Paradise IPA
Mill Street Brew Pub

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: A finger of head that knew how to lace but not how to stick around is paired with a clear amber orange that boast ample, slow and steady carbonation.

Smell: A healthy does of citrus and cascade hops dominate the nose, backed by solid kick of caramel malt with slight nuances of pine. Warming wasn't needed, but helped it's case.

Taste: Starts with a nice sweet malt with hints of a sappy pine flavour that sticks around as the citrus hops assert themselves and ending with a second cleansing sweep of saopy bitterness.

Mouthfeel: The aftertaste isn't sure what it wants to do, part of it wants to cleanse the palate, part of it wants to leave behind a pine/citrus linger which ends up doing both poorly. The carbonation is good, and it transitions well enough.

Drinkability: That cleansing sweep is really helping out this beer's case, and in truth the odd aftertaste leaves me wanting another sip to try to clear it away. It's just a shame that note retreats too quickly during the aftertaste. Also not as dry as I'd expect it to be.

Final Thoughts: This is pretty close to the max hop level that I can personally enjoy. I see a major complaint about this beer is that there aren't enough hops, but I feel it's just right, if not a little less might be called for. The fact there is actually a malt presence to this IPA makes me smile. Thumbs up for me, but likely not for DIPA drinkers.

From 03/12/13 notes. Girlfriend brought this back from here trip to Canada a few days ago. 12 oz. bottle poured into my Bell's tulip.

a - Pours a hazy deep amber-copper color with one finger of off white head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of caramel malts, roasted malts, toasted malts, fruity malts, tropical fruits and hops, and light citrus hops. Nose is not bad but VERY malty; not a lot of hops to it.

t - Tastes of caramel malts, toasted malts, nuts, toffee, fruity malts, light tropical hops. Even less hoppy than the nose; nice but not hoppy at all.

m - Medium body and low to moderate carbonation. Decently smooth body, nice mouthfeel.

o - Overall not a bad beer but more like an amber ale; not hoppy at all and not very IPA-like. Nice caramel and fruity malts to it and easy to drink; not my favorite Mill Street beer and wouldn't get it looking for an IPA, but an ok beer.

 

 

Single bottle from the Mill St anniversary mix pack., Poured into my trusty Mill St glass.

Deep caramel brew, with a half inch of head. Great retention on this, lots of lacing as well. Nice looking ipa, on the darker end of the spectrum.

Nose is sweet malt and faint west coast hops. Pretty mild.

Not a bad take on the style by any means, though it took a few sips to figure it all out. A sweeter, maltier ipa, with the hops less pronounced and coming through at the finish. West coast, a bit of resin and tropical fruit, but mostly bitterness that lingers well after every sip. It's becoming a common complaint, but it's true: not enough hops.

Good body to this, carbonation gives a strong bite.

As others have said, this isn't a bad brew whatsoever. It's just fine - it's just got some tough company in the Ontario ipa department, and is lacking in enough respects that I don't think I'll search it out again. With its only availability that I've seen being in this mix pack, searching for it would be enough of a problem anyway.

Very nice looking beer, not quite an amber but pretty close, slightly lighter. Nice head that sticks around for quite a while as well.

Smell is mostly citrus and grains, hops present in the aroma as well.

Medium body, medium carbonation, a bit creamy on the mouth with a bitter finish.

Overall, a nice strong IPA, but not quite at the top of the class in what is a pretty common style for Ontario micros. Would definitely have it again, but not neccesarily going to search it out.

Poured from a bottle into a snifter. Probably serving it a bit colder than I should be (i.e. straight from the fridge).

A-A dark copper/amber with two fingers of off-white head that drops quickly. Nice wall of lacing sticks to the glass, but also fades pretty quickly.

S-A fairly strong hop aroma as one would anticipate. Quite flowery. Some darker malt notes in there too.

T-Initially getting a bit of malt with a heavy kick of bitter hops. As the beer warms a bit I'm getting more citrus rind notes. Malt gives it some balance.

M-Pretty light mouthfeel with moderate carbonation.

O-A pretty good IPA. Quite aggressive with the hop bitterness, but balanced and somewhat complex with the malt backbone evident in the taste.

 

Orange body, poorly retained off-white head. Spotty lace. Grapefruit and pine aroma with subtle floral and biscuit notes. Juicy tangerine and bitter grapefruit pith flavour over a biscuit base. Medium bitterness in the long finish. Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation. Substantial but not heavy. A decent and straightforward IPA.

 

 

355ml bottle, a single from the current seasonal mixed pack.

This beer pours a clear copper amber hue, with two fingers of puffy, silky, and foamy off-white head, which leaves some patchy swaths of thick fuzzy lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of bready, biscuity caramel malt, a brassy nuttiness, orange cream, and a bit of musty pine. The taste is bitter non-distinct citrus pith, milder, but still astringent leafy pine-scented hops, more nutty, biscuity malt, a touch of caramel/toffee sweetness, and some floral notes that run smack dab into a rising booziness, and take on a combined perfumed character.

The bubbles are a tad peppy, but generally play at a dull hum, the body a decent medium weight, and adequately smooth. It finishes off-dry, and still quite bitter, the floral, piney hops riding along a crusty biscuit graininess.

An interesting, I suppose, IPA - almost like a strong ESB, with a healthy dose of West Coast hop esters kicking around. The malt is indeed the star here, as I kept being drawn back to its well-rounded fullness, the big bitter hops a mere distraction, strangely. Anyways, worthy of a go, but a bit odd for the conflation of bitter styles. What? American and British traditions blended in Canada? You don't say.