Hop Project #31
Yazoo Brewing Company

another new hop project to try. this one a gift as an extra recently. served chilled and poured into a pint glass, consumed on 11/01/10.

pours out a nice amber color with a smooth, even head of white and a nice carbonation that was visible throughout the session. nice lacing up and down the glass as well.

aroma is nice citrus at first which melted into a resin filled pine hop with a nice biscuit like malt middle that cut through and provided a nice bit of balance half way through the flavor. nice tight profile here, light hops but very fresh and sticky with a nice mix of rich pine resin, smooth orange and pineapple tones and a nice mellow sweet malt that cut through the rest. really well done. light feel is well carbonated and did not sit too heavy at all.

overall a very easy to drink and sessionable ipa. cannot go wrong with the hop projects.

I'm putting together that this is batch #31 based on the bottled date (fourth week of June). Thanks to bstaffor for including this in the Hoppy Summer to You BIF!

Poured into a tulip pint: Hazy burnt orange body with some brass arond the edges. Two fingers of lumpy meringue head, light tan, that drops to a thick coating & leaves moderate lacing.

Smell is on the sweet side for an IPA, with candied orange & grapefruit, a little spearmint-like note, subtle toasty malts, & even subtler tea character. Kind of reminds me of that retro teaberry gum.

There's a kind of juniper/piney bitterness up front, followed by a mild, cool caramel, with an even stronger piney finish & aftertaste. There's a kind of minty coolness in the aftertaste again, like menthol. Pretty dry, pretty bitter.

Has some tingle in the mouthfeel, but not real sharp or harsh. Medium-bodied. That minty cooling sensation is there in the mouthfeel, too. A little palate fatigue from the hops, but not too bad.

I was expecting a little more from the taste, but it was kind of like a little malt book-ended by bitter pine flavors. That menthol character carried through in all aspects, making for an interesting experience. Glad I tried it, some different stuff going on here, but I can't say I'd rush back for more. All in all, pretty good, though.