Java Power India Pale Ale with Coffee
Ithaca Beer Company

Java Power India Pale Ale with CoffeeJava Power India Pale Ale with Coffee
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From:
Ithaca Beer Company
 
New York, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #1,706
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
88
Ranked #14,602
Avg:
3.92 | pDev: 8.67%
Reviews:
30
Ratings:
128
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 27, 2023
Added:
Dec 14, 2014
Wants:
  6
Gots:
  25
Flower Power IPA conditioned with Tanzanian Coffee.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BColton1:
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Rated by BColton1 from Rhode Island

3.83/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Mar 26, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.62 by Boone757 from Virginia

Oct 27, 2023
 
Rated: 4.04 by Sellen from Connecticut

Aug 07, 2023
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Reviewed by jameswaldo from New York

3.93/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
A most beautiful look to this IPA: pretty can, clearly dot-matrix labeled with canning date 230207 on pint can bottom, fancy hippie hopcones and coffee beans on label, with 7.5% ABV clearly identified. After a careful pour into a pint Spiegelau glass, excellent head that stayed with me all the way down. Fancy fine lacing, hazy orange-brown SRM 9 turbid look that could not be any handsomer.
The smell's underwhelming: couldn't find the coffee (tho I like my coffee strong and daily), maybe a bit of grassy hay hop suggestion.
Taste is a very nice clear malty slightly bitter mix that makes the coffee seem like it's pretending to be a dark malt. Aftertaste has more of the coffee character than the ale in mouth feels, but I wouldn't want any more coffee than what's hiding in here with the malt & hops. I'd like more hop bittering, but won't be fussy here since coffee's trying to play along.
Mouthfeel is crisp and clean: carbonation just right. No hollow spaces where taste ought to be.
Overall, I'd be glad to drink this again. Had it with lunch, and I'm thinking the caffeine might be chasing my usual afterlunch nap urge. I wonder if this would keep me up at night?
. . .
I liked this so much last spring that I got another four-pack of pints to cellar them. Since then I've enjoyed another delicious Java Power every few months or so. Today (27 Jan 2024), I'm down to my last pint, canned nearly a year ago. I'm still impressed by the excellent head retention and lacing. Like a classic IPA, this Java Power could be sent around the Cape and back, if kept cool and dark, and still taste great. Tanzanian peaberry is one of my favorite coffee beans, and tho the coffee in Java Power is real subtle, I'd consider this IPA one of my favorite Ithaca brews. IBC made it a "limited release" back in February '23; I sure hope they brew it again!
May 11, 2023
 
Rated: 3.92 by StrangerTides from New York

Mar 05, 2023
 
Rated: 3.5 by Philcassella from North Carolina

Nov 13, 2017
 
Rated: 3.37 by RichieRich1812 from Pennsylvania

Feb 16, 2017
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Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.46/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I am nearing the end of my latest horizontal, this one of Ithaca offerings, as a part of the eradication of the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody.

From the bottle: Nada. I am not a fan of their no longer putting the ABV on the labels. I dig the minimalist look of the new labels, but less is not always more.

I am curious to see the color of this beer so it is incumbent upon me to first Pop! the cap. Having done just that, I decided to go with a moderate pour since I am also reading a book & I really do not need a mess to clean up. Once a sufficient amount had been decanted into my glass, I utilized a vigorous swirl to lift up two-plus fingers of foamy, soapy, tawny head with modest retention. Color was a lightly-hazy Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) & I find myself wondering if it is a design on their part to use a light filtration process or the result of chill haze due to the interior temperature of my reefer. Nose was kinda odd and funky, which I suppose is bound to happen when you blend two such diverse oils as coffee and hops. I was getting a grassy-coffee odor from it, but I am unsure that I could have parsed either without the label. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was very rich in coffee, which is fine for truth in advertising, but where were the hops as part of the style? I was torn as I like coffee and its rich, bitter taste, but I also like to taste the hops in an AIPA & this was not doing it for me. Finish was dry and bitter, but the coffee just overpowered everything else. Meh.
Feb 02, 2017
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Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.71/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
this is a cool beer, i am liking unique coffee in beers that arent dark lately, but this one isnt all the way there for me. it starts in the appearance, where its all murky and light brown, trying to be two things at once and instead being neither very well, almost no head. it smells good, coffee first, ale second, but in the taste, its almost not even an ipa at all. i guess i get most of the grain coming through, but the coffee pretty much completely takes over the hops so that we are left with more of a coffee pale ale than anything i would even come close to calling an india pale ale. hops give some bitterness, but the coffee has that too, and so they are washed out to me. i like the sweetness of the java, a caramelized almost coffee drink cafe style thing going on, creamy, but the hops never get as far up front as they should. i also dont think it tastes anything like the regular flower power, which is to its detriment because that beer rules. more bubbles are needed and its a little acidic, but the idea is still really awesome, and that counts for a lot here. its a good coffee too, some tweak in the proportion or the process is needed, but i like the beer, and its a cool new direction for these guys. hard to do these well, and this is closer than most.
Jul 17, 2016
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Reviewed by timmy2b from New York

3.47/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Draft pour into a 16 oz pint glass. Hazy golden color like an IPA should, but the scent of coffee in the nose seems to be of burnt coffee. Weak flavor and an extra coffee bitterness in the taste. Not a fan of the coffee addition in flower power.
Jun 21, 2016
 
Rated: 3.91 by RancidAggro from New York

Jun 16, 2016
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Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.27/5  rDev -16.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 2
Poured from a 24 oz. can. Has a cloudy orange color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of coffee, light citrus hops. Taste is dominated by coffee, mild hops, very little bitterness. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is a decent beer. However, rating to style, this beer has little of the characteristics I expect from this style.
May 28, 2016
 
Rated: 4.01 by BAsbill from California

May 28, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by frankflores from New York

Apr 02, 2016
 
Rated: 3.11 by Wilson_Looker from New York

Mar 18, 2016
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Reviewed by spedprof from West Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bright orange, clear with chunks of yeast floating. Poured from 12 ounce bottle into tulip glass. White sticky head that dissipated rather quickly. Nice clean drinking IPA. I don't smell nor taste the coffee. Hops give it a tropical flavor. Overall, very enjoyable!
Mar 07, 2016
 
Rated: 3.77 by Segelstrom from Pennsylvania

Mar 06, 2016
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Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

3.92/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
On-tap 3/4/2016 at Doherty’s Ale House in Warwick, RI, served in a tulip glass.

A: The beer is a dark amber color, with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains strong coffee, floral hops, citrus and caramelized malts.

T: The taste starts out with a creamy coffee flavor that is much more subtle than it is in the smell but it also adds some smokiness. Then a strong but not over-powering hops presence comes in. The malt character is hearty and there is some citrus in the background creating a decent balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: A little tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, good kick, decent variation of style, it’s a solid beer to drink for a while if you like the coffee and hops combination.
Mar 05, 2016
 
Rated: 3.65 by tankg from Pennsylvania

Jan 31, 2016
 
Rated: 4.22 by Hired_Goon from Pennsylvania

Jan 29, 2016
Java Power India Pale Ale with Coffee from Ithaca Beer Company
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 128 ratings