and provide a nice dry bitterness. About time I had a positive rate deviation, it had been like only 2 of the past 100 reviews in the green.

 

 

 

 

Poured from 12oz can into a dimpled mug.

Appearance: light golden hue with a little bit of haze and plenty of effervescence. Head is a thin finger of frothy white foam; quite nice.

Smell: melony, grassy, green hop aroma with just a soupçon of dankness. There's a hint of malty sweetness underneath; overall, it works pretty well.

Taste: sweet malt with a very vernal, fresh and refreshing hop character. Like the aroma, there are some hints of melon here which really add a refreshing element to the mix; I quite like it.

Mouthfeel: medium-rich body with a good level of carbonation and creaminess. This actually has a pretty rich texture for the style.

Overall: this is a refreshing and interesting beer. It's on the heavy side for a lager, but I think that's fine, and the melon-laden hops are a very interesting dimension for the style.

Picked up a single from TW Arrowhead 3-12-17 for $1.99. Canned on 1-20-17 and stored in the beer fridge since purchase.

Beer poured golden with a nice white head on the initial pour.

Nose is fresh fruit, very nice.

Taste is gooseberry forward with a slight hint of citrus, pear, and apple. Finish has enough residual bitterness to let you know this is an IPL.

Feel is pretty crisp and refreshing.

Overall i loved the aroma of this brew and the flavors were very enjoyable. Would have this again!

I picked up a bomber of Nelson IPL from Hi Times in Newport Beach, CA on 05/15/2017. No bottled or "best by" date. 6.5% ABV. This IPL is brewed with Nelson Sauvin, Wakatu, and Motueka hops from New Zealand.

Nelson IPL pours a slightly hazy lemon yellow with excellent carbonation. 2 fingers of white foam with good head retention. Good lacing too.

The smell is of hops, lemon, and grass. The taste is uniquely complex -- it starts with lemon zest, herbal, grass and gooseberry, followed immediately by an herbal bitterness and slight grape fruitiness, against a mild malt backbone. What really stands out is the distinct spiciness that actually tingles the tongue with each sip. The finish retains the hop bitterness, the spiciness and just a touch of fruitiness. The alcohol is well-hidden behind the complex hop taste of this lager.

Saint Archer's Nelson IPL is complex, spicy and refreshing. It's the perfect refreshing lager without that boring lager taste. Nelson IPL has enough "zing" to add it once or twice a week to my weekly rotation of my favorite DIPA's. The hop complexity of this IPL sets it above other IPLs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can from The Beermongers.

A clear light gold with a dense, off-white head with excellent retention and lacing, this looks solid. The nose is solid. Mildly grassy with an herbal, lemony, minty, moderately fruity note, there's flavor notes of semi-ripe white grapes. Cleanly fermented, this beer begins mildly bitter and moderately creamy on the palate with a nice hoppiness. Mildly resiny, a touch of green grassy bitterness, moderate green grape, a touch of lemondrop and nectarines. Drying and creamy with a clean lager character, a touch of decocted grains, this beer is medium-light in body and moderately carbonated. Solid stuff.

 

 

Pale golden color with plenty of foam in the Rodenbach goblet. Light and crispy. Wonderful Nelson hop aroma-- lime, honeydew melon, and a whiff of Concord grape.

Very pleasant and aromatic with a honey-toned malt flavor. Moderately bitter with a scraggly edge to the aftertaste. Easy drinking with that luscious nose. From the six-pack of 12 oz cans purchased at Barons Market in San Diego.