As a golfer, the first thing I think of when I hear 'Torrey Pines' is Tiger Woods winning the 2008 US Open at the beautiful Torrey Pines Golf Course in Southern Californian...
Off topic yes, but geographically speaking, not far off at all. The Left Coast Brewing Company is based in San Diego, CA and their beers are mostly distributed throughout SoCal and Central Arizona (sorry East coast readers). They are a fairly small brewery and only produce six year-round styles. I have never tried any of their brews so I decided to start with their India Pale Ale. I decided this for two simple reasons; first, IPA's are one of my favorite styles of beer, and second, I believe that IPA's are a good litmus test for the overall quality of a small breweries product. If I try an IPA from a small producer and it's sub-par, I can probably skip the rest of their beer without missing anything Earth-rattling.
So, what did I learn about Left Coast Brewing Company when I cracked open their IPA? Let's get right to it with another installment of the BREW REVIEW!
A Bitter Sevilla Orange aroma was evident the moment I opened the bottle and as I poured the beer into my glass, the aroma magnified ten-fold. The beer had a bright yellow-orange color, great clarity, and an excellent effervescent quality. At first pour it looked like I was in for quite a treat! Unfortunately, once I got beyond the aroma and took my first sip, the only part of the Sevilla Orange that came through was the bitter orange peel. I was a little disappointed.
Not one to give up easily, I took a few more sips and was pleased to find that after the beer had some time to breathe, many secondary flavors, much more subtle than the bitter orange, slowly started to come through. There were pine nuts, hints of white pepper, and even a strange mix of melons and sour fruits that rounded out the intense bitter taste of orange peel. I continued my investigated and was further pleased to discover that as the intense carbonation gradually dissipated, as that happened, the intense bitter characteristics seemed to mellow substantially.
Alan St Louis, always willing to lend a hand in emptying a bottle of craft beer, allows me to fill his glass and after a few thoughtful sips suggests that: "with an aftertaste the length of California, and the width of India, this is one California IPA I won't soon forget."
Well put Alan, well put.
By the numbers, I give it a 5/10 [Flavor 5/10, Balance 4/10, Complexity 6/10].
-Prost!
D.Lux
No comments:
Post a Comment