Bambino Stash India Pale Ale
Hop Valley Brewing Company

Scored 3 cans of this in one of their 12 pack variety samplers. Twas a good deal at the end of the day, this might have been my favorite in the pack. Sadly, this one might be retired, which sucks for me.

Pours a light amber color, thought it would be lighter in SRM. 1/2" white head. Good clarity. The aroma was indeed hoppy, nice and green, vegetal, sweeter citrusy (tangerine) than just grapefruit notes. Seems to have a good amount. Any allegations of Inbev skimping just don't seem supported by the good nose here.

Taste imparts a good hopping rate, might be some Simcoe to this one, has a good dry bittering effect to it. The tangerine note is less strong in the taste, but still present, grapefruit is in bigger proportion than it was in the nose. The body is lighter than its appearance, this is crisp and light on its feet. I enjoyed all of the cans that were in the pack, barely more than $1 a piece, I'll definitely revisit if that variety comes around again (I think they replaced this with Stash Panda, which is decent, but not quite as good).

 

 

 

Poured from a can into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a lightly hazed clear golden amber color with a one finger head of white foam. The head fades rather fast leaving just a trace of lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell –The aroma of the beer is strongest of a pine and herbal hop smell mixed with a decently strong aroma of a bready nature mixed with a touch of tangerine sweetness. Along with these smells comes a very light grapefruit hop smell as well as a little bit caramel.
Taste – The taste begins with a somewhat malty and lightly bready taste that has a decent sweet grapefruit and tangerine sweetness. Along with these flavors comes some of the hop tastes that were detected in the nose with the herbal hop being the strongest, but containing a decent showing of pine and earth as well. The hop gets slightly stronger in nature as the taste advances, but so too does the sweet with some caramel joining the increasing sweetness of tangerine and sweet grapefruit. With a touch of grass that comes at the end, one is left with a nice smooth and easy drinking taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is average to slightly thinner in nature with a carbonation level that is slightly higher. For the mix of sweet and bready with some more dank hop the feel is rather nice and accommodates all the flavors well all while keeping an easy drinking brew.
Overall – A rather flavorful and easy drinking IPA overall. Quite tasty.

Poured from a 12 ounce can into a IPA glass.

Look- Pale gold, small particulate sediment, frothy white head, above average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Tropical, earthy, mango.

Taste- Tropical, slightly sweet, earthy, unbalanced finish.

Feel- Thin body, watery, average carbonation.

Golden and slightly hazy with a moderate amount of carbonation, and 2 fingers of off white head.

Smells of pineapple, malt, cardboard and wet dog.

Tastes of pineapple, pine, umami, and pine nut.

Medium body with a smooth and foamy carbonation.

I got this in Seattle, and am drinking it in Redding, Sept 1st, 2019.

12 oz can dated Nov 20 2019, served in a can glass. Beer is very slightly hazy, straw yellow, and forms some head. Aroma is rather mild, but familiar, of citrus and pine. Flavor is much more assertive and bitter than anything else I've had in this variety case, which is surprising from the "bambino" of the box. Very much pine centric. The initial flavor carries that pine sap flavor into my palate, but there's something about these cryo hop beers that just feels thin and lacking in the middle. I guess that's just what a 20 IBU IPA does. I'm not getting any tangerine flavor off of this at all, which I mention only because it's the first word on the label's description.

Probably the best of the box so far, but that's REALLY not saying much.

Clear orangey amber with plenty of white foam. Another alleged "cryo" brew that is pleasantly dosed with aromatic hops. Aromas of orange with a whiff of gardenia. Malty and also a little tangy. The emphasis seems to be on mellow and fruity.

Not very bitter at all, with just a bit of astringency in the aftertaste. Flavors of orange peel and a little pineapple. This is quite drinkable and would make a decent quaff for summertime use. From the 12 oz can in the mixed 12-pack. This is brewed at the production brewery in Eugene.

 

 

Nice, golden color. The slight citrus aroma has a faint sweetness. Very similar flavor to their Cryo Stash, but more two dimensional flavor, with a less bitter finish.

 

 

Canned best by 06/29/19

Appearance - Pours with a slight haze and a bit of fine sediment floating about. Golden color. White, near finger width head that displays sub-par retention before dying down to a thin, broken layer of suds with a small ring of suds on the outside of the glass. No lacing.

Smell - Citrus, grass and crackery malts. The malt actually stands out more than the hops.

Taste - Follows the nose. Citrusy, with lesser grass and woodiness, while a bit crackery malt presence hits by mid-taste. Flavors fade quickly, leaving a light woodiness and stale bread in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Light in body with fair carbonation. Drinks easy enough with a smooth finish.

Overall - My least favorite of the variety pack. Flavor is pretty weak and bland, even as sessions go. If it weren't for the Cryo Stash I would've never purchased a 2nd pack.

this is the session version of bubble stash, but it tastes like a totally different beer, not just a lighter one, maybe the hops have changed some, but it almost seems muted to me, not watered down really, it still has some character, but like there is just a less fresh and less interesting hop thing, its almost an afterthought, all heaped together in the finish but minimal in the aroma and through the rest of the beer, well, maybe not minimal, but a whole lot less than bubble stash, no doubt about that. i like a lighter beer in a hop forward style, and even though saying session on the packaging is commercial suicide now and nobody does it anymore, i like that they are coming back around after a short hiatus, and to extend a beer session with a little lower alcohol will almost always be a good thing for me. unfortunately, which makes bubble stash so special when its fresh is largely absent from this littler version. the hops are way back, almost one dimensional with such a light grain base, and that fresh intense cryo pop isnt here. cant say it isnt delicious, but in a comparative analysis, this one isnt close. still, nice on a hot day, nice when you are already drunk or getting there too fast, and fresh in the colorado market right now. cant complain. id like it better if i never had the original bubble stash...