Caldera IPA - Caldera Brewing Company

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beer review from BA Mag Oct 2007.

Hooray! for canned craft beer. We really love this format and how quickly it is spreading throughout the US. Options are great, especially when you are in no glass zones such as poolside, on a boat, on the beach--and also simply for the fact that the can is a great space saver.

Stodgy off-white head, the sticky mass shows its great retention as it stays strong all the way down to the bottom of the glass. Clear copper-penny hue; a few bubbles race to the top. Citric, pine and black tea hop aroma. Hint of melon, estery alcohol and sweet toasted malt in the background. Lots of smoothness to go around--extremely smooth. Slightly chewy medium body shows the malt is not just going to sit back while getting pummeled by the hops. Mild cookie-like sweetness from the malt has a faint toasted graininess to it. Hops come in with a controlled but precise bitterness, strong but still leaving some balance. Big minty hop flavor very slowly dissipates with citric rind, evergreen, black tea leaves and a sweet Mandarin orange flavor. Finishes a little bittersweet with a rock-solid hop flavor and sweet biscuity maltiness.

This is a great example if you are looking to try a Pacific Northwest (PNW) India Pale Ale. Hops all around, both in bitterness and flavor, with enough malt to keep everything in balance. Nothing over the top. It's simply a great IPA--and it's in a can.

Serving type: can

07-07-2010 00:26:22 | More by BeerAdvocate

immobileman

Alabama

4/5  rDev -0.5%

05-22-2013 20:25:56 | More by immobileman

InspectorBob

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -0.5%

05-22-2013 15:40:09 | More by InspectorBob

tweezer159

Alabama

4.5/5  rDev +11.9%

05-21-2013 03:12:25 | More by tweezer159

memphischas

Tennessee

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%

05-20-2013 00:34:58 | More by memphischas

blibby05

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -0.5%

05-19-2013 00:42:40 | More by blibby05

HopHeadRyan

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -12.9%

05-18-2013 23:33:26 | More by HopHeadRyan

HamGlade10

Oklahoma

4/5  rDev -0.5%

05-18-2013 17:50:12 | More by HamGlade10

MrIncognito

Virginia

4.24/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A - Poured from a 12oz can. My first official gusher I believe. After 1 second of cracking the mouth open the beer gushed out. Probably lost 1/2 - 1 oz. Pours a light amber body with nice orange hues. Big, sticky, lightly off-white head that retains well and leaves beautiful lacing

S - obviously hop-forward with citrus notes or orange and lightly grapefruit. Somewhat sweet but not overly sugary/syrupy. Nice and crisp.

T&M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Big citrus notes of orange a lemon and bittering hop balance. Sweet enough to be really tasty without being cloying. Great citrusy aftertaste. Good malt backbone to bring it all together.

O - Great beer that is full-flavored yet easy to drink. Could definitely have a few of these in a sitting

Serving type: can

05-17-2013 13:32:07 | More by MrIncognito

snohojimbo

Washington

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%

05-14-2013 03:39:54 | More by snohojimbo

JWing

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -6.7%

05-11-2013 20:10:46 | More by JWing

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -12.9%

05-10-2013 16:17:41 | More by twenty5

LibrariansLoveBEER

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -12.9%

05-10-2013 01:15:41 | More by LibrariansLoveBEER

thomasarose

Tennessee

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%

05-09-2013 16:58:27 | More by thomasarose

megamass

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%

05-08-2013 22:44:13 | More by megamass

leftoverburrito

Oregon

4/5  rDev -0.5%

05-08-2013 02:41:57 | More by leftoverburrito

TrickkyGangsta

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%

05-04-2013 23:23:28 | More by TrickkyGangsta

DRBiser

Maryland

3.25/5  rDev -19.2%

05-03-2013 03:39:39 | More by DRBiser

cvm4

Mississippi

3.46/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a pretty much clear amber in color with a white two finger head. Great lacing and retention.

S - Light citrus hops, pine abounds, there's a buttery or cheese quality as well as caramel malts.

T - Orange peel and grapefruit peel with a good helping of hops. Lemony afterwards with pine hops following. Interesting... The buttery/cheese still sticks in the taste. Odd considering it's the morning and I have yet to eat anything.

M - Light to medium bodied with medium to high carbonation. Not sticky, very easy to drink.

O - Honestly I doubt I would buy again. I always like trying different offerings and once the opinion is formed it's hard to deviate from it.

Serving type: can

04-28-2013 15:53:51 | More by cvm4

MNishCT77

District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz. can purchased at Total Wines and More in Alexandria, VA last week, unknown birth date, poured into a 3Fs Teku long-stemmed glass, drank 4/23/13 over one hour.

A: 4.5 - reddish-brown (dare I say amber?!?) coloration, impressive clarity (can both see and read through...likely filtered), white one finger head dissipates very quickly into subtle glass lacing, small amount of tight amber bubbles, minimal perceptible alcohol legs

S: 4.5 - solid dank aroma: pine, resin, grapefruit...slight booze notes on the nose dig...classic Simcoe, Centennial and Amarillo notes

T: 4.5 - slap of bitterness on the anterior tongue but surprisingly less than 94 IBUs but resolved on subsequent sipping...in the middle of the mouth, there was lots grapefruit and pine but, after warming, the biscuity sweet caramel malts lingered, picking up alcohol tones consistent with 6%, very dry

M: 4.5 - moderate body and carbonation, juicy mouthfeel

O: 4.5 - solid, well-balanced American IPA: again, I mostly pulled out the Simcoe, Centennial and Amarillo pine dankness on the front end with accompanying bitterness (albeit not aggressively so) but the malt backbone is underrated here; I got a single can on the cheap (~$2), very glad that I tried it and would definitely purchase this again

Serving type: can

04-24-2013 00:57:48 | More by MNishCT77

CalbeDacks

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%

04-23-2013 04:46:19 | More by CalbeDacks

Shawnzzy

Oklahoma

4/5  rDev -0.5%

04-16-2013 01:58:36 | More by Shawnzzy

MattSlem

California

2.94/5  rDev -26.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2.75

Appearance - Golden orange color with some small debris (looked like hop stems)
Smell - Piney, a bit of grapefruit, a vegetal quality to it
Taste - Diacetyl, grassy, hint of grapefruit
Mouthfeel - Light carbonation which makes this beer a little heavy and sweet for the style
Overall - I have had much better IPA's than this. Not terrible, but not nearly my go to IPA either. I thoroughly enjoy the cans though!

Serving type: can

04-14-2013 00:18:46 | More by MattSlem

Roman5150

Michigan

4.06/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

tried out of can, prety damn good, this review is poured into a tulip glass

Appearance: Orangish Ruby Amber color, large white fluffy head, lots of lacing

Smell: grapefruit, citrus, very piney (simcoe hops possibly?)

Taste: lots of hop flavor bursting out right away, followed by a smooth dry somewhat bitter finish. lots of grapefruit and earthy pines. Also got some lemon notes at the beginning.

Mouthfeel: pretty light on the carbonation, sits very light, very refreshing

Overall: A solid, hoppy, west coast IPA, I honestly think I like this one out of the can better. Is that weird? The cool looking cans caught my eye, so i gave it a try, and it's probably gonna be another buy. However, I don't think I'd purchase this if Stone IPA was also available, or even Ruination.

Serving type: can

04-11-2013 06:58:15 | More by Roman5150

mrw1zard

Alabama

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%

04-08-2013 16:17:38 | More by mrw1zard