Ugly Duck Hopfest - Indslev Bryggeri

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

330ml bottle, day 11 in the 2012 Craft Beer Advent calendar. Finally, an IPA! (I know, I know, there was the Dude, but the dude, the dude was something else)

This beer pours a slightly hazy, medium golden amber hue, with one fat finger of puffy foamy dirty white head, which leaves some macabre coral reef lace around the glass as it slowly bleeds away.

It smells of sweet, sugary citrus, warm caramel cream and toffee-like malt, some further drupe fruitiness, soft pine needle beds, and floral, perfume-y hops. The taste is bitter, somewhat neutered citrus juice, caramel/toffee/nougat malt, a burgeoning herbal character, more wafting florals, and somewhat hot perfumed hops.

The carbonation is quite tame, the body a trembling medium weight, and mostly smooth, a few hits being taken from hop and alcohol. It finishes well off-dry, the hops a lot more fruity than bitter, and the malt staying stodgily in place.

A decent enough IPA, with seeming designs on DIPA status, if the malt has its way, which is a roundabout way of saying that it's too sweet. But that's the only problem here, as the rest is all big IPA goodness.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2012 01:09:26 | More by biboergosum

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

4/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Craft beer advent...

A: hazy bronze, white head, some retention and lace.

s: tropical fruit, marmalade and sponge toffee.

t: tropical fruit (mango, pineapple), gooseberry, currents, sponge toffee, orange rind, good bitterness.

m: slight hint of residual sweetness & hop acidity with a relatively crisp finish.

o: website says cascade and simcoe hops, but I don't believe it... at the very least, there must be something else... citra, nelson sauvin, brewers gold? Unique flavour and a pleasant change.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2012 01:33:02 | More by Derek

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330ml bottle poured into tulip 2/10/12

A slight haze in a amber body, just a few bubbles visible but a dense thumbs width of foam lasts a couple minuets and leaves a few rings of lace

S citrus notes, slightly floral, some rind, toffee and spruce, nice smell with some balance and none of the 7.5% detected

T sweet orange and I get a little booze I couldn’t smell but its faint, still well balanced with caramel malt keeping the hops in check but not by much

M a little bite and perfect carbonation, its silky upon entry and creams up, no booze burn and a lingering tropical finish

O a nice surprise from a brewery I’d never heard of. Plenty of hops but it’s not a runaway, perhaps a little to easy to drink as my glass is already empty

Solid stuff for sure, if all my beers from my 100$ Advent Calendar were this quality I’d be a happy boy

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2012 16:23:10 | More by wordemupg

Cookeeman

3.78/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is beer 11 from the Rieder Advent Calendar. Pours a hazy amber gold, with no head. Nice lacing. The aroma featured a nice balance of hop freshness and malt breadiness, but the hop note had a touch of soapiness that had me worried for a minute. Luckily that soapy hint was only in the nose, and not in the mouth! Nicely balanced IPA, solid malt backbone and a good dose of hops. Not quite as dry and lasting on the finish as I'm used to here on the west coast, but considering what else has been in this pack, I'll take it!

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2012 01:19:13 | More by Cookeeman

Bryn

Alberta (Canada)

4.2/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - A translucent copper brew with sparse white head.

S - Green hops, sweet malt, and a hint of floral and apples.

T - It's a nice hoppy IPA that is bitter without kicking you in the stomach. Slightly sweet without being syrupy and the green hops flavour is here as a pleasant pine taste.

M - Astringent. After a few of these you will have cotton mouth. I don't find it off-putting as it comes with all the hops.

O- I like it a lot. I'd recommend it a friend or drink it myself again. Yum!

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 23:58:54 | More by Bryn