Grandsun Of Spot (Brewmaster Reserve 2009)
Full Sail Brewing Company

Grandsun Of Spot (Brewmaster Reserve 2009)Grandsun Of Spot (Brewmaster Reserve 2009)
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From:
Full Sail Brewing Company
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
6%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.7 | pDev: 8.65%
Reviews:
38
Ratings:
43
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 02, 2014
Added:
Jun 21, 2009
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
Columbus and Zeus hops
Munich and Honey malts
100 IBU +/-.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by slaintemhor:
Photo of slaintemhor
Reviewed by slaintemhor from Oregon

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at the Full Sail Brewery in Hood River, OR. The colour was a lovely golden-orange with little head. The aroma was thick with citrus (grapefruit especially) and hops. On the palate, there was a quick hop bite up front followed by some slightly sweet malt and a very lengthy bitter finish. Certainly one of the better offerings I had that day at Full Sail!
Nov 18, 2009
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by GClarkage from California

Jul 02, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by shelby415 from Oregon

Feb 25, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Telestic from Washington

Dec 25, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by twelveinches from Washington

Nov 30, 2011
 
Rated: 3.75 by brandoman63 from Illinois

Nov 29, 2011
Photo of beerdrifter
Reviewed by beerdrifter from Germany

3.09/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Picked this up at a great beer store, Tops Liquor, while at a conference in Phoenix. Very fizzy clear amber pour with a huge head and nice lacing. Lots of pine in a very unique nose with just a touch of citrus and caramel. The taste is very bitter and kind of boring with little balance. A bit bready with hints of tea, grass and lots of pine. No sign of malty sweetness here at all. Kept waiting for it but it never came. I typically like a dry finish but this was overkill. Also kills the drinkability. I've never seen a beer foam so much when poured so maybe I got a bad bottle. I'm a fan of Full Sail but this was very disappointing.
Jun 19, 2010
Photo of barleywinefiend
Reviewed by barleywinefiend from Washington

3.65/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured a dark orange color with good carbonation and a nice white head. Nose is sweet, citrus, spice.Taste is spice, citrus and a sweetness to it with a biutterness at the end. Mouthfeel is a goid bitterness, malt, sweet and citrus. Good IPA and worth a try.
Apr 27, 2010
Photo of Gueuzedude
Reviewed by Gueuzedude from Arizona

3.63/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
Sampled January 2010
A solid pour into my New Belgium globe glass produces an almost three finger thick, lightly amber tinged head. The beer is an amber color and shows an almost clear, amber tinged, rich copper hue when held up to the light. At first the beer smells balanced between crystal malt aromatics and American hops, but the hop character soon wins out with notes of Meyer lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, brown sugar crusted candied orange zest and a touch of an herbal edge. The malt still comes through with a touch of sweet-tea flavors and a biscuit like note in the finish.

The beer tastes quite a bit more herbal than the nose suggested. There is also a firm bitterness that gets a bit green with hops towards the finish. Somewhat dry tasting, but there is a crystal malt backed sweetness here that provides a touch of caramel character. There are some light citrus notes of grapefruit that are noticeable before the dominant herbal flavors and bitterness take hold.

This is definitely a fairly bitter beer, and I like that is remains fairly light and drinkable. A bit more floral and fruity hop notes would be nice, but this isn't as fresh as it should be either. A good IPA, that I should work to get in a fresher state.
Mar 07, 2010
Photo of CHILLINDYLAN
Reviewed by CHILLINDYLAN from Washington

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Deep reddened copper, small tanned head. Some large webby lacing.

Hop pungent: floral, citrus, pine. Candy caramel, lightly toasted, spicy, bready yeast, sour cherries.

Herbal, floral, pine, grapefruit, spicy, earthy hop flavors. Toasty bread and caramel, a touch of rye. Intense grapefruit, pine, and herbal hop bitterness.

Super dry, very sticky, full mouthfeel. good carbonation.

Brutally bitter! Good drinkable bitter hoppy IPA. Some may find the hops off-putting, not for wussies.
Feb 10, 2010
Photo of DaveJanssen
Reviewed by DaveJanssen from Germany

3.68/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Split a 22 two ways. Reviewed 8-19-2009.

Ar: Citrus hops, fruity, grapefruit, pineapple, strong us hops (cascade like), sweet honey/caramel, light tropical fruit, strong honey sweetness, alc hints

Ap: Smooth fluffy, light tan head, low/med head, good retention, clear orange amber/dark copper

F: resin, grapefruit peel, caramel candy sweetness, fades to fruity esters, sweet citrus, tropical fruit, ends smooth, fruity and sweet, fresh hop resin and medium astringency after sip, light alcohol, honey, good fruitiness in mid taste, sweet throughout, *funky interaction with resin, resin burn like chewing on a hop

M: Medium fine carbonation, lots if fresh resin in aftertaste, light/med astringency, medium mouthfeel, slightly sweet, light alcohol burn, *viscous

O: good, slipknot better, Too Much resin at end, sweet, rough for 6%, funky resin, unique, strong ipa for 6%

*Notes of fellow tasters
Jan 31, 2010
Photo of Mebuzzard
Reviewed by Mebuzzard from Colorado

4.15/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Found this at Falling Rock in Denver. To note, I drank this after a roggenbeer, my first so the hops stood out a bit. Keeping that in mind;
poured a kind of cloudy, creamy orange/ruby color. Head developed nicely and sank to a slight film. Good swirl brings it back up.
Grapefruit and slight pineapple aroma. Hints of pine and biscuit. Seems well balanced.
biscuit backbone in the taste. A short but strong citrus burst dissipated nicely to a solid bite. A bit creamy or smooth. A lingering aftertaste works well with a blackened chicken club sandwich as it doesn't linger too long and interfere with the bird.
Overall, i like this version...as well with the previous.
Jan 30, 2010
Photo of bum732
Reviewed by bum732 from Lesotho

2.75/5  rDev -25.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2
Pours a cloudy orange, decent bubbly head with great lacing. Smells of melon fruitiness, passionfruits, floral like perfume, mango. Tastes of bitter, dry citrus like malt. Finishes with a very dry almost puckering taste. Decent mouthfeel.

Not sure what to make of this, hard to believe a successful brewery such as this would make a 6% IPA with supposedly 100 IBUs. I just don't see how that makes sense, and it shows in this beer. This is probably the driest IPA i've ever had, way over attenuated and very bitter, there needs to be some malt presence. How is this supposed to be good? Too bad too, because it smells fairly nice.
Dec 26, 2009
Photo of Tucquan
Reviewed by Tucquan from Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Had this in Portland on 2009-12-17.

The beer poured orange-brown and cloudy with a light, short tan head.

The smells are of grain, citrus and pine.

The taste is of citrus, pine with some caramel sweetness for balance. It finishes dry and bitter.

The mouthfeel is quite creamy with medium carbonation.

A tasty brew but there are other Full Sail offerings I've liked better.
Dec 21, 2009
Photo of GIVEMEBACKMYSON
Reviewed by GIVEMEBACKMYSON from Alaska

3.24/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Translucent light burnt orange color, wisping head of fairly large bubble size.

Smells of wet steel, lavender soap, dewy grasslands and daffodil.

There is an initial acridness, almost pilly, that I keep stubbing my toe on relentlessly, searching for other things in the darkness. There is bitter grass and dandelion sap backed by a solid maltiness spine.

The mouthfeel and carbonation is on par for what would be great if the taste were great. The carbonation and feel of it are so conducive to conducting flavors. Unfortunatlely much of the flavor is somewhat abusive.

I really was excited for this beer, and I still do like the brewery. I may have leaned high on scores as such. There are some potentially good things happening here but the bad is magnified by them.
Dec 20, 2009
Photo of kbeals
Reviewed by kbeals from North Carolina

3.78/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Received in a very generous trade with JohnGalt1...

A- Pours a dark amber color with plenty of creamy off-white head. Good lacing and head retention. A good looking IPA.

S- Plenty of earthy hops and... that's about it. This beer reminds me more of an Imperial IPA.

T- Lots of piney hops, almost like biting into a pine tree. This beer is super bitter, although it is rounded out a bit with some sugary sweetness. Still finishes off incredibly dry.

M- Well-carbonated and prickly mouthfeel.

D- Easily consumed this bomber over the course of a couple hours and it just kept me buzzed. An easy drinking beer.

This beer really borders on being a DIPA in my opinion.

Thanks again Toby!
Dec 13, 2009
Photo of randawakes
Reviewed by randawakes from Alaska

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Brown sugar, maple tree pine hops, very drinkable. Carbonation is just right. Rich amber faint gold color. Hops are moist. Light bitterness. Faint grapefruit, dark malty backbone and sweetness, feels like it should have more than 6% abv. Full sale fail to let me down, but I'm never overly impressed, gotta try a better one I guess..
Dec 13, 2009
Photo of Zorro
Reviewed by Zorro from California

3.53/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Chill hazed dark orange colored ale with a good sized light beige colored head.

Balanced malt and hop scent. Sharp citrus and wood and somewhat spicy to the nose.

Starts out neutral in sweetness and moderately bitter. Stays dry and the bitterness levels build. Strong and spicy this isn't real complex though. Bitterness nears harsh.

Mouthfeel is good.

Drinkability is just so so. Could be more complex. This one also skirts the edge of harshness.
Dec 08, 2009
Photo of Dotcubed
Reviewed by Dotcubed from Arkansas

3.17/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
A nice cold bomber out of my fridge.
Gradually letting it get warmer since someone felt it tasted better closer to room temp.

Came out a dirty orange color, appearance of an IPA. Small loop of foam. Very faint aroma, there isn't much anticipation of being blown away with the brutal bitterness of a beer lovers' herb of choice. Plenty of dried pine cone scent.

Tasted light. Blinding spike of the oh so familiar tongue spiking beer bling. I'd say non existent malt, but that pretty color had to come from somewhere.
I can see why they put "radiant" on the label; the flavor lasts. Very crisp, clean. Has a nice fresh

It is a nice standalone. Almost a session beer for someone with tolerance and a fat wallet.

Overall a nice purchase.
Nov 02, 2009
Photo of morimech
Reviewed by morimech from Minnesota

3.91/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a slightly hazy copper color with a large white head that had excellant retention. The head eventually settles to a thick cap. Heavy lacing is left on the glass. Has a citrus and pine hop aroma. Not much from the malt. The Cascade hops dominate the flavor as well. Some sweetness and earthiness from the malt. Bitterness is moderate to high. Has a bit of a minerally or aspirin quality in the finish. Medium body with just enough carbonation to keep things lively. Could use some more aroma hops and a slightly enhanced malt bill but otherwise a quality American West Coast IPA.
Oct 16, 2009
Grandsun Of Spot (Brewmaster Reserve 2009) from Full Sail Brewing Company
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 43 ratings