Organic IPA Single Hop Series - Amarillo Hop
Bison Brewing

Good beer.

Probably based on some sub-par wines/coffees I've had, I tend to think of organic drinks as gimmicky - or organic first, taste second, but I was favorably impressed with this beer.

I tend to like strongly hopped beers, and IPAs are what I drink most often, but sometimes find myself switching beer types to get away from the sweetness that IPA's typically have. They need the sweetness to stand up to their hop bitterness. I found this beer nicely balanced between malt and hop flavors while still finishing pretty dry. I could definitely drink a few of them!

An interview with the brewer on BrewMonkey says that he mashes his lighter beers from 148 to 152 F, so maybe that accounts for the drier finish. Whatever it was, I appreciated it.

Clear amber with a slight reddish tinge. One finger off white head that recedes fairly soon. Plentiful lacings. Aroma is citrus, resins, and some leather.
Taste is bitter earthy hops with a good sweet malt backing. The bitterness wins out and has staying power on the tongue. Interesting series the single hop. Will be looking for more of these.
Have to rate the drinkability down somewhat due to 6.8% abv and the building bitterness. Some folks would like both aspects.

22oz bottle.

Poured a medium and clear amber color with an averaged sized head. Aromas citrus and some tangerines. Tastes of citrus - oranges and grapefruits, and some pine. Had a lighter maltiness to it as well. Lightly bitter. If I had this blind, I would have guessed this was a Pale Ale.

Ah, this beer brings back memories of my undergrad days at UC Berkeley. Go Bears!

Pours a light orange color with a big white sudsy foam head. Sadly, the smell is a bit offputting: kind of like citrus mixed with menthol soap. Not horrible, just not very inviting.

The mouthfeel is slick and oily, and the amarillo hops, while prevalent, don't provide as strong of a flavor as I'm used to from IPAs/DIPAs. Still, it's pretty strong with pine and herbal components, not as much citrus/grapefruit as I woudd like, but it was interesting to try an IPA with "just one" hop ingredient.

Pours light orange red with a small head, and below average lacing. Below average carbonation with a sweet smell of mild hops. Tastes hoppy like an IPA should. Light on the pallet, this beer could use a maltier backbone. Not bad- not great but I would rather have a strong DIPA instead.

A 650 mL bomber from a trade with limesmut.

A: The IPA looks like a pale orange color, light with some yellow highlights that soften up the tone. The head barely manages to muster a 1/2 a finger before receding.

S: The nose is more grain than hop, with a cereal bread aroma that almost manages to overpower the hops. What does emerge is a medicinal, grassy nose that has some light citrus elements.

T: The flavor is far more revealing than the nose, showing off a thick hop profile that bites the tongue. Upfront, the graininess is noticeable, adding a cereal biscuity flavor that is really the only malt appearance in a sip. Matching the malts are are medicinally bitter hops, with an onion and grass flavor that is intensely bitter. The finish leaves a scorched flavor on the tongue, bitter with as much punch as the first sip. Despite the poor nose, the taste really showcases the hop.

M: The hop is unusual. I've had it in several beers but never on a stand alone basis. The bitterness is strong, enough to scare away anyone that doesn't dig the lupulin experience.

D: The bitterness could overwhelm the senses rather easily. I like the bite and would like to see more single hop offerings.

Typical orange, slightly hazy coloured beer, small ,whte,splotchy head. Pine aromas,some strange onion in the background?, along with some nectarine. Strongish malt tendencies to begin with, then the citric hop flavour takes over, very bitter on the back of the tongue, along with some honey like sweetness. I quite liked this on the palate, rather wild but didnt over stay it welcome. Overall a nice enough IPA, not the best but again this series experiment by Bison is quite imformative.

I was strolling the aisles of BevMo this evening when I saw an IPA brewed by a less than world-class brewery, hoped exclusively with an overrated and overused hop. How could I pass it up?

Appearance: The pour is a slightly hazy peach color topped by a large white head which fades to a small layer that still covers most of the body.

Smell: The nose has citrus and tropical fruit in front of grains and biscuity malts. It's more muted than it should be.

Taste: The Amarillo hops bring a strange, somewhat unexpected, combination of grapefruit, mango, orange, pine, earth, herbs, and a medicinal character. The backbone is grainy and biscuity. The hop bitterness has the leading role, but they're less aggressive than traditional IPA levels. I'm not a BJCP style Nazi, but there's ignoring style guidelines and there's labeling a pale ale an India pale ale. This beer needs more to take it to the next level.

Mouthfeel: The beer is both soft and smooth and packing plenty of carbonation. The body is light to medium.

Drinkability: It's not bad for a Bison beer with Amarillo hops, but I would've liked to see a ballsier effort.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy golden color with a frothy head that retains well and leaves some lace shards

Smell: Tangelo and slightly piney character

Taste: Starts with a biscuity flavor that is joined by some bitterness by mid-palate; after the swallow, the bitterness builds and finishes with an aspirin tone

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: Not a bad IPA but there are better choices out there that avoid the aspirin detraction

Gold, very slightly hazed, with a small, creamy white head. Zesty, pulpy citrus aroma. Hints of melons and hay as well as a little sweetness. Rindy-sweet hoppy flavor and a powdery dry chalkiness on the sides of the tongue. Oily, lightish mouthfeel is bitter and fairly light on the carbonation.

Its ok. I don't think Amarillo is the best (or maybe easiest) hop to use by all by itself. I don't regret buying it, but I won't be tempted to do so again.

Poured a good amber with a thin head that slowly diminished. The aroma had a slight citrus hop tinge over slight malt hues. The taste has a slight malt dominance in the initial but the hops come on very strong in the aftertaste. The beer sits low to medium bodied with low carbonation. This one is somewhat enjoyable, but lacks a lot of the qualities I look for in an IPA.

Released from a good ole 22 oz bottle with a tag that asks for feedback. Pours a light clear peach hue topped with slowly settled splotchy off white coating.

Nose is a malty focused balance that leaves hops in the minority. Dusty grainy aroma of dirty lolipop.

First swigs: Hard candy lolipop with a husky grainy astringent start. Sweet orange juice squeeze and canteloupe melon. Missing a malt depth. Seemed messy with a diluted aspect.

Feel is medium bodied with a linger of melon.

Last swigs: Balance here is light. Nearly a pale ale in the guise of a singular varietal IPA. Hoped to give this better reviews but there was a tad booze and thin feel that detracted from a higher review.

Beer is good. Usually Amarillo is better. huh?

Pours with a brilliantly clear, dark gold tinted, full copper color. It is topped by an initially fat-one-finger thick, pale tan colored head that leaves a touch of lacing on the sides of the glass. The aroma is quite fruity with notes of freshly zested grapefruit, tangelo, bergamot and lychee. There is also a backdrop of lightly herbal, slightly greenish menthol and pine noticeable in the aroma. For being all Amarillo, this has a lot more herbal / pine notes than I would have expected; I suspect this years crop of Amarillo is quite a bit different than in years past.

Lightly sweet, with a biting hop bitterness that starts as the beer first hits the tongue and actual becomes more bitter as the beer passes through the mouth. Finally the bitterness lingers on in the mouth after the beer has left with a signature, green-astringency reminiscent of menthol and pine needles. A fair amount of citrus character. Fairly light and easy drinking, but it has just enough body to carry some of the citrus hop flavors. Notes of orange zest, grapefruit and tangelo are all quite noticeable, but they never obtain that smoothness that is typical of Amarillo. Really the herbal character is just too prominent here; green, dank and almost hemp like; it really reminds me a bit of Summit hops.

I am quite disappointed in the Amarillo character of this beer; I am afraid it is a reflection of the quality of this years (really last years crop) hop harvest. I really hope that it turns out better next year. This is an enjoyable IPA (actually quite tasty and drinkable), it is just that I was so ready for a signature Amarillo character and this just doesn't have that.