Castoff Session IPA
Hidden Cove Brewing Co.

 

16 oz. in a shaker at Hella Good.

Appearance: Hazy yellow with a big white head that dissipates quickly.

Aroma: Citrus, lemon, bit of cut grass.

Taste: Follows nose. Nice hop bite. Tasty. Lemon leads.

Mouthfeel: Very drinkable and easy even with hop bitterness. Great “taco beer” depth.

Overall: Very nice low-gravity IPA. Nothing wild, and something IPA fans are maybe feeling saturated by, but a damn good beer.

 

 

 

 

12oz brown bottle, sample from the brewery.

Clear golden hue shines bright in the light, big dense rocky head. Citrus zest, fresh cut grass, and lemon pith in the nose. Very smooth, crispness is very refreshing. Lighter bodied. Just enough bitterness for this light fluffy IPA to keep it in balance. Grassy resin, peppery and pithy flavor. A dry maltiness keeps up with the hoppiness. Undoubtedly drinkable, give me a big ass mug of this brew.

 

 

Bottle from the Lazy Dog
Slightly hazy deep straw color with a bubbly white head. Light grassy hop mineral water, faint crackery bready malt. Citrus hop flavor with a bit of herbal menthol thing going on. Faint bready malt character. I'm sure if I don't like lemon drop hops or this beer.

From the 12 fl. oz. bottle. Sampled on Feb. 21, 2016.

Your basic yellow pour under a white fizzy head that lingers some.

The aroma leans on pine, floral characteristics with a toasted malt presence.

Light to medium body.

The taste brings out a slightly fruity character with those toasted malts and pine. Mild bitterness.

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light yellow color with a thin white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains earthy hops, light caramelized malts and some citrus.

T: The taste starts out bready with a hearty but not too heavy malt character up front. Then some mild citrus and caramel sweetness comes in. The hops presence is weak for the style but provides a decent balance. The after-taste is slightly bready and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, light-to-medium body, medium carbonation, finish is dry and slightly sticky.

O: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, mild kick, decent representation of style, there are definitely a lot of other “Session IPA’s” out there better than this one.

 

 

 

 

 

081815B4 bottling date/code.

A- 12oz bottle drops a slightly hazy deep golden brew into my snifter. The head is white and builds to about an inch high with a thick, creamy texture and good retention. Plentiful thick sheets of lace.

S- Cascade hops and pale cracked grains make up most of the aroma with notes of orange and grapefruit citrus zestiness, floral hops, pale cracked cereal grains and raw barley husks.

T- As in the aroma the two main components of the brew for me are Cascade and pale barley which carries with it a particularly raw grainy taste and a medium sweetness. Hops generally up front leaving orange citrus, lemon zest, raw melon rind, floral, herbal green tea and grassy flavors on the taste buds. Slight yeast bread and caramel hints.

MF- Very high carbonation level with a big puffy texture with some creaminess. Body overall is medium for a Session IPA. Herbal bitterness lingers in the finish.

In late 2015 it is always great to see a Cascade bomb which in this case is only reinforced by the Cascade-hybrid Lemondrop hop. Intense citrus, zesty, oily character up front. The one things I have to knock are the body and the graininess. Raw husk flavors throughout with a very foamy body; these both are distracting from a unique hop profile.