Ithaca Beer Co. – CascaZilla

 Beer Reviews  No Responses »
Jan 072011
 

It is time to get to work I guess. Unless I have missed one somewhere in the binder this is the last beer review that I have laying around in (what was) the backlog. Hopefully the head cold that I seem to have subsides enough for me to be able to at least somewhat legitimately evaluate a beer sometime over this weekend. I would hate to pull something good out of my stash and not be able to fully enjoy it. Maybe I will have to get something I have already enjoyed as a little practice.

For the very first Friday beer review of this year . . .

Brewery: Ithaca Beer Co. (Ithaca, NY)

Name: CascaZilla

Style: American Amber Ale

ABV: 7.00%

Tasting Notes: Stored in the fridge and served in a pint glass. Brought back from a trip to Northern New York.

Aroma: Some caramelly malt sweetness and citrusy hop aroma that is not that big. Fairly low overall aroma.

Appearance: Brownish with a coppery, amber tint. One finger, light tan head with pretty good retention and leaving a solid trail. Very dark (toward opaque), though clear with rising bubbles visible when held to light.

Flavor: Good toasty flavor and slightly sweet maltiness as a base with a nice punch of bitterness after that. The hop flavors blend into the maltiness and do not come through as much as the bitterness does. A bit of dryness/astringency at the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation. Smooth with a slight bit of warmth toward the finish.

Overall Impressions: Pretty aggressively hopped for this style (I think), though in a very good and addictive way to me. ABV comes through and may be just a slight bit out of balance. Would not mind at all to have a pile of these laying around at any given time.

Grade: B+

5288919038 4b3249d8b7 Ithaca Beer Co. CascaZilla

Ithaca Beer Co. - CascaZilla

5288919076 38a47899b0 Ithaca Beer Co. CascaZilla

The close up

 Posted by Lucas at 8:00 pm  Tagged with: , ,

Ithaca Beer Co. – Pale Ale

 Beer Reviews  No Responses »
Jan 042011
 

As I continue on with another review of a beer from Ithaca Beer Company, I think I might be narrowing down the list of beer styles that I would like to brew next. Very early on I had some mediocre results in my attempts to brew a few IPAs, but I have never actually tried to brew a Pale Ale. There is something extremely enjoyable about a good one that makes it something I would not mind having on hand all year long. A sure way to have that happen is to make my own so I am strongly leaning in that direction.

As for the very first beer review of this year . . .

Brewery: Ithaca Beer Co. (Ithaca, NY)

Name: Pale Ale

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.80%

Tasting Notes: Stored in the fridge and served in a pint glass. Brought back from a trip to Northern New York.

Aroma: A smooth, even, hop aroma with notes of resin and citrus and a nice malty sweetness underneath. Fairly subtle overall, but very nice.

Appearance: Deep amber color. One finger cream color head with very good retention and leaving a pretty solid trail. Quite clear with many rising bubbles visible.

Flavor: Some light caramel and toasty malt flavor up front with some good bitterness right after. Interesting hop character that has a bit of resin/pine and also some earthiness. Fairly dry at the finish with some lingering.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a fairly high level of carbonation. Somewhat creamy on the palate with some astringency at the finish.

Overall Impressions: The first sip was not great but I liked it much more as it opened up and softened nicely as I drank. There is something about the way that the hop flavors build on the palate that is quite nice. No quality is out of balance or too dominant.

Grade: B

5288315357 18d39a625d Ithaca Beer Co. Pale Ale

Ithaca Beer Co. - Pale Ale

5288315385 e65b931d5c Ithaca Beer Co. Pale Ale

A little closer now

 Posted by Lucas at 9:43 pm  Tagged with: , ,

Ithaca Beer Co. – Apricot Wheat

 Beer Reviews  No Responses »
Dec 312010
 

Despite saying quite often that fruit beers are not really my thing I still continue to give them a chance whenever one catches my eye. For whatever reason I have my mind set on brewing a good one (or at least one that I think is good) one of these days and sampling others is part of that process. In sticking with that plan my friends will have to be prepared to drink through a few batches of whatever I come up with until I get a recipe fine tuned. Fortunately I have good friends that don’t turn down some free beer, especially when under the guise of quality control.

As for the very last beer review of this year . . .

Brewery: Ithaca Beer Co. (Ithaca, NY)

Name: Apricot Wheat

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV: 4.90%

Tasting Notes: Stored in the fridge and served in a pint glass. Brought back from a trip to Northern New York.

Aroma: A full, fruity aroma with a light wheat/graininess to it. I know that it is apricot, but it does seems to have an apple and pear kind of character as well.

Appearance: Golden in color with an orange hue. Pretty slight off-white head that dissipates rather quickly without leaving a trail on the glass. Clear with many rising bubbles visible.

Flavor: Apricot flavor up front (with a bit of tartness) that fades very quickly to a wheaty flavor with some residual sweetness left from the fruit. Finishes slightly dry with a bit of lingering flavor afterward.

Mouthfeel: Light body (maybe toward medium) with a fairly high level of carbonation. Creamy yet crisp on the palate as well.

Overall Impressions: Not bad at all and I am surprised that I liked it even a little. Nice fruit flavor that matches the base beer well. Even with all that, one is pretty much enough for me.

Grade: B- or so (perhaps down to C+)

5274817780 0c9a9d08da Ithaca Beer Co. Apricot Wheat

Ithaca Beer Co. - Apricot Wheat

5274817842 515278f1bf Ithaca Beer Co. Apricot Wheat

Aww . . . They match

 Posted by Lucas at 6:00 pm  Tagged with: ,
 Older Entries  Newer Entries

Last chance to find what you are looking for!

99 Bottles Ale Amber Ale American Belgian Bell's Brewery Black Ale Blueprint Brewing B Notes Breweries Brewing Brooklyn Brewery Cigar City Brewing Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Dubbel Flying Dog Brewery Food Fruit Beer Great Divide Brewing Co. Imperial IPA Ithaca Beer Company Lager Lagunitas Brewing Co. Oskar Blues Brewery Pale Ale Porter Random Thoughts Redlight Redlight Russian Imperial Stout Rye Beer S-H-V Saison Samuel Adams Seattle Shmaltz Brewing Co. Sierra Nevada Southern Tier Brewing Co. Specialty Beer Stone Brewing Co. Stout Strong Ale Terrapin Beer Co. The Bruery Travel
© 2010 A Night With The Hops "He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha