Cold Hop British-Style Ale - Boulder Beer / Wilderness Pub

Brent

Kentucky

4.1/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Overall, this seemed just a notch shy of enough hops to qualify as an IPA, but the flavor profile was nicely complex. Hops had an earthy, leafy flavor that complemented the mineral note in the malt. Nice, sharp bite at the finish - overall the beer carried off the English slant quite well, and would be a good beer to have with a meal.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2007 14:40:36 | More by Brent

BenZ

Virginia

4.2/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I thought unklesyd hit it right on with his description. It is kind of hard for me to find a British ipa that I really dig, but I think this is just about as perfect as it could be with the chosen ingredients.

So many British-style IPAs are completely dominated by these "cheesy" tastes that it is hard to focus on the rest of the beer. This ale has the standard tast burried way behind some really clean biterness, and some very nice malts.

Extraodinarily drinkable and refreshing for what seems to be a relatively high abv beer. I love it and hope it comes out in sixers.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2007 03:29:02 | More by BenZ

WesWes

New York

4.1/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a nice golden color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is great. It has a piney hop scent that really stands out over a solid base of pale and light crystal malts. The English yeast esters blend well with the hops to create a refreshing aroma. The taste is good. It has a very bitter flavor that goes down easy and finishes hoppy with a bit of fruity yeast esters. The malts are present, but they seem to only provide a stage for the hops and yeast. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a medium bodied beer with adequate/good carbonation. This is an interesting brew. I love the hop content, but it seems a bit unbalanced. All in all, a good drinker.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2007 01:03:03 | More by WesWes

Drew966

Florida

4.22/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cold Hop British Style Ale pours a reddish amber color with an off white head from a brown twenty two ounce bottle. There is a bit of grapefruit in the aroma. There is a nice thick mouth feel and a big rush of hops of a grapefruit type nature. Toasted malt becomes more apparent as the beer warms. I like this one.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2007 00:38:10 | More by Drew966

rowew

Colorado

4.15/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 22 oz bomber, Label is similar to that of the other BB looking glass series. Description of the beer and the history. No ABV or freshness dating.

Appearance: Pours a clear reddish amber color with a nice frothy head, good retention and lacing.

Smell: Fruit and pine from the hops, and a malt undertone that smells decidely British.

Taste: Smooth medium body, lowish carbonation. Nice and malt at the start - and then the hops come on. A bit more floral than expected from the aroma.

Overall impression: Very nicely balanced - I had this at the brewpub a few days back with fish and chips, and it worked great. I look forward to this in six packs later in the year.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2007 19:11:44 | More by rowew

unklesyd

Oregon

4.38/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I bought this at John's Marketplace from the cooler. I definately dig trying new stuff from Boulder Beer, even if it can be hit-or-miss. This one is a hit!

Pours a deep copper with continual small effervescent bubbles and a creamy white head that leaves some slowly receding lacing down a .5L Paulaner stein.

Very nice floral hop bouquet with slight ashy, crisp dark carmelized toffee deep in the back.

Normally I'm not a big fan of English IPAs, but this has a fantastic blend of mineral hop bitterness, slightly ashy carmel, rounded, slightly husky breadiness and some grassy hop flavors. Very earthy and pleasant. A nice balance of flavors, and well balanced against the aroma.

Very neutral mouthfeel. The creaminess never gets too heavy because of the fine conditioning, but is very full, even at cooler-than-celar temperature serving.

Overall, a fantastic beer for any occasion. Its crisp enough to slake a thirst, but substantial enough for a cooler day, outside or in. Well done! Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2007 02:17:42 | More by unklesyd

udubdawg

Kansas

4.4/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Wow, my experience was almost the opposite as the last review. But that's one of the things I love about this place.

22 oz bomber.

I shared a bomber of this that I really enjoyed, so I bought 3 of my own to try this weekend. In my anxiousness to taste this beer I poured my initial bottle way too cold - straight out of an ice-cold fridge, the beer could only be called harsh. The nose was a mix of weird indescribable malt aroma, alcohol, and floral and bittering hops that seemed artificial and solvent-like. Harsh was the first word I thought of, and the same went for the flavor, and indeed for the mouthfeel - the initial carbonation, bitterness, and alcohol...blech. Then I had it again...

I have rarely had a beer that I enjoyed so much more at a warmer temperature. Pulled from a 54 degree beer fridge the pour was a light copper with excellent clarity. Head was big, frothy, off-white and after quickly subsiding to a cap left a pleasing spotty lace.

Once warmer the complexities of the aroma come out and subdue the harsh beast I noted earlier. None of the sweet fruitiness I am noticing was evident earlier. The alcohol has especially become muted (or rather the other aromas are less muted), but still makes itself known. Toasted malts are very evident. I'm not sure I'll ever love this aroma, but it is growing on me rapidly.

Caramel, and lots of it - interesting that this was nearly hidden when cold...or maybe I was too busy scrunching up my nose from the unpleasant experience to note the flavor - whatever. Floral nature hides behind the ample sweetness, which is a complete switch from my previous experience. Nice complexity. I'd call this fruity, though I'm not sure I could identify anything in particular. Finish is a short-lived and refreshing bitter with some piney hops also present. Basically "blech" has become "mmm, sweet and kinda spicy!"

Mouthfeel after a couple minutes of settling is a light bodied smooth crispness, the nicely bitter finish just adding to the drinkable nature. I find this beer incredibly refreshing and at $2.99 per 22 oz, I just bought a case. Not nearly as lethal as Mojo Risin, and (IMO) similarly tasty. I enjoyed a bottle tonite while making pasta...a less than ideal food pairing, you say? And is it really an English IPA? Who cares - I like this beer. I hope you do too.
I'm not sure how this one will do over time. I wouldn't quite call it balanced, but there is a lot of malt that makes itself known in this brew. If the hops should fade over time, I may find the sweet fruitiness not as unpleasant, and could grow to dislike the malty aroma if the hops wasn't as present. But I doubt I'll have trouble finishing my bottles while fresh.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2007 00:50:50 | More by udubdawg

Mebuzzard

Colorado

2.68/5  rDev -30%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

This beer confused me. Started out nice, then ended in the drain.
Poured a nice golden/amber, crisp looking beer. Topped with a fluffy white head; chunked a bit then settled to about 1/4 finger.
Smell: Citrus and floral, something I don't get in English bitters. Confused a bit, but smells nice; floral, citrus, some sweet malt.
Taste: Started out great--nice balance between the floral/citrus and malt. Persimmon and orange zest are calmed down by the malt sweetness and earthiness.
Then the taste when very bad. The hops were gone, the malt was not sweet, and the aftertaste was stale and grainy. The 22oz bomber was too much, 12oz would have been fine.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2007 19:33:35 | More by Mebuzzard

ArrogantB

Colorado

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer was a transparent amber in color with a short tan head. The smell is hoppy and sweet. It has a really nice aroma. The taste is malty and hoppy at the same time, very nice balance. The hop flavor is slightly bitter and grassy. This is a pretty good beer! This is now my favorite Boulder Beer brew.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2007 15:35:26 | More by ArrogantB