Orange Blossom - Indian Wells Brewing Company

kp29

Arizona

2.63/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75

Pours a slightly hazy copper orange. Get a decent whiff of oranges and orange peel. Taste is similar, orange, fizzy, but artificial. Taste is reminiscent of some sort of orange medicine.

I'm usually a big fan of fruit beers but this really doesn't do it for me. All around unimpressive and no real typical beer characteristics going on here.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 04:50:11 | More by kp29

avisong

Virginia

3/5  rDev +14.1%

02-09-2013 04:16:22 | More by avisong

westcoastbeerlvr

California

1.5/5  rDev -43%

01-10-2013 17:38:11 | More by westcoastbeerlvr

TheMarkE

California

3.5/5  rDev +33.1%

01-10-2013 00:57:28 | More by TheMarkE

kew

Texas

2.25/5  rDev -14.4%

11-11-2012 19:57:28 | More by kew

cdwil

Texas

2.75/5  rDev +4.6%

11-10-2012 20:49:03 | More by cdwil

t0rin0

California

2/5  rDev -24%

10-14-2012 16:32:36 | More by t0rin0

LXIXME

New Mexico

2.5/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Big white head above a clear orange-copper colored beer with a nice long lasting lacing.

Off brand orange soda aroma with some light grain malts backing it up.

Light orange soda taste, definitely an off brand, not the Nesbits or Orange Crush, but more towards the generic brand orange soda with a light grain malt added to at least let people know its a beer and not a soda.

A light dry aftertaste with some slight orange flavors on this light bodied beer.

I'll pass on a second one of these.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2012 23:02:30 | More by LXIXME

M_Burkey

3/5  rDev +14.1%

08-14-2012 14:06:33 | More by M_Burkey

Irrationalist

California

4.5/5  rDev +71.1%

04-24-2012 04:44:35 | More by Irrationalist

TrojanWheels

California

2.5/5  rDev -4.9%

01-23-2012 02:01:43 | More by TrojanWheels

Unchi

Arizona

2/5  rDev -24%

12-06-2011 23:59:29 | More by Unchi

Mora2000

Texas

2.25/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to swalden28 for sharing this bottle. The beer pours a slightly hazy orange color with a white head. The aroma smells like Sunkiss soda with some grain mixed in. The flavor is just as bad, with a lot of sweet orange and biscuit malt notes. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2011 21:44:06 | More by Mora2000

womencantsail

California

1.8/5  rDev -31.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Indian Wells mix pack provided by Bobby.

A: The pour is a slightly hazed orange color with a very short lived off-white head.

S: Smells completely fake. Orange candy and cough drops. A lot of menthol and mint, and a strange warmth.

T: Tastes almost exactly like orange mints as well. There's quite a bit of menthol flavor to this as well, which is not something that's necessarily bad, but not what I want in beer.

M: The body is light with a moderate level of carbonation.

D: This is hard to score. The flavors aren't necessarily awful, but they don't really belong in beer, and they're not something that you can drink a lot of.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2011 05:16:35 | More by womencantsail

Ryan011235

Ohio

1.63/5  rDev -38%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

Poured into a snifter on 11/12/10

Thanks to Nickd717

Pours a watery peach, appearing a flat tangerine hue in the glass. Foam just shy of one finger dissipates quickly; swirling draws forth a little retention. Sporadic splatters of lace.

Imagine a can of Orange Crush was opened at the end of a party but remained full, save a few sips. Now imagine someone finds it a few hours later, warm, becoming flat & that someone decides to throw it back in the fridge for another go. Such is this beer's aroma, with complimentary hints of grains & yeast. Starts to smell rotten as it warms.

The taste is watered-down to the max. It honestly tastes like old, dry tea leaf crumbs were mixed into watered-down orange soda & I accidentally took a drink. It's also quite artificial. Other than an extremely sparse notion of toastiness, there is no appreciable malt, yeast or hops.

The feel is watery thin, as well. Prickly carbonation upfront is too much; mellowing a hair toward the finish. Bizarre, tingly residuals return after orange peel starts to fade from the finish.

Were this devoid of alcohol (not that it seems like there's alcohol at all) this would be a sterling addition to the hallowed isle of reject soda/tea/juice drink at Odd Lots (or Big Lots, depending on your location). I finished the bottle; though a vile sort, it's the kind that must be finished out.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2010 02:30:09 | More by Ryan011235

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

3.13/5  rDev +19%
look: 1.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served from the tap in a pilsner at the brewery. Initial appearance was overtly disappointing, as the beer is listed as "Orange Blossom Amber", yet comes out looking no darker than Indian Wells Gold or Pale. Little to no head in the glass as it was served, however the smell was fairly impressive. Scents of light and sweet orange, not overpowering, but strong and stable. Unfortunately, the beer takes a turn for the worse once again. The beer, despite the strong and favorable aroma, lacks in taste to follow it up. The orange taste is there, but no beer flavor to back it up. The amount of orange flavor in the brew would do well with a darker beer as its canvas, which a true amber would accomplish. The beer is smooth and slick in mouth, with a light and pleasant finish. Minimal aftertaste, which is disappointing in an amber.

In the end, this beer might have the best potential of this brewery's offering in regards to improvement. If given the foundation of a true amber, with the current orange flavor, this could be a strong and very enjoyable brew.

Serving type: on-tap

11-12-2010 05:32:41 | More by GarthDanielson

nickd717

California

1.63/5  rDev -38%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

I bring to you the 7th edition of my quest to try every Indian Wells beer. Why I do this, even I don't know. I'm a masochist I guess. Every one I've had so far has been absolutely revolting, yet I carry on. 12oz bottle from Whole Foods Los Altos.

Pours an innocuous looking clear orangish-golden color with a one-finger white head.

Aroma is basically that of a bad mimosa. There is orange peel and some floral notes, along with a weird solventy character.

The solvent comes out big in the flavor. Once again, it reminds me of a mimosa gone wrong. An artificial-tasting orange rind quality dominates. The first few sips seriously made me cringe.

The palate is an epic failure. Thin-bodied with lots of astringency.

Overall, this actually has fewer off-flavors than your average Indian Wells beer, but unfortunately the flavor they were going for is somewhat of an off-flavor in itself. This is disgusting.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2010 22:52:37 | More by nickd717

EnojysAnyBeer

Colorado

2.93/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A- It has the appearance of a pale, with a light, orange-amber color and a slight haze. The head is decent and slightly above average in lacing and retention

S- I smell orange soda on top of a grainy alcohol with a background note of wet veggies. Does not look good for this beer.

T- The taste is actually much less in the orange soda department but still tastes a lot more like candy than it should. The malt is of better quality than a BMC in that it is all-malt, but is still quite average with a grainy, wet bread taste.

M- Overly carbonated and sticky, again alike orange soda

D- Well, I liked the Amnesia IPA and the Lobotomy Bock, but this fruit beer is just too fruity for me.

P.S. This does not belong in the American/Red Lager category, it is a Fruit / Vegetable beer and I rated it as such. It would get at most a 2.5 in the American/Red Lager category.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2009 01:08:07 | More by EnojysAnyBeer

illidurit

California

2.68/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Clear orange-infused gold with almost no head. Carbonation looks very fizzy. Smells like a freshly peeled orange, with a tiny bit of sweet maltiness. Tastes like someone poured a shot of orange soda into a Budweiser. Very watery and oddly low on carbonation despite the initial fizziness. Refreshing but immensely one-dimensional and boring.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2009 07:06:23 | More by illidurit

Avryle

New York

3.88/5  rDev +47.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2 | overall: 4.5

A- Orange with a very small white head that dissipates quickly.

S- Smells just like oranges. Real, not fake. I'm impressed at just how fragrant it is.

T- Tastes like Orange Crush. Almost like a shandy. I think it's quite good, just wish the beer-y qualities would leak through a bit more.

M- Sorely lacking in body. This is its one major shortfall

D- I could drink the s**t out of this beer. Considering where it's brewed- the middle of the desert, it is very apropo.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2009 17:15:27 | More by Avryle

aerozeppl

New York

3.63/5  rDev +38%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A: nice yellow color with a touch of orange too it. Almost no white head and very little lacing.

S: Like orange tang. Really nice natural orange flavor. The best part of this beer for sure.

T: Follows the nose with a ton of natural orange flavor. The orange peel is a touch bitter in the finish.

M: The worst part of this beer. Very light on the mouthfeel a step above water.

D: For what it is a very drinkable beer. Would be great on a hot summer day.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2009 22:47:04 | More by aerozeppl

largadeer

California

1.7/5  rDev -35.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

Appearance: Hazed orange-amber, the head crackles away and dies down within seconds.

Smell: Ever smelled an orange soda? That's what this smells like. There might be a little bit of malt noticeable, or maybe I'm looking too hard. For a soda, this would smell fine; for beer, not so much.

Taste & mouthfeel: Ultra watery up front with a blast of orange peel, like one of those orange-infused mineral waters. There's essentially no beer flavor here up until the finish, when a faint bit of grain becomes noticeable. The astringent orange peel flavor soon overcomes that though, leaving me with an aftertastes that makes me wish I had a toothbrush and some toothpaste on hand.

This brewery is atrocious.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2009 22:38:21 | More by largadeer

allengarvin

Texas

2.75/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A nice brought gold color, though it has little head retention. Plenty of appropriate aroma, reminding me of the orange Shasta my grandfather used to drink (not much else in the nose though). Flavor is rather unpleasant, like a cheap orange soda, and no particular beer flavors. A touch of bitterness but no hop flavor--no malt flavor either. Just a fizzy orangish drink.

Too bad--I'm a bit of a fan of the Buffalo Bill orange blossom beer, though everyone says I'm crazy to like it. But the BB beer keeps things more in balance.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2009 02:48:11 | More by allengarvin

thekevlarkid

Maryland

3.4/5  rDev +29.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This was a shipped-across-the-country-gift from my girlfriend. Poured out of the bottle a hazy, bright orange color suggestive of a soda. One finger of beige head. Acceptable retention and some lacing but neither is noteworthy. Distinctly orange aroma with subtle hints of floral hops. Semi-sweet flavors of orange and grapefruit with some peel of both mimicked by the hops adding a bitter element. Lacking malt backbone however. Decent mouthfeel but a little fizzy. Finish is also a little bitter when the hops kick. I would not classify this as an amber and it kind of sucks as one. However, it is a unique and unusual fruit beer in a saturated market.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2008 16:52:09 | More by thekevlarkid

gpogo

California

3.1/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A- Light amber/orange with white head that quickly dissipates. When poring the stream looked a different color than most brews.

A- Orange soda, crush perhaps? Maybe even the Orange dream bars.

T- It really tastes like orange soda mixed with beer, but sortof muted. Some sort of crazy shandy. The bottle and website both claim they use fresh oranges(no flavor extracts).

M- Light body with medium carbonation. (Just like orange soda!)

D- I'm not sure this beer is exactly for me, I think it could use a bit more of a beer taste. Perhaps even more of a citrus flavor as well. Though I really dig how packed with orange flavor it is, it really reminds me of soda. If you are a Leinenkugel fan you may enjoy this.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2008 01:08:45 | More by gpogo