B&O Station Mahoning Valley Pale
B&O Station Brewery & Restaurant, The

A strange brew, indeed. This is a dark amber color, looking like very strong iced tea. Not what I'd expect an IPA (or double IPA) to look like, but it certainly looks inviting.

Smells bitter, with a hint of berry/citrus.

The taste is where things get odd. This is very hoppy and bitter at first, then finishes with a strong berry sweetness. Here's the weird part- after the sweetness disappears, an extremely bitter aftertaste comes back and stays with you. I've had beers that went from hoppy to citric, but never from hop bitterness to sweetness and then back again. I guess you could say this beer has an after-aftertaste. As I was walking out the door of the restaurant, I could still feel the bitterness in my mouth. After drinking three of these, I honestly can't say whether I like it. Maybe I'll have to try it again sometime.

The mouthfeel is satisfying and full-bodied.

This beer gets high drinkability marks, if only because I felt the need to keep drinking it in order to figure out what the hell was going on with the taste.

A very interesting, if perplexing, beer.

This was an average IPA. The board at the pub stated the ABV to be 7% not 8%. The bartender introduced it to me as an IPA not a Double IPA. Anyhow, it was very average. The appearance was red/brown. The head was thin and dissapated quickly. The smell was very winey/vinegary with some hints of citrus. The taste was more of a Scotch Ale than anything else. High alcohol combined with a hints of dry wine and whisky. The hops didn't poke their heads through enough to call it a double IPA or even an IPA. The aftertaste was citrus with alcohol notes. Not true to the style, but an okay beer. Very average.

From a sampler: This beer is a murky amber color with a thin off-white head. Very thin and quick lacing. The aroma is heady hops with some citrus. Very rich body with a strong hops flavor dominating the entire time. While the amount of hops is in line with the style, it seems almost chewy at times. The finish is rich and hoppy and a little fruity. Overall this beer does not compare with the true greats of the style but it is a nice effort.

Appearance: Copper amber hue with a decent sized cream colored head leaves behind nice lacing even and thick. Aroma: Piney hops submerge my senses into the glass along with floral pine notes and earthy herbal tones complex hop aromatics they blended a whopping 18 hop varieties in this one pretty impressive right? You can sense a caramel malt sweetness going on in this imperial mess of an IPA but it's there. Taste: Very hoppy alcohol burst not balanced the way I prefer an Double or Imperial IPA to be delivered. Lots of hops that don't really blend that well, as it warms flavors begin to blend better the caramel malts finally shine some light through. Mouthfeel: Full to medium bodied with a syrupy texture. Drinkability: Mediocre I jsut feel they didn't go for balance 18 hop varieties doesn't impress me the way balance would have.