Orr Springs IPA
Ukiah Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at the brewery. Served in a chilled pint glass (I can't think of any other craft brewery that serves their beer in a chilled pint glass).

App- the foam looks terrible. within seconds of being poured, the foam dies to soapy looking bubbles. either the glass is very dirty, or there is something wrong. the beer is a hazy straw color.

Smell- mild floral and piney hops, basic crackery simple malt aromas, some yeast esters.

Taste- not very bitter, but there is a fair amount of resin and about as much hop flavor as I expect in a pale ale. the malt is simple, dry and plain. there is a hint of diacetyl/buttery sweetness. there is some soapy hop flavor that isn't very good.

Mouthfeel- the beer has a light, dry mouthfeel with some slight astringency but that is balanced by some diacetyl.

Overall- from the appearance to the mouthfeel, it was very disappointing. I never want to be served a commercial beer that is this bad again.

On tap at the brewery. Reviewed from notes.

A: Served chilled in a pint glass. Glowing cloudy gold in color with a half inch of decently thick white head. The color and cloudiness makes this look more like a heff than an IPA. Head receded into a thin collar that left a few spots of lacing.
S: Fresh notes of pine and grapefruit hops.
T: Sweet piney hops, a touch of doughy pale malt, and a decent bitter punch of citrus. Aftertaste is full of pine and lingers.
M: Soft even carbonation with a clean mouthfeel and medium body.
D: Great tasting straight forward IPA. Looks a little strange but I'd definitely drink this again.

On tap at Ukiah on 7/16/09.

A - Hazy golden/amber body with sparse amount of slow-rising carbonation bubbles and half a finger of creamy off-white head that settled to a thin patchy film and deposited thick, ornate lacing on the glass.

S - Light floral and citrus hop character with sweet caramel and grainy malt profile. Some fruity sweetness is also noticeable. Not an overly hoppy aroma for an IPA, though. nose is quite subtle, almost restrained.

T - Opens with some floral hop notes followed by juicy citrus, especially orange. The citrus character carries through to the finish with a moderate hop bite backed by sweet caramel malt and a subtle toasted grainy character.

M - Medium body with a syrupy texture and some oily slickness. Mouthfeel is fairly soft with only a touch of bristle. Finishes with subtle alcohol warmth and a fairly dry yet aggressive hop bite that lingers on the palate for a while.

D - Fine straight-up IPA with enough malt and hop balance to please. While the bitterness isn't over-the-top by any means, there is enough hops in this sucker to satisfy.

A solid, no-frills IPA. Medium-light body and light malts allow the hops to come through. Bitter is the featured flavor, and it persists for the long fallout. The one-dimentional kind of bitterness, but very enjoyable nonetheless. Lots of lace on the glass. It doesn't stand out or have much personality, but it is a refreshing and fine drinking beer. Have a pint or two if you're driving up the 101.