Rando IPA #20
Laurelwood Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing I thought when pouring this beer,
Is that it was spot on for color and clarity.
Unfortunately, that's where most of my praise goes.
Which for this brewery is a rarity.

I deeply love Workhorse and the elephants,
Mega Fauna being one of the best
But as far as IPAs goes these days
This beer just seems like all the rest.

In the nose, I get some catty notes
As well cilantro and subtle pine
A bit of spice from Ella hops
But none of those really shine.

Coincidentally, I brewed a beer last year
With just Ella, El Dorado, and Chinook
It tasted nothing like this at all
So all the hops I mistook.

Without looking at the bottle first
I guessed Simcoe but that was it
Once learning of all the other hops
I couldn't quite get them to fit.

Maybe it's Ahtunum playing here
Giving hints of catty and herbal greens
But those don't describe that hop
And I'm not sure what that means.

The flavor is a bit better than the nose
Fruity, sweet, and not too dry
Drinkability bears a second praise
That makes it barely worth the buy.

I support and praise Laurelwood
And I'll try them all in this series
But I'd be lying if I said this was a win
And I still have many more queries.

 

 

12 oz single bottle from Lifesource Natural Grocers in Salem. $1.79 Clear pale orange coloured ale with a small yet consistent bubbly white head. Slightly fruity hop aromas..melon, tangerine and lemon zest Slight pine..and caramel malts. Taste similar to the aroma with tangerine and orange hops in the front.. Medium mouth feel and medium to low carbonation..on the tongue..nice long bitter aftertaste. A nice enough IPA, but not the same class as Workhorse

12 oz bottle

Pours about a finger of white head into my can-style glass. The head is pillowy, not quite creamy looking. I can hear it fizzing away. The body is a light orange, honey color. Visibility is very high. Carbonation looks high as well. So far it looks ok.

Pretty standard nose on this guy. I’m starting to think all northwest IPA’s are smelling the exact same. Light tropical fruit character. Mild bitterness. Light malt profile. Soft feel all around, smooth. Somewhat floral and earthy tones hidden in here. It’s not bad, it smells perfectly fine, I’m just very used to this.

Flavor is relatively different. The bitterness is more strait forward, right at you, you don’t get sidetracked by other flavors. Not a huge bitterness though, about medium. Fair amount of lemon hits you in the face. Maybe even a spicy hop presence here? Finishes almost like an orange cremesicle. Really a clean beer, quite nice. It’s nothing amazing in terms of complexity, but it’s different from what I’m used to. The flavor is good, and I enjoy it more than the nose, but I don’t think it’s quite a 4.

The mouthfeel is pretty spot on. Light bodied, very easy drinking. Carbonation is medium. Nice refreshing palate for a beer that is definitely a quick drinker.

As mentioned, the drinkability is very good. This is the epitome of a lawnmower beer, it just screams summer at me.

Overall this was a hard beer to grade. I quite enjoy drinking this, but it’s not wowing me in any fashion. I think what I partly really like is how different this is from the average IPA, which the nose happened to remind me so distinctly of. It is also extremely refreshing, and clean. It’s a solid beer, not too much bad to say. I wish it had a little extra…something, I could bump up the grade a little bit.

The appearance actually turned out pretty good. The head retention was not good, but I got very nice lacing on this guy.

 

 

Clear gold with two fingers of white head that lasts about five minutes. Good amount of lace.
Smell is fruity hops with a bit of bready malts.
Taste is fruity hops bitterness with a light amount of bready malt.
Mouthfeel is medium with good strong carbonation. Finish is dry and bitter.
Overall a tasty West Coast American IPA. Well done Laurelwood.