Alien IPA
Sierra Blanca Brewing Company (Rio Grande)
- From:
- Sierra Blanca Brewing Company (Rio Grande)
- New Mexico, United States
- Style:
- American IPA
Ranked #3,800 - ABV:
- 7%
- Score:
- 85
Ranked #28,919 - Avg:
- 3.69 | pDev: 7.05%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 5
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jul 17, 2025
- Added:
- Jan 19, 2020
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
SCORE
85
Very Good
85
Very Good
Experience an Alien I.P.A. HOP-DUCTION! Golden in color and fruity on the nose, the bittering hops are balanced with a citrus-sweet, piney finish.
IBU 81
IBU 81
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by Thomas_Wikman from Texas
3.69/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.69/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Look: semi-clear golden with a thin white head
Aroma: citrus, pine
Flavor: It is very typical Westcoast style, caramel, citrus, and a significant grapefruit rind and pine resin like bitterness.
Body/Overall: Medium body, it is overall OK
Mar 05, 2025Aroma: citrus, pine
Flavor: It is very typical Westcoast style, caramel, citrus, and a significant grapefruit rind and pine resin like bitterness.
Body/Overall: Medium body, it is overall OK
Rated by snaotheus from Washington
3.89/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.89/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2023-03-26
Pint at ABQ Rio Grande, on tap. Nice, bright aroma, strong bitterness, a little bit of soapiness. Very west coast.
Mar 27, 2023Pint at ABQ Rio Grande, on tap. Nice, bright aroma, strong bitterness, a little bit of soapiness. Very west coast.
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho
3.35/5 rDev -9.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.35/5 rDev -9.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
12 oz bottle from Total Wine. Golden pour, light haze, skimpy white head. Aroma is hoopy, light, woody, grassy. taste amps up the hops a bit, offering a nice bitter bite and overall snap. Dry, chalky finish.
Mar 21, 2023
Reviewed by BigGold from Mississippi
3.81/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.81/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Had Alien IPA at Del's Restaurant, Route 66, Tucumcari, New Mexico, twice poured from 12-oz. bottle, stamped (apparently) bottled on "120121," into tumbler.
Pours gold with clarity and creamy 1-finger near-white head, with decent retention, leaving sketchy lace down the glass. Citrusy, grassy aroma off pour, and a little mild caramel malt and melon as warms. Begins creamy, buoyed by mild carbonation, then melon fruit and big hop bite carry together into a nicely bitter finish.
Despite the name, not trendy but a solid and rather interesting IPA, as it is creamy, generically fruity, and satisfyingly bitter.
Jan 24, 2022Pours gold with clarity and creamy 1-finger near-white head, with decent retention, leaving sketchy lace down the glass. Citrusy, grassy aroma off pour, and a little mild caramel malt and melon as warms. Begins creamy, buoyed by mild carbonation, then melon fruit and big hop bite carry together into a nicely bitter finish.
Despite the name, not trendy but a solid and rather interesting IPA, as it is creamy, generically fruity, and satisfyingly bitter.
Reviewed by BeerAndGasMasks from Virginia
3.74/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.74/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From the bottle, it pours a clear light golden color with a modest white head that very slowly reduces and leaves a bit of lacing. In the nose, it is citrus, primarily pineapple and maybe a little mango. In the mouth, it is slightly bitter, with citrus and something else coming through...
May 14, 2021
Reviewed by ZenAgnostic from Texas
3.73/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.73/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
12oz bottle poured into Duvel tulip. No date anywhere on the bottle. Picked up from grocery store as part of a $10 sixer mixer.
Appearance - Pours a small 1 finger sudsy barely offwhite head with decent to low retention, decent to good lacing and weak to decent stick. Mostly clear, medium gold body. Little to no bubbling. 2
Smell - Immediately upon pouring I get some weird combination of scents like corny musk, soy sauce, coffee, and dark fruit. Weirdly complex for such a light beer, and not really what I'd expect for an IPA. I really feel I can't score this until hindsight. Because these smells can mean something interesting, complex and pleasant, or they could be the canary in the coal mine. Ok, in hindsight, I will score this a 4.
Taste - Okay this beer is living up to its name. The body is strange to say the least. Has these weird I want to say off tones but they're not too bad. Maybe it's intentional? I want to believe. If so, this is pretty weird for an IPA. Not bad, just different. I wouldn't go so as far as to call it an experience, but it's not run of the mill. 3.75
Mouthfeel - Mediumbodied. Some bitter astringency that lingers but mellows out reasonably. 4
Overall - Not bad. Somewhat interesting but not particularly drinkable. About as middle of the road as you can get, all considered.
Jan 19, 2020Appearance - Pours a small 1 finger sudsy barely offwhite head with decent to low retention, decent to good lacing and weak to decent stick. Mostly clear, medium gold body. Little to no bubbling. 2
Smell - Immediately upon pouring I get some weird combination of scents like corny musk, soy sauce, coffee, and dark fruit. Weirdly complex for such a light beer, and not really what I'd expect for an IPA. I really feel I can't score this until hindsight. Because these smells can mean something interesting, complex and pleasant, or they could be the canary in the coal mine. Ok, in hindsight, I will score this a 4.
Taste - Okay this beer is living up to its name. The body is strange to say the least. Has these weird I want to say off tones but they're not too bad. Maybe it's intentional? I want to believe. If so, this is pretty weird for an IPA. Not bad, just different. I wouldn't go so as far as to call it an experience, but it's not run of the mill. 3.75
Mouthfeel - Mediumbodied. Some bitter astringency that lingers but mellows out reasonably. 4
Overall - Not bad. Somewhat interesting but not particularly drinkable. About as middle of the road as you can get, all considered.
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