Drake's says: "Aroma Coma India Pale Ale – 6.75% ABV, 75 IBUs —Our
summer seasonal India Pale Ale delivers an olfactory hop assault that
lives up to its name. Made with almost all 2-row barley malt and a touch
of Caramalt for body, abundant Cascade, Chinook, CTZ, and Citra hops
add huge citrus, pine, and floral notes. A double round of dry-hopping
then amps up the aroma to a new level. Breathe in the hops, and enjoy."
This beer is distributed only in CA, from the small brewery out of San Leandro, CA. Like their blurb says, it's summer only. I'm finally getting to it after a rash of trying an insane amount of great IPAs that were released this summer. Fortunately, it's only about a month young, so it still has fantastic fresh hop flavor and an inviting hoppy aroma as well.
Appearance: Rusty orange, with a modest head of about two fingers that leaves stringy lacing along the sides of the glass.
Smell: Great citrus aroma, with tangerine coming across particularly. There are also pungent hits of grapefruit, and a slight dank undertone. The nose is basically all bright hops -- it smells great.
Taste: Much like on the nose, there are great citrus notes here, including orange and grapefruit. I also get a few more tropical-like flavors-- perhaps mango and passion fruit? There is a bit of resin and biscuit on the palate that isn't as evident from the nose, and the dankness I smelled doesn't really make an appearance in the taste, either -- it's all juicy, fruity hops with a slight resin character that seems to add sturdiness.
Mouthfeel: Aroma Coma is light to medium bodied and is neither particularly dry nor particularly slick. It's a pretty standard mouthfeel for this style, and I have no complaints.
Overall: This is a seriously good IPA. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: there a finite amount of flavors that one typically picks up from an IPA, so just by looking at tasting notes it's difficult to pick up which ones are great and which ones are so-so. It comes down to things like balance, and the particular composition of the flavors, and the complexity. Having a beer that smells as good as it tastes is a huge plus too! Suffice it to say, this hit all the right notes for me, especially considering it's not an Imperial or Double IPA, and that it has a slightly lower ABV. It just goes to show that it doesn't necessarily need to be bigger and stronger to have great flavor!
4.5/5
This beer is distributed only in CA, from the small brewery out of San Leandro, CA. Like their blurb says, it's summer only. I'm finally getting to it after a rash of trying an insane amount of great IPAs that were released this summer. Fortunately, it's only about a month young, so it still has fantastic fresh hop flavor and an inviting hoppy aroma as well.
Appearance: Rusty orange, with a modest head of about two fingers that leaves stringy lacing along the sides of the glass.
Smell: Great citrus aroma, with tangerine coming across particularly. There are also pungent hits of grapefruit, and a slight dank undertone. The nose is basically all bright hops -- it smells great.
Taste: Much like on the nose, there are great citrus notes here, including orange and grapefruit. I also get a few more tropical-like flavors-- perhaps mango and passion fruit? There is a bit of resin and biscuit on the palate that isn't as evident from the nose, and the dankness I smelled doesn't really make an appearance in the taste, either -- it's all juicy, fruity hops with a slight resin character that seems to add sturdiness.
Mouthfeel: Aroma Coma is light to medium bodied and is neither particularly dry nor particularly slick. It's a pretty standard mouthfeel for this style, and I have no complaints.
Overall: This is a seriously good IPA. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: there a finite amount of flavors that one typically picks up from an IPA, so just by looking at tasting notes it's difficult to pick up which ones are great and which ones are so-so. It comes down to things like balance, and the particular composition of the flavors, and the complexity. Having a beer that smells as good as it tastes is a huge plus too! Suffice it to say, this hit all the right notes for me, especially considering it's not an Imperial or Double IPA, and that it has a slightly lower ABV. It just goes to show that it doesn't necessarily need to be bigger and stronger to have great flavor!
4.5/5
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