Zephyr - Rising Tide Brewing Company

beer2day

North Carolina

3.1/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

From the Liquor Locker in SW Harbor.

Pours dark gold, nearly copper. Massive, towering, thick unforced darker cream head. Chunky lace and excellent head retention. Swirling torrent of medium sized bubbles.

Nose is malt and pine. More malt than pine. Sweetbread comes into the mix and really overshadows any hop presence.

Taste follows the nose with more malt than pine here too. Just not much flavor, then a light kick of spice, pepper, and a hint of pine. Some slight floral notes at the beginning, but fleeting.

Feel is creamy and thicker than expected. Probably stands up well in colder weather.

I've had several IPA's like this in the NE. Just not my thing.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2012 01:43:39 | More by beer2day

Holland

Pennsylvania

3.1/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: cloudy orange to light amber color with good head and very impressive retention.

S: sweet, malty, and some citrus hop character

T: sweet countered with bitter hops along with some pretty flavorful hops. Citrus with some grassy character stays with you on the tongue for a while. Has a weird, kind of metallic or medicinal smell.

M: very well carbonated with a medium body gives this a nice refreshing feel.

O: though its parts seem solid, there is something a little off about this beer. The smell gives away a little, but I can't tell what's going on. $7 or something like that for a bomber at Whole Foods in Portland, ME.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2012 22:45:58 | More by Holland

KarlosT

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -18%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Had this beer at the Amesbury Beer Festival on Sep 22 2012.

Most of the beers were served from bottles into small 3oz plastic pixie cups.

Although I took notes on the 20+ different beers that I tried, it is difficult to remember all of the details associated with each beer. My apologies to readers of these notes. However, I did pay attention to my overall scores, and noted what I thought were unique positives and negatives w/ each beer.

Note that for me:
< 2.5 = probably would not finish the beer
3.0 = drinkable beer, but likely would not buy again or look for
>3.5 = will try to buy again in the future

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2012 14:41:07 | More by KarlosT

andrewinski1

Maine

2.98/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a pint glass. There is a great orange-copper color with a bit of haze. There is a nice off-white head with great retention.

The aroma has some melon and graham cracker malt. I guess I get MAYBE a note of citrus.

The taste morphs bitter hop character and some mildly sweet malt with a touch of bubblegum. The hop flavoring is mild; barely leaving an oily pine flavor towards the finish. The bitterness is strong throughout.

This is medium bodied with nice crisp carbonation. I am disappointed with this one for sure. I liked other Rising Tide brews, but this is no better than a common six-pack offering at at least twice the price. Bummer.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2012 03:32:52 | More by andrewinski1

tehzachatak

Massachusetts

2.8/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

bomber poured into a Duvel tulip.

A - 2.5 fingers of white head with very fine bubbles. deep amber body - darker than i was expecting. a pretty beer- crappy head retention though, and the lacing is not as good as i like.

S - caramelly malts, some fruity notes. no real citrus or pine at all. this is pretty damn disappointing for an IPA nose, to be honest.

T - again, a lot of fruity flavors. sweet malt. plenty of bitterness, but not really hop flavor at all. a tiny bit of pine at the end. disappointing for an IPA. really disappointing.

M - one thing i can say is that the feel of this beer is good - carbonation is excellent, the body is just thick enough but not too thick. if i didn't have this yucky flavorless bitterness in my mouth, this is would be fantastic in this category.

I really had high hopes for this beer, and I love Rising Tide... alas, it was not to be. Stick to Daymark, a fantastic beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2012 23:40:24 | More by tehzachatak

dasenebler

Maine

2.48/5  rDev -32.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Rising Tide Zephyr
8/17/12
22oz, no date

Clear and dark amber, nice head and solid retention. Darker than I like to see in an IPA, but I'll roll with it. (3.5)

Aroma emphasizes the fruitiness of the hops, with notes of melon, pear and apple. There are signs of a stressed fermentation (Esters) in the nose though, and a touch of Diacetyl. (3)

Very bitter, a bit boozy. Grassy, slightly fruity hop flavor. Full bodied and heavy on the malt for an IPA, with notes of dark toast and bread. The flavor profile does not scream IPA to me. It does not have much resinous hop character, pine or citrus. Unbalanced bitterness starts to wear on the palate. Messy. The carbonation is just about perfect, and the mouthfeel is weighty but not overbearing. (2, 4)

Overall I'm not impressed with this new offering from Rising Tide. Kind of homebrew-like and not as well thought-out/executed as their other beers. Ishmael and Atlantis are outstanding beers, but everything else they brew is hit or miss. I'll look for Zephyr on-tap in Portland to see if it's any better than this bottle. (2.5)

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 01:16:52 | More by dasenebler