Flagship IPA - Carolina Brewery

PhantomVodoo

Ohio

3.68/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Off-white head. Beer's a light caramel color.
Unique grassy hop aroma. Sweet malt as well.

Unique taste that didn't hit the spot for me. Fruity, grassy hops and sweet pale malt. Decently balanced. Maybe I had apricots on the brain as my buddies were drinking DFH Aprihop, but I detected a touch of apricot.

Good mouthfeel.
A bit odd to be real drinkable.

Overall, a solid IPA. Big thanks to AKSmokedPorter for bringing a growler up to Ohio!

Serving type: on-tap

04-16-2004 03:35:41 | More by PhantomVodoo

jrohrbacher

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

05-16-2013 23:55:52 | More by jrohrbacher

juliusseizure

New York

3.25/5  rDev -9.7%

04-30-2013 21:02:06 | More by juliusseizure

Axnjxn

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

04-21-2013 19:37:00 | More by Axnjxn

twowheelssoar

North Carolina

3/5  rDev -16.7%

04-04-2013 21:31:34 | More by twowheelssoar

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.61/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Served on-tap a Mediterranean Deli in Chapel Hill, NC

A: Pours a clear copper in color with moderate amounts of visible carbonation and moderate orange highlights. The beer has a finger tall light beige head that quickly reduces to a very thin film covering the majority of the surface of the beer with a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of floral and citrus/orange hops with some lighter notes of caramel malts.

T: Upfront there is a light amount of caramel malts with very little sweetness which is followed by moderate flavors of both floral and citrus/orange hops. Moderate amounts of bitterness which are sharp at first and fade slowly.

M: Just shy of medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation.

O: Easy to drink and enjoyable, just a touch too much ABV and bitterness to be sessionable but paired really nicely with the mediterranean food.

Serving type: on-tap

03-31-2013 00:43:49 | More by dbrauneis

greencovesteve

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%

03-28-2013 18:58:13 | More by greencovesteve

Duvel

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

03-09-2013 15:41:12 | More by Duvel

LXIXME

New Mexico

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

02-19-2013 01:14:13 | More by LXIXME

dpodratsky3

Georgia

3.11/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle poured into pint glass

A: True copper orange, large fizzy head fades to just a film, white in color, should be crystal clear but my can had a TON of floaters

S: Not too hoppy, actually has some dominant malt aromas, bready sweet, hops are mild with a resiny and herbal aroma

T: Again, mild, malt is present in background, herbal and resiny hops again, hops at least provide the main flavor here but don't pack much of a punch

M: Medium body, slightly dry finish, pleasant mouthfeel

O: Ok, but it tastes faded, the date from Total Wine says 12/14/12. I'm guessing that is the shelved date (I reviewed this beer Jan. 23) so it shouldn't be THAT faded.

Serving type: can

01-29-2013 02:15:42 | More by dpodratsky3

lupercmda

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

01-27-2013 03:14:03 | More by lupercmda

KevinGordon

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%

12-23-2012 05:16:42 | More by KevinGordon

blinker97

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

11-26-2012 17:27:41 | More by blinker97

SFTBLMOSS2

4.5/5  rDev +25%

11-21-2012 15:02:44 | More by SFTBLMOSS2

marine1975

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%

11-11-2012 03:00:48 | More by marine1975

PCBrewski

Colorado

4/5  rDev +11.1%

10-12-2012 10:42:31 | More by PCBrewski

5thOhio

South Carolina

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

Pours a typical IPA color, golden amber. Thin head that dissipates quickly leaving a light ring of foam. Not much in the way of lacing.

Nose is light, fresh floral and slightly herbal. Mouthfeel is medium, appropriate for an IPA, with delicate prickly carbonation.

Taste begins with the floral and herbal hop notes, then a strong bitterness overwhelms with underlying subtle notes of malt. The heavy bitterness makes it hard for me to detect the specific flavors of the malt, but it's there notwithstanding.

For an English IPA, I would expect more balance. However, it's still a decent IPA, probably better on tap.

Serving type: can

09-04-2012 22:59:27 | More by 5thOhio

CHickman

New York

3.8/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Beer review from a can on 8/23/12: pours clear amber color with a foamy 2 finger white head that faded slowly and left very good spotty lacing and rings as it went down.

Smells of sweet malt, caramel, biscuit, toasted grains, floral hops, toast, wheat and buttery cracker; malty overall and the hops are an accent like an English IPA.

Tastes of sweet malt, caramel, biscuit, toasted grains, floral hops, toast, wheat, lemon, light citrus hops, buttery cracker, toast and/or dough; malty overall with light citrus hops and lemon to compliment the malty biscuit flavors which handle most of the flavor. If this is an English IPA, then this is spot on - if not, then it's a decent IPA.

Mouthfeel is smooth, with light carbonation, a medium body and a slightly bitter malty finish that's on the sweet side. Average overall, so I wouldn't seek this out again. I like hoppy American IPA's better, but this was worthy of trying while in NC.

Serving type: can

08-31-2012 03:31:41 | More by CHickman

cantfindme

North Carolina

2.5/5  rDev -30.6%

08-26-2012 04:56:30 | More by cantfindme

discdueler

North Carolina

3/5  rDev -16.7%

08-15-2012 17:02:32 | More by discdueler

5lat5ive

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +11.1%

07-25-2012 00:59:21 | More by 5lat5ive

dave317

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +11.1%

07-20-2012 20:59:43 | More by dave317

Pencible

Virginia

3.53/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: This poured a cloudy copper with some off white head and chunky sediment.
S: It smelled like faint copper hops and bready malt, with some orange.
T: It tasted like bitter resin and copper, with some herbal hops and bready yeast. It had a bitter metallic aftertaste that was somewhat clean.
M: It was fairly thick with moderate carbonation. Good full body.
D: This was a decent English IPA. The scent and taste were fitting for the style, but not really my preference. The body was very nice, but the finish was a little harsh, so it was not the easiest to drink. Nice to try once, but easily forgettable.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2012 18:29:05 | More by Pencible

mklinger

North Carolina

3.25/5  rDev -9.7%

07-17-2012 14:11:16 | More by mklinger

Jason_Quad

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

07-09-2012 21:50:13 | More by Jason_Quad