Jamaica Sunset India Pale Ale - Mad River Brewing Company

merlin48

Kentucky

3.48/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy apricot body with a very small offwhite head that quickly vanishes with only a few spotty rings of lace. Subdued aroma has some caramel, citrus, and a hint of grassiness. Mouthfeel is medium in body and carbonation. Taste is mostly caramel maltiness with a balancing hop bitterness that has hints of grass and citrus. Decent enough, but rather pedestrian.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2007 13:35:41 | More by merlin48

John

New York

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

12oz. bottle. Pale straw color, slightly hazy. Very respectable head. Aroma is light grain - shortbread biscuits, fruity - pear and white grape, lemon citrus hop. Flavor is slightly more amplified than the aroma indicates, some spicy hop notes are factored in. Hops shifts back to citric and crisp. Very clean flavor that makes for a nice quaffer. IMHO the bottled version is tastier, draught version is an average pale ale. 6.4% abv is expertly masked. An enjoyable brew.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2004 21:09:19 | More by John

stephendr

California

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle- color of golden amber , with a thick off white head - dry nose of mild hops , spruce , caramel , and resin – taste of decent hops , salty , semi floral , spruce , and with malted background - body is dry , and with medium carbonation – aftertaste of dry hops , slight malt , and short

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2007 05:14:53 | More by stephendr

plaid75

New York

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a murky deep copper hue with a half finger foamy white head. There was decent retention and lacing.

The smell featured a sweet caramel malt and an earthy hop.

The taste was upfront sweet malts, some estery yeast and an earthy hop. Some toasted malts as well.

The mouthfeel was of average fullnes but undercarbonated.

Overall a decent AIPA. A bit subdued hop wise for me though.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2007 02:13:44 | More by plaid75

GClarkage

California

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

01/12/09- Purchased at Total Wine in Roseville, CA.

Presentation- 12oz bottle, forgot to look for freshness info. Poured into a standard pint glass.

Appearance- Darker golden in color approaching amber. Unfiltered as I can see lots of clouded yeast in the pour. About a one finger head and light spotty lace left behind.

Smell- A lighter nose of toasted malt and some grapefruit pith hops.

Taste- Well rounded in malt and hops, but nothing really jumps out as outstanding. More grapefruit rind in the hops rather than the juice. Malt is nicely toasted and melds well with hops.

Mouthfeel- Medium carbonation level with a short lived hoppy bitter aftetaste.

Drinkability- Middle of the road IPA, not great, not bad...just there.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2009 16:52:44 | More by GClarkage

BucannonXC5

California

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a pink plastic cup. Tough to see in the pink plastic, but the color appeared to be amberish. Maybe ¾-inches of head, light film and light lacing.

Smelled sweet and citrusy. A bit hoppy sniff as well.

Initial taste was sweet and lemony, followed by an alcohol bite.

Medium body, high carbonation. Bitter ending, but the sweetness makes it slightly refreshing.

A so-so beer. I thought it was going to be a bit better, but I was feeling it after three of them. There are much better IPA’s out there.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2011 01:28:25 | More by BucannonXC5

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.53/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

first beer from these guys. pours a glowing red amber color with a receding bone white head and some chunky sediment on the bottom of the glass. smells like hop sugar, resiny and fresh. bold and almost too much with the sticky hops. red malty in that dry kind of way. can taste the alcohol on top of the hops and it reduces drinkability. better than average, and the price was right, but there are countless red india pales that destroy this one. leaves a funny aftertaste too.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2011 07:24:11 | More by StonedTrippin

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.53/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served from tap into a sampler tumbler. Poured a golden yellow-orange with a half finger pure white head that subsided to a minimal amount. Maintained phenomenal lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, caramel, caramel hop, pine, and pine hop. The flavor was of sweet malt, floral, caramel hop, caramel, and hair salon. It had a light feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a decent brew. The aroma on this one wasn't too bad, but it did smell a little off. The flavor was a little off-putting with the hair salon flavor on the followthrough, but it wasn't overly invasive. Worth trying if you get the chance, but I wouldn't go out of my way to do so.

Serving type: on-tap

02-11-2012 16:29:10 | More by thagr81us

sponberg

New York

3.55/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a cloudy gold (unfiltered?) with a white head that falls asleep quickly, yet rises from its slumber when schwirled. Aroma is bready malt and citric hops.

There's that marzipan thing again - must be a yeast ester or some sort of fermentation product. Same flavor as in the Barleycorn. Not a bad thing, just different. Beyond that is a pretty tasty IPAcaramelly malt, some alcohol in the middle-end, and a citrusy hoppiness (grapefruit rind) that rides along thruout. Nice body - rounded. I could drink a few of these, but I wonder if the marzipan (the curse of growing up German - you learn what almond paste tastes like early and often!) would eventually get to me.

Thanks again to BA JeffKrenner for the brew!

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2006 03:26:52 | More by sponberg

BeerTruth

Connecticut

3.55/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Zorro for this one.

12 oz. stubby bottle poured into a nonic.

Pours a hazy burnt orange with a white one finger fluffy head that slowly dies down a thin layer. Stickiness is pretty good with spotty lacing on the sides of the glass. Smell is very peppery/spicey hop odor, not too appealing. Almost has a rancid lemon like smell to it. Taste wasn't what I had expected after the smell. Starts off with a very smooth mild earthy hop flavor, very pleasing. Taste then smooths out with some malty goodness and finally ends up quite dry and bitter, pretty complex flavors. Light to medium chewy mouthfeel with a good amount of carbonation. I could probably drink a few of these as long as I didn't smell them.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2007 01:15:46 | More by BeerTruth

bosco7

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours hazy orange with minimal head.

Burnt sugar with some cascade hop aroma.

Starts with lots of caramel, bread, and molasses flavors followed by orange marmalade, pineapple, citrus juice, and floral flavors. Starts sweet and finishes with a just a bit of dryness. Bitterness is definately low for style. Tastes more like a hoppy Pale Ale.

Big malty mouthfeel with low-medium carbonation. I could drink a few of these and be pretty satisfied.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2007 01:49:05 | More by bosco7

malty

Michigan

3.55/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a glowing copper/amber with a tiny amount of micro-suspended yeast particles floating about. The off-white thick head settles down to about an inch. Lots of fine visible uprising carbonation. Some lace working.

Lovely vanilla sweet malty backdrop in the nose with a lush and syrupy floral hop greeting, (though a bit fainter than I would have hoped).

...everything looks and smells quite nice.

The flavors are here, somewhere, but they seem to be hiding from me. (after a few more gulps and swishes...) The bitterness from the hops is felt in my mouth and on my tongue to a point where it's a bit chalky, but the hop flavor is VERY faint. The maltiness of this IPA is reminiscent of an English IPA whereas it creates a solid platform for the hops to take center stage, but sadly the hops in this ale must be experiencing stage fright.

The mouthfeel of this ale is very unique. It has a very thick, dense fullness, which is great. The fine carbonation is felt quite wonderfully. Almost full bodied but still has a somewhat watery feel - very peculiar.

Drinkability is good, and would pair well with a hearty rueben with a spicy rye bread.

Overall a very interesting and unique IPA. The look, smell and texture are great. I'm sorry the (layers of) hops didn't surface and showcase they way I look forward to. I'd love to try this fresh on tap at the brewery as I'd bet this might have suffered from some careless handling, (but I don't have proof of this).

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2008 21:00:37 | More by malty

flexabull

California

3.55/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a cloudy orange color with a pretty nice white head.

Aromas are of hard candies, grapefruits, it also a bit flowery, and dusty.

Taste starts out a bit bitter, with mostly grapefruit notes. Bee then settle into crystal malts, that are a bit sweet, and creamy. Finish is dry, with some mixed fruity citrus and aspirin like bitterness. This beer is certainly on the bitter side, but the malts balance it fairly well.

Mouthfeel is pretty good, nice crisp carbonation, and decent body.

All in all, a pretty good beer, but a bit below others in the style. This comes off as just a bit one dimensional and lacking anything to make it really stand out. Still a pretty decent beer, at a fair price.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2011 23:24:05 | More by flexabull

PittBeerGirl

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance is typical- amber body with thin white head. The head fades quickly and not much lacing is left behind. Smell is pretty fruity and malty. Taste is not as aggressive as most IPAs. Its somewhat sweet and malty with hints of hops in the aftertaste. The Jamica Red from this brewery is much more agressive then this brew. Although it is atypical for the style it is still pretty drinkable and enjoyable. The malty and fruity backbone are brought forward in this brew while the hops take a back seat. Similar (though less hops) to the balance that you would find in a DIPA rather than a typical IPA

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2007 04:18:03 | More by PittBeerGirl

atsprings

North Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured a nice copper amber with a thin off-white head that left spotty lacing. Aroma was slight citrus hops. The taste was a decent blend of citrus hops and caramel malts. The beer is medium bodied yet light and crisp. This is an enjoyable beer, but with many better IPAs out there, I don't see myself choosing this one again.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2008 05:49:47 | More by atsprings

californiakebab

California

3.58/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark orange, tawny amber, reddish golden hue with a dense white head that leaves ample lacing around the glass. I pick up hints of tropical fruit, orange, grapefruit on the nose, with a slight cat-pee sort of thing as well unfortunately. This beer tastes of fruity hop flavors and has a decent bite from the hops. There's some light caramel malt in the background for balance. Weight medium on the tongue, with good carbonation for great drinkability. Overall this is a very enjoyable west coast IPA, but as a hophead I would prefer more aroma hops, and maybe a more complex malt profile.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2011 22:26:27 | More by californiakebab

tdm168

North Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy orangish amber with 1/2" of loose, bubbly head that has good retention. The nose has notes of bread, pineapple, grapefruit, and faint soap. The taste is light, bready malt, pineapple, and faint yeast in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth with good carbonation.

The bready malt and pineapple are a nice combination, but overall, this beer comes across a little one dimensional. It's really drinkable though, and it's easy to have more than one.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2011 14:00:34 | More by tdm168

Flounder57

Massachusetts

3.59/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle was poured into a pint glass.

Appearance: This beer poured a one finger head that reduced to a thin layer and left some lacing on the glass. It is a hazy orange hue with a little clarity and vision of bubbles coming up through the glass. Nice lacing on the glass as the beer was drank.

Smell: light citrus, caramel, and bready notes.

Taste: Pretty much the same with a little bitterness in the end. Nothing fantastic.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, low to medium carbonation, medium bodied, and easy to drink.

Overall: I was expecting more from this beer, but I am pleasantly happy with this beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 19:37:07 | More by Flounder57

mickeymac

California

3.6/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served from a 12 oz bottle, it's clear gold with a minimal white head that dimishes quickly but leaves just a trace on top. Flowery hops dominate the smell and the taste. Unfortunately, not much else makes its way through. It's not extremely bitter, but it still somehow seems out of balance. It's not bad but is disappointing after the expectations created by the Jamaica Red.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2003 02:13:07 | More by mickeymac

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

3.6/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - pours a translucent clouded orange, lots of sediment in suspension. A thin layer of light cream foam holds around pretty well, laying small pockets of lace randomly about the pint glass.

Aroma - powdery biscuit, light fruity citrus. Simple and nice.

Taste - decent biscuity grain with a hint of caramel. Light to moderate citrusy hops, turning slightly more bitter on the swallow but keeping some light orange and fruitiness. Mild bittering at the finish, a pleasant flavor overall.

Mouthfeel - notably solid body, crisply carbonated, and a better than average smoothness.

Drinkability - a nice little session IPA here.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2009 19:21:24 | More by brewdlyhooked13

brentk56

North Carolina

3.6/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a cloudy amber color with a very nice head that leaves quite a few swaths of lace behind; impressive retention

Smell: Rather balanced aromatics with both caramel and piney hops commanding attention

Taste: Caramel malt, up front, followed by a piney hop flavor that evolves in a bitter aspirin direction by mid-palate; after the swallow, the beer becomes more malt-dominant, though there is still an lingering hop aspect on the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: Surprisingly malty for an IPA, this is a decent beer but will not inspire the committed hophead

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2011 19:13:56 | More by brentk56

felipe2toes

California

3.63/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours copper orange with thick white head--leaves plenty of lacing and crust.

Smells of floral hops, some sort of fruity sweetness, though very mellow for IPA.

Some pine and citrus flavors, maybe even some sweet honey, but not the usual in-yer-face hoppiness in American IPAs. still good.

Good mouthfeel as well, medium-bodied, crisp finish.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2011 03:59:22 | More by felipe2toes

rkuhnel

California

3.65/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is a local brewery so I want it to do well. Poured in a pint glass this was very attractive gold with little suspended particles that looked like pieces of gold. Nice big fat white head that left great lacing. Great start.

Nose was mostly of hops with overtones of pine, grass, and citrus.

Palate was crisp and clean, but does not hide the alcohol well.

Flavor was much of malts with hops jumping in. There is an odd metallic aftertaste that keeps this from joining the ranks of the top IPA.

Overall, it shapes up as a decent but far from great IPA.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2007 01:31:20 | More by rkuhnel

woemad

Washington

3.65/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle purchased at the Rocket Market in Spokane. No freshness date.

Poured a slightly hazy shade that is just dark of copper, with an inch of white foam. Sheets of foam retreat down the glass, leaving streaks and spots behind.

When first opened, this beer had a very bitter, herbal nose. Allowed to warm, it takes on a more melded, citrus-bitter scent.

Moderately bitter and citrusy hops hit the tastebuds closely melded, with the bitterness maintaining a slight lead. The fadeout is quite dry.

Slightly oily, prickly mouthfeel. About right for the style.

While not a beer that really wows my tastebuds, I find this to be quite drinkable, and I could consume several pints of it were it to appear at my local. It's a little too high to be a session beer, though, and it doesn't quite stand up to the flavor of the other IPAs I'm able to procure on a regular basis.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2008 08:16:56 | More by woemad

pmcadamis

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - A cloudy glowing deep ruddy orange brew is capped with small layer of khaki foam that reduces pretty quickly to a collar with some wispy haze on the surface of the brew. Some nice lace is left on the glass, and a quick swirl builds the initially flimsy head up to a nice fat finger.

S - Mandarin orange and orange blossoms. A nice thick biscuity malt background allows the mellow citrus and floral note to play out. Some melon and cantaloupe are in there too. This could stand to be a little more assertive though, it's very weak.

T - This has a little more horsepower (hop-power?) in the mouth than in the nose. Again, mellow mandarin orange and cantaloupe. Sort of like a mixed fruit cup initially, then the bitter hops really kick in and give this a very grassy finishing note...like bitter greens.

M - Medium bodied with a very sedate level of carbonation that prickles the tongue just enough to keep this lively. The finish is a really nice herbal/grassy bitter flavor that reminds me of parsley in the aftertaste.

D - A good IPA for sure. I really like the nice off-dry finish more than anything. This one is above average, but not show-stopping by any means.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2008 18:40:23 | More by pmcadamis