W'05 India Pale Ale
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

Poured into a standard beer mug from a 12 ounce bottle purchased at the North Coast Co-op in Arcata, California. The body is translucent amber; the head is bright off-white, substantial, with fair retention. A nice curdled collar of lace holds to the glass. Smell: big burst of grapefruity hops (smells a lot like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to me, maybe they're using similar hops?). Taste: juicy hop bitterness blasts off right away, with an even juicier middle that introduces a watermelon-like sweetness (yes! some kind of melon, anyway), with a gritty finish that is all hops. This beer is a fast whip of cracklin' hops with not much to say in the malt department. Tastes like a west coast pale ale to me. But, let's be fair. As an IPA, I would expect some more complexity and balance. Let it be known that this is the first time I've used this phrase: hop tea. Mouthfeel is fine -- can't complain. Very carbonated, but not distracting. Drinkable. Ok.

A few old scrappy tasting notes from 2005.
6 pack of 12 oz bottles from Anoka Co. municipal Lqr store.
This beer is excellent! Hoping Widmer continues to be availible.
This IPA has a dark orange clean look with a pretty big crusty white head and it clings to the glass as I quaff it. Bold all around. Thick malts and bitter orange or more so lemony hops. Tastes great and stays on the palate for a while. Kinda zesty actually. Really great tasting!

 

Pristine, well-carbonated, rich amber with a healthy infusion of sunset orange, capped by an impressively large head of tacky, pale lemon-tinted, parchment colored foam. The head takes a minute or two to begin deflating and leaves thick, bubbly lace in its wake when it does so. A good look.

Most American IPAs smell like one or more citrus fruits due to the type of hops used, but this is the most sweetly lemony one that I've run across yet. It smells like the beer equivalent of lemon drop candy. Although that may not sound wonderful, I like it. White grapefruit and pineapple make cameos even though lemon is the clear star of the show.

It doesn't work out quite as well on the palate since the lovely lemony goodness takes on a faintly artificial, Lemon Pledge quality. Not horribly so, but it does keep me from loving it. Even though I'm sure that it isn't the case, I can believe that this is what an IPA flavored with hop extract tastes like.

I don't mind a little sweetness in my IPAs, but at the same time, a countering bitterness needs to be in place as well. This beer is way too alpha acid-deficient. The flavor never really finds its groove, never really peaks, and fades too quickly besides, leaving little hoppy linger on the tongue. Not enough hops to begin with or faded with age?

The mouthfeel is mid-range for the style, even as its slickness and an understated amount of carbonation make it feel a few notches more full. Given that set-up, it's even stranger that the flavor doesn't linger.

If 'W' had been released in '04 instead of '05, I would have suspected that the brewery was making a political statement. All things considered, and it spite of its appearance and aroma, this isn't an overly impressive IPA. Maybe W '06, which may be on the drawing board as I drink, will be more to my liking.

Pale amber color with a fleeting off white head. Strong grassy, floral hop smell. Light - medium body with a prickly mouthfeel.
Has a decent grainy, lightly sweet malt flavor followed by a medium bitter citrus hop taste to finish.
Reminds me of St. Arnolds Elissa IPA.
Not bad.

This is a pretty ordinary IPA, quite light in the malt department but judicious with hops. It pours a faint bronze color, quite clear, with a decent but typical head and a hodgepodge of lace. The aroma contains a fair hit of buttery malt smudge by grapefruit and mountain grasses. The IPA is similarly smooth, with rounded, if dull malts and hops that catch your attention but don't sustain it. On the whole, the beer reminds me of Redhook with a bit more aggression. The mouthfeel is smooth but thin, ultimately disposable. The beer goes down quite easily enough. It's a less than triumphant beer, but perhaps the best bet for a hop dose at the local 7-11. The fresher the better. A newborn bottle will be substantially tastier than one even 6 weeks old.

Some further thoughts: The name is lame (is Widmer only doing one seasonal per year now?) but the label is attractive. I like the fill-in-the-blank motif, but what if they took it one step further and did a handwritten label? On that note, what if someone did a label to resemble a doctor's prescription, complete with jittery pigeonscrawl.

Pours a clear--almost too clear--golden copper with a touch of dusky apricot, and a small, thin, off-white head. Nose is lightly-buttered toffee and honey complemented by hops that are lightly citrus, and sharply sprucey. Taste shows off some bitter hops right off the bat. Lean, honeyish malt fills in, before sprucey and citrus hops get more bitter and resinous. Finish is bitter, dry, and resinous, with lingering malt sweetness. Not bad. Mouthfeel is a little thin and not as creamy as I like.

In my 34 years of sampling beers this has to be on my top ten list for it's bold full taste! It has a mild aroma for the full bodied taste that falls on the tongue. I drank it very cold and it went down smooth and easy.

Two thumbs up for this IPA from Widmer Brothers!

I was prepared to dislike this beer for its loaded, arrogant name and then find myself pleasantly surprised by an agreeable hoppy ale proving that I shouldn’t be so hasty and judgmental about labels. But the greater truth of it – in spite of its misguided name and my excitable attitude – is that W ’05 is simply a lame-ass beer no matter how you look at it. W ’05 is musty, meaty, yeasty, and overtly foul. Looking for hops? Not here. The bitterness closes like a trap door on a dungeon of drab, muddled tastes and wet cardboard.

The rest of this alleged IPA is characterized by its light-bodied anemic gold color, some respectable lace, and a mouthfeel that hangs on the tongue like a wet carpet. I’m told this is the same beer as Widmer’s Spring Run IPA. The only way this beer could get any worse is if they named it after Cheney.

Poured from bottle into pint glass, very thick head that stuck to the sides of the pint glass. Color isn't really as dark as most IPA's i've had in the past. Transparent straw color. Aroma is very sweet and citrusy, also lots of hops. The mouthfeel is good, very spicy and crisp. Flavor, I feel is very well balanced malty and hoppy, maybe a bit more sweet than some. Overall, I would say this is a very good IPA, goes down very well on a hot summer day.

The beer after its disinterment from the 12-ounce brown bottle takes up a short residence in my glass a limpid gold color with a modest sized frothy off white head that slowly dissolves, leaving a fine coating of lace upon the glass. The tangy sweet aroma of fresh hops and malt dominate the nose, citrus like in its crispness, fresh and appealing, the start is sweet with a pleasant grain profile and the top moderate in feel. Finish is sternly acidic with a delectable hop spicy bite, very dry aftertaste, and a nice middle of the road IPA in my humble opinion.

Very nice, not expecting much from this but was proved to be a great session beer. The floral citrus hop aroma will grab you in the nose. The taste is of lemon nectar with apricots. The hops are present but will not overpower. Great to cut through cheese in a mexican or spicy thai. Excellent.

Presentation: Typical 12 oz Widmer bottle with the nice W indentations. Label is very rough looking - looks like a shipping form, but the overall appearance is good. Freshness date on the neck.

Appearance: Poured in a Stone IPA glass. Poured orangish gold with a nice head that left a great lacing. Lots of bubbling.

Smell: Smell is lots of hops mixed with a sweet malty smell.

Taste: This one is a bit matlier than a lot of IPAs. Taste has plenty of west coast citrus and piney hops, but the malt shines through nicely as well. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a slight bubbly feel on the tongue.

Overal impression: This is a nice refreshing beer - nothingly overly complex, but very enjoyable. Enjoyed while listening to Robert Plant's latest album.

12oz bottle with bottled date of February 1, 2005, purchased at Huckleberry's in Spokane for $1.19.

Poured dark blend of orange and gold. Medium sized off-white head that dropped somewhat fast, but left lots of lace inside my Mirror Pond glass.

Smell was of hops (duh), but it's not the beat-you-over-the-head hoppiness of most PacNW IPAs. Smell is nice and citrusy, a little bit of spiciness, but is restrained. Also a very mild sweet maltiness can just be detected.

Tasted similar to the smell. This is a somewhat subtle IPA. While the hops are the star of the show, they are not overbearing. It's a session IPA, basically (thoough I seem to make session beers out of hoppier examples of the style. What makes it noteworthy is it is tasty despite not being an all out hopfest. Perhaps this would be a good IPA for people who are new to the style.

While it won't make me forget DFH90min anytime soon, this is eminently drinkable. I could see myself having several of these at the Viking if the occasion presented itself to me.

Bottle Date of Jan 18, 2005, Sampled March 2005
Pours a pretty, clear, copper gold color and is topped by a frothy, almost rocky light tan head. The aroma is on the pungent side with notes citrus and pine in about an even balance, though perhaps the piney almost herbal aromatics tip the scales a bit in their direction. The taste has a certain pungent hoppiness to it all throughout, from beginning to end. The taste is malty sweet up front, which accentuates the fruity hop notes, with a bit of tasty malt-type notes that remind me of toasted biscuits. This beer has a solid bitterness throughout as well, in fact this IPA is weighted a bit towards the bitter side of an IPA, as opposed to the floral hop flavors and aromatics.

This is certainly an enjoyable IPA, and it is perhaps a bit better than I was expecting, but it is still not quite stellar. For my taste I wish that it was a bit more weighted toward the floral characteristics of the hop plant. It is good though, and I would not turn this down when offered.

I had this one on tap at Salty’s in Redondo Beach, WA. Very cool sea side restaurant.

The beer was surprisingly light gold with a nice head and sheets of lacing.

Nice aroma of citrus, pine resin and a bit of fruit (apple).

This was an enjoyable & balanced IPA. While not overly hopped, it was brisk with a nice citrus bite. Nice malt and fruit tastes linger in the background.

The beer had a nice bracing mouthfeel and was very easy to drink. This is a nice session IPA and the best beer I’ve had from this brewery. Well done!

Appearance – This one poured a bright, brilliant, almost glowing orange in color with a huge white head that laced the hell out of my Snoqualmie glass.

Smell – This aroma has a smooth hop profile and is squarely balanced with malts. The malts are lightly-toasted and full of caramel. They are very rich. The hops are typical PacNW but very laid back, more of a compliment really to the malt.

Taste – The malts and hops work extremely well together. It’s hoppy enough but balanced towards malts, if ever so slightly. The malts are rich and taste mostly like caramel.

Mouthfeel – This is almost medium-bodied with a pleasing balance and a good sense of dryness at the end.

Drinkability – A balanced PacNW AIPA? You better believe it. This brewery makes some bombs, but they impressed me with a good Altbier last year and now a balanced American IPA. Well done!

Very thin head sticks around for a while. Pours from 12oz bottle looking fairly light for an IPA, more like an amber.

Pretty classic Oregon IPA nose - citrus and pine needles.

Tastes nowhere near as sweet as the IPA's I have had lately (Pelican and Full Sail Slipknot). The taste reflects the smell, except it is nowhere near as sweet. Hops dominate, reminding me of Darjeeling tea (that's definitely the tea for hop lovers!). This is good stuff, but too rough on my stomach for me to want to take on more than one bottle.

I'm rather surprised Widmer have done such a good job. I associate their beers with a surfeit of yeast, but this one has a good balance.

There's some murmur about the origins of the name of this beer. I'm not sure what it is, but the beer is good.

The subdued label almost looks paper bag, but is kind of nice. Relaxing compared to so much on the shelves. The beer pours a lovely clear and deep golden with just enough red to give it a slight bronze hue.

One of the big surprises from this beer is its aroma. Maybe the secret to this heady hop aroma is out, but its not very common to get it in a bottled beer. The recreation is excellent and certainly foreshadows of a large beer.

The taste is not that dissimilar from the spring run IPA, but both the hops and barley bills seem to have been increased in this recipe. The malt itself is just sweet enough to stand up to the assertive hop flavor and is slightly more than a standard pale. The Hops on the other hand are working the beer. You've got an excellent spectrum of citrus, fleshy pulp body and just good old fashion bitterness. Its really quite good. Its no Halo, but its really quite good. Kudos to the bros.

Appearance is nothing out of the ordinary, good clarity and color with a nice head.

The hops give a nice estery and piney aroma that isn't overpowering and very inviting.

Taste is well hopped but doesn't kill the malt. Very nice aftertaste has a slightly citric quality.

A very nice suprise from Widmer and much better for the style than any of their other brews.