Tuolumne Meadows IPA
Mammoth Brewing Company

Pours a lightly darker ipa than average these days, probably average when it came out. This is I believe an exact recipe of their Epic (fails truth in advertising) IPA.

Comes out almost amber in appearance, small 1/3" head on it. Aroma doesn't pop dry hop wise as much as their pale ale does. Amarillo hops seem barely present.

Taste, ok this one hits more bitterness, go Simcoe go. More crystal malt. A lot of bitterness without a lot of soft lush green hoppy flavors. Mild sweetness of caramel. Mouthfeel thick of malt, caramel again.

I dunno, this just seems like for the most part a brewery that is only there for tourists/locals, not so much for beer geeks other than their barleywine, a lot of the stuff seems pedestrian for the most part. Dirty lines occasionally. But this in a can is nice at least. I think this is the Yosemite tourist beer they slap a different label on. Charlie got a bad rap man, his beer is the best thing they make/made.

 

Amber (9) pour with fluffy off white head; decent cap retention; thick, clinging lace; excellent clarity. Caramel malt nose. Caramel malt with lite hops. Medium lite mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. Overall ok, clean yet tame.

Had bottle. Odd hoppiness. Not overly impressive.

Purchased a six pack of bottles from a Safeway just off of Hwy 99 in Turlock CA. I wanted to try something different and had not heard of this brewery before. Poured two 12 oz bottles into a 24 oz glass mug. I have to admit it was a beautiful red colour, very good looking, but had virtually no head. It had just a little foam floating with some slight lacing. The smell was not overpowering and only hinted of some citrus, mainly slight hops. Tastes much like the aroma, smooth and not overly hoppy or grassy. It goes down well with not much aftertaste. Although it's a pretty beer I would rate this as better than average, not bad at all, but still not the best. Overall a 3.75 which isn't bad. If you don't want an overly hoppy beer IPA then this may be for you. But for $10 a six pack you may want to find a session IPA for less money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First of all, it should be pointed out that this beer is actually just Mammoth's Epic IPA relabeled for sale inside of Yosemite. In "The Northern California Craft Beer Guide" Ken Weaver makes the excellent point that Mammoth beers are pretty good, but they taste way more delicious when you are drinking them in the shadow of El Capitan (well, that's pretty much what he said anyway). I first drank this beer out in the Merced Grove, and if I'd rated the bottle I drank out there, this would be full of superlatives about how terrific it was. Instead, I am sitting at home in Portland drinking it from a glass, so I can be a little more honest with myself.
The color of this beer is rich and reddish for an IPA, which I really like. The head leaves much to be desired, I got barely a finger of foam and ten minutes in, it's all but gone. The weak showing here might be due to the fact that this was purchased in Yosemite and it may have been sitting on the shelf for awhile-- it's hard to say, but this bottle has only been in my fridge for about a week now. I don't think it's unfair to mention this because you will also have no idea how long this has been on the shelf if you purchase it in Yosemite, and since you can't get it elsewhere, you're at the mercy of the system.
For an IPA, I feel this beer really falls short in the aromatic department, it's my biggest gripe for sure, the smell is faint and the dominate note is the alcohol-- lame. The taste is better than the smell, particularly as it opens up. (Say, like, you put a six pack in the bottom of your son's babycarrierpackthing while you hike for an hour and then crack it open, that would be the right temperature to enjoy this-- or put it in your own backpack, whatever, I don't know your life.) It's a little light for an IPA, less bitter than one might expect, but only because it's less flavorful in general, not because it's malty or anything-- not watery, in my opinion, just light with a little kick of a greenery that's pleasant. I'm good with this, because I think of this as a trail beer, and I want my trail beer to be refreshing and not to distract me from 3,000 year old sequoias. On that tip, the mouthfeel is also just right, good carbonation levels, very drinkable.
My take away is that I would probably buy this again the next time I am in Yosemite. Maybe when Tuolumne Meadows re-opens from the fires (and the stupid government shutdown), you could go there, and bring this along to celebrate. You certainly won't regret it if you do, the same can not be guaranteed if you opt to drink this at a bar.

 

drank from a bottle in Yosemite Valley, who knows how old it was.

nose- assertive fruity and floral hops, sweet malt, pine, touch o mint

Taste- starts with hoppy grapefruit and pine notes, sweet smooth malt with red berries, turns to a kind of funky note of oregano/herbal spice and onion, finishes dry with piney and grassy hop resin

feel- standard medium bodied IPA, fair carbonation

lots of great hop aroma and flavors, but dies off kinda of quickly and there's that weird herbal note. It was better on tap, but alas, my notes were from the bottle on my iphone

cheers