Tower 10 IPA - Karl Strauss Brewing Company

TaySuth

California

3.13/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Nice amber color with a one finger head that hangs around for a while before receding down to a ring with some good lacing.

Smell: Not overly aromatic. Hops are the most prominent aroma with citrus and a hint of pine. Some malt character in the background. Not very impressive but not bad.

Taste: The flavor is better than the appearance and smell led me to believe. Good bitterness with a rather smooth finish. Hops flavor is well balanced with the grains.

Mouthfeel: Nice carbonation with a body that is slightly on the heavy side.

Overall: An interesting, yet pretty average IPA in my opinion. Definitely not bad but not something that I would seek out again.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2012 06:21:00 | More by TaySuth

camelgar

Arizona

4/5  rDev +9%

05-17-2013 06:32:37 | More by camelgar

mdterps

Maryland

4/5  rDev +9%

05-03-2013 02:51:54 | More by mdterps

Yello5

California

4/5  rDev +9%

05-01-2013 22:04:13 | More by Yello5

Braz

Washington

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

04-24-2013 19:05:58 | More by Braz

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.73/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

330ml brown bottle purchased with two other Karl Strauss beers from Dan Murphy's in Alexandria.

Pours a pleasant light golden colour with a firm and persistent, almost creamy head of vanilla white. Lacing is specked intricately and all about the place. Body is relatively, light, but holds a very nice fine carbonation. Overall, it looks good.

Nose is brash, sharp and direct from the outset: big clean lemon-citrus hops with a leafy undertone to give some breadth. Some sweet sherbet characters give some juicy tones, while there's a slightly flat malt tone that seems to be there only because it was forced to come along by its parents. But no matter, the hops are the life of this beer and they're lively and exciting.

The taste, however, reins in a lot of these big exciting hop characters. Mild entry with a slight peppery bite, before some fleshy malt provides a structure that nothing really seems to want to fill. Wavering to fleeting hop bitterness has a somewhat English flavour to it: some earthy, herbal notes and a tannic flavour. Finish is quite empty and a little flat. It's fine, but it needs more oomph, especially after the nose was so pungent.

Feel is smooth, but is hampered by the lack of really exciting flavour. It doesn't really have anything to do here.

But, overall, this is actually good stuff. If nothing else, I can just breath in the heady aromas. And if the palate is a little flat: well, that just may just make it more approachable, and something I'd be happy to drink more often.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 04:53:47 | More by lacqueredmouse

jmgault1

California

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

04-10-2013 04:35:57 | More by jmgault1

Muggins25

California

2.75/5  rDev -25.1%

04-07-2013 03:05:45 | More by Muggins25

eulerthegrape

California

2.75/5  rDev -25.1%

04-01-2013 19:11:58 | More by eulerthegrape

Wuzawuza

California

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

03-31-2013 22:37:46 | More by Wuzawuza

Camallan

Australia

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%

03-27-2013 06:32:53 | More by Camallan

Puckstop98

4.5/5  rDev +22.6%

03-15-2013 14:38:19 | More by Puckstop98

Brewt

Australia

4/5  rDev +9%

03-12-2013 06:39:57 | More by Brewt

ladofmanor

Australia

4.5/5  rDev +22.6%

03-09-2013 04:47:50 | More by ladofmanor

SmashPants

Australia

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

Bottle: decent 355mL brown bottle. Pretty average craft label.

Appearance: a light, clear amber-gold colour with a thin, frothy head. Minimal retention and lacing.

Aroma: definite citrus and pine on the nose. Quite bitter hops - fairly mild aroma for n AIPA though.

Taste: at first I was a bit turned off due to the extremely bitter hops. The more I got into it, however, the better it was. A good blend of light malt, spices and that fair whack of hop bitterness. Not really a discernible flavour, but just bitter - standard AIPA stuff.

Aftertaste: the bitterness drops quite a bit, and is accompanied by a lovely caramel malt flavour.

Mouth feel: when I started drinking, I hadn't let the beer warm enough (it was approx 5 degrees), so it appeared there was to much carbonation. When it got to the correct temperature of approx 10 degrees, the body is light to moderate, and the carbonation is just enough to carry the flavour through.

Overall: this is a pretty good American IPA - plenty of flavour to go with the bittering hops - for a reasonable price of AU$60 a case (2013). After Red Trolley and Pintail Pale, I didn't think Karl Strauss would get one done - but this one does.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 10:53:25 | More by SmashPants

MCain04

Illinois

3.61/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Acquired as an extra in a trade, thanks WestCoastBrew2 for a great trade. This was poured into a 12oz Hop Leaf Tulip. Looks to be about 2 months fresh.

Appearance: Clear amber, 2 finger white head with moderate retention and lacing.

Smell: Fruity! Exploding with mango, pineapple, strawberry, orange, and grapefruit. Some pine as well.

Taste: Huge letdown after that nose! No fruity or piney hops at all. Pretty stale-tasting actually. No real hop flavor, some bitterness on the end, moderately malty. No alcohol taste present.

Mouthfeel: A bit over-carbonated. Otherwise average body with mildly dry finish.

Overall: If I was the brewer, I would pat myself on the back for the hop profile added late in the brew contributing to that nose. However, it's just a let-down on the taste. Needs some work, but could be a good IPA if the hop recipe was adjusted.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2013 03:59:31 | More by MCain04

johnhenryconway

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

02-12-2013 04:16:42 | More by johnhenryconway

WestCoastBrew2

California

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

02-07-2013 02:11:37 | More by WestCoastBrew2

Devinph

California

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

02-06-2013 05:34:21 | More by Devinph

gatornation

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

02-05-2013 23:48:17 | More by gatornation

apg1014

California

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%

02-04-2013 16:46:01 | More by apg1014

mkircher

5/5  rDev +36.2%

01-29-2013 00:57:16 | More by mkircher

flydudehsv

California

4/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Decent beer from Karl Strauss. Light amber color with a thin head. Aroma of malt and citra hops. Sweet malt with a hop aftertaste of citrus and grass. Pretty balanced for an IPA although didn't quite have the kick like some other SD IPA's. Still a good beer I'd get again.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2013 09:46:03 | More by flydudehsv

OMsweetOM

California

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

01-24-2013 07:27:48 | More by OMsweetOM

cloudydoug

1.5/5  rDev -59.1%

01-14-2013 00:46:33 | More by cloudydoug