Thomas Creek Chocolate Orange IPA - Thomas Creek Brewery

jpro

South Carolina

3.55/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

32oz growler from CBX. Poured into a DFH shaped pint glass...

A: Dark ruby / copper; light beige, one-finger head; nice retention, but not much lace; really dark.

S: Piney hops and citrus peel; not much else.

T: A little cocoa dances on the tongue, followed by some citrus hoppiness; finishes with some wet cardboard blandness.

M: Medium-full with high carbonation; pretty good feel.

O: Pretty good except for the blah (cardboard / paper / dirt) finish; not too much “chocolate” really.

*from notes (4/30/12)

Serving type: growler

06-25-2012 01:05:21 | More by jpro

protton

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

06-14-2013 18:45:04 | More by protton

mattkoon

South Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

i was pretty interested to try a chocolate orange ipa. i dont think that i have ever came across such a thing. it pours a very interesting orange/black- with a thick head. smells hoppy with hints of dark malt. the taste is pretty hoppy with a dark bitter finish, the orange flavor is faint- probably more orange peel flavor than sweet citrus. but thats ok- there is a marrige of 3 bitters here the dark chocolate, hops and orange peel that go pretty good together. this isnt a bad beer. a very interesting blend for fans of bitter.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2013 16:24:42 | More by mattkoon

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%

06-10-2013 03:53:18 | More by ygtbsm94

UltimateLivewire

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

06-09-2013 16:28:27 | More by UltimateLivewire

csparace

Illinois

3.45/5  rDev -6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Here we go again. Every time I have something from Thomas Creek, albeit only a couple times now, I feel like I'm walking into some sort of weird experiment. This one looks from the first second to live up to par.

Appearance – Poured from a 12oz bottle to a Matilda glass. Pours a thin but very dark reddish amber. Its almost as if someone has diluted a darker beer – but looks pretty attractive. Huge creamy head that measures up to almost 3 fingers. I had to stop pouring and wait for it to come down.

Smell – hmm. Smells like a cross between a stout and an IPA. There's the tell tale sign of hops, maybe simcoe or something pretty earthy. However, there's some dark stuff going on. Some vanilla is pretty obvious. Orange is quite faint

Taste – not doing much for me here. The hoppy flavor that you'd expect in an IPA is changed significantly. Its got a much darker complex – but not in that roasted/caramelized way you'd think. Its more like they've just been far beyond their prime. The hop taste really lingers quite nicely though. There's not a lot of dark flavors going on at all. Chocolate and orange are there only if you really search for them – not nearly as present as I'd like for a beer like this.

Mouthfeel – this is a little boozy. Leaves me with a warm feeling in the back. The carbonation levels are actually pretty good. Kinda sour.

Overall – The more I have of this beer the less I like it. There are a lot of odd things going on and I don't think they work well. The chocolate and orange are not something that come out nearly enough, and even if they did, I don't know if they would work well in this style.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2013 03:41:25 | More by csparace

RyanAU

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%

06-08-2013 01:00:26 | More by RyanAU

Thedrizzle

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

06-07-2013 01:59:20 | More by Thedrizzle

MichiganderHB

Michigan

2.75/5  rDev -25.1%

06-06-2013 13:56:07 | More by MichiganderHB

bruindre

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

06-06-2013 02:37:03 | More by bruindre

JISurfer

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

06-04-2013 20:44:01 | More by JISurfer

ajtorres311

Florida

3/5  rDev -18.3%

06-02-2013 04:25:09 | More by ajtorres311

RobertColianni

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

06-01-2013 05:55:12 | More by RobertColianni

ADTaber

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

05-31-2013 22:34:56 | More by ADTaber

smithj4

New York

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

05-31-2013 00:10:43 | More by smithj4

Chrisbaggz

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%

05-30-2013 19:18:44 | More by Chrisbaggz

FUwolfpacker

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

05-25-2013 04:17:40 | More by FUwolfpacker

andysc83

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +9%

05-19-2013 02:03:52 | More by andysc83

Mjohnescu

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%

04-29-2013 21:33:54 | More by Mjohnescu

Mantooth

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +9%

04-21-2013 23:02:26 | More by Mantooth

zapahoppa

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%

04-11-2013 07:00:48 | More by zapahoppa

ltdantheman

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%

04-10-2013 14:31:19 | More by ltdantheman

Zach136

Georgia

4/5  rDev +9%

04-08-2013 01:35:38 | More by Zach136

rramsey

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

04-06-2013 21:56:32 | More by rramsey

Damian74Shensky

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

03-30-2013 19:49:42 | More by Damian74Shensky