Alphalpha - Ithaca Beer Company

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle shared with Dan at Pizza Plant, and others. This is not an on-the-mark DIPA because of its understated hop bitterness. Its still an enjoyable beer, with the slightly tangyness and honey hitting up front, some Cascade bitterness washing over the palate in the finish, and building up over a few samples. More of an IPA in its perceived bitterness. A cask appearance.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2011 01:03:47 | More by northyorksammy

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.45/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Rich amber in color with a light haziness to it. A nice head of white, perhaps two inches in height rose up from the bottom of the glass and settled down with some decent lacing along the sides. Nice aroma of orange, thick, pungent and sweet with a nice malted backbone that really gave it some nice balance. Smooth, easy flavor here with all the abv non existent and really well done. Rich orange and pineapple flavors, buttery, biscuit like malt notes mid palate and a nice thick, medium feel that was accented nicely by some of the richest carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2011 01:50:43 | More by mikesgroove

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed from notes.

Pours a slightly-hazy yellowish color with a moderate white head and a spot or two of lacing on the way down. The nose carries some citrus fruits along with some tropical notes and a bit of light sweetness. The flavor has honey and semi-sweet malt along with a moderate citrus and tropical hop presence. Body is more toward medium with a bit of residual sweetness and a nice bitter finish. Solid brew.

Serving type: on-tap

05-31-2011 11:04:01 | More by Thorpe429

oberon

North Carolina

4.13/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I Have been wanting to try this beer for awhile,I always missed it when in western NY before,Iam glad to finally get my hands on it.Poured into an imperial nonic a hazed orange tinged lemony color with tight formed pillow-like one finger white head that left a solid ring of lace as it settled slowly.Fresh citric hops really hit home during the pour,I could smell it a few feet away,light alcohol sweet zing in there as well.Sharp citric hops up front on the palate,citrusy at the beginning with a sharp bitter edge in the finish,the alfalfa honey does provide some underlying sweetness as well as some alcohol induced sweetness to balance the beer out somewhat.I like this beer because it's not an overly sweet alcohol laden DIPA,the hops are the main focal point of the beer as it should be.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2012 03:48:33 | More by oberon

WesWes

New York

4.43/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer pours a hazy gold color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is great! It has a super fresh hop aroma that screams Cascade hops. The malts add a nice level of balance, but this is a hop lovers beer. The taste is great as well. It's quite bitter with some residual hop taste in the finish. It's malty with just a hint of the Alfalfa honey. The mouthfeel is great. It is a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. I've been waiting for this release for a while now. I wasn't disappointed. Hail to the Chief!!

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2008 21:20:00 | More by WesWes

Mora2000

Texas

4/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to exiled for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a cloudy yellow color with a huge white head. The aroma is citrus and grassy hops. The flavor is very bitter with some grassy, spicy and piney hops. After getting citrus in the aroma, it was all but absent in the flavor. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2010 23:29:58 | More by Mora2000

MasterSki

Illinois

3.8/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Trying to clear out the hops in the fridge - next up is Alphalpha - shared with the two Daves. Batch E!013. Served in my Surly pint glass.

A - Huge billowing off-white foam with awesome retention and tons of sticky lacing. Pale apricot yellow color that is slightly hazed.

S - Lots of grassy hops with some orange zest flavors as well. The hops have held up pretty decently even though this is a few months old, but there's a pretty hefty balance of malt and honey sweetness kicking around as well. Doesn't really leap out of the glass.

T - Taste is a little disappointing - mostly sweet malts and honey with a touch of grass and a decent amount of residual bitterness in the aftertaste. Not as much of the zesty flavors, which is mildly disappointed.

M - Mild-to-moderate carbonation, medium body, lots of residual stickiness. Pretty decent, but nothing unusual here.

D - Drinkinability was solid, with solid carbonation, moderate bitterness. Well hidden ABV on this one. We had no problem splitting the 750ml bottle.

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2009 02:46:31 | More by MasterSki

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.15/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Batch #E!019 poured from a 750ml bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a light gold color, with a large white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains floral hops, honey, caramelized malts and some citrus.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of honey, citrus and caramel. Then a strong but not over-powering hops presence quickly follows. The malt character is hearty and provides a very good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet and slightly hoppy.

M: Smooth and very crisp, medium-to-heavy body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Tasty, goes down very easily, not too filling, good kick, very good representation of style, I was skeptical about the honey but it brings a nice variation your standard 2IPA and makes this beer worth drinking for a long time.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2010 03:09:49 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -12%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer started off as a nice golden colored IPA. The further down the bottle I got the sediment actually changed the color to a milky looking yellow. Kind of gross looking actually. The smell was of earthy hops. The taste had a good hop bite to it and was too bad really. If this brew didn't have so much sludge on the bottom of the bottle it wouldn't be that bad. I found this brew to be a little too much for me and probably would buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2011 04:08:35 | More by Knapp85

Gavage

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Batch: E!029

Appearance: pours an orange color with a short 1/4" head that breaks apart qucikly.

Smell: caramel and a woody bitterness comes through to the nose.

Taste: caramel, pine, earthy bitterness, some grapefruit, and a honey sweetness create a well balanced beer. Alcohol is slightly noticable.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer. Lightly crisp to start, smoother at the finish. Some dryness arrives late.

Drinkability: slow sipping big IPA. Decent flavored beer that is nice to sip on a cold evening.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2011 01:52:49 | More by Gavage

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

I didn't realize how much people dig this beer. I thought it was nice and fairly interesting, but not terribly special. The beer did hide it's strength well, while still having enough character to be slowly sipped. I enjoyed the clean nutty biscuit malt flavor that was complimented by a touch of honey. The hops, frankly, seemed subdued, with dry citrus punch flavor that didn't really stand out. Overall, an interested and tasty beer. But this cost like $15, and there are better options at that price.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2010 18:11:00 | More by tempest

akorsak

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A 750 mL bottle purchased at the brewery a month and a half ago.

A: The DIPA is rather light, a translucent straw-brown color. The first pour yielded two and a half fingers of craggy white head. As the head receded, extensive lacing was left behind.

S: The nose has a very sweet hop edge, enjoyable but one can tell that it is bitter. I'd liken the aroma to that of a clementine, rind included. Plenty of caramel and biscuit malt balances things out.

T: When the ale was cold, a generally hoppy bitterness pervaded it. As it warmed, caramel malts, slightly more roasted than normal (but not quite a black IPA), delivered a big taste. Coupled with that, so as to not downplay it, is a bold hop profile. The hops are oily and resiny, dripping with boozy heat and citrus. Grapefruit, clementines and orange rind all make an apppearance, along with pine and pepper. The alcoholic heat is a little intense, a strong side effect of the big hop profile. The last pours of the bottle, including yeast, have a vegetal flavor that further sets up the hoppiness. A strong hoppiness leaves a lasting flavor. A nice ale that benefits from the lack of filtering.

M: The mouthfeel is focused on the hops, bold and oily. That being said, the malts don't shy away from the limelight, adding dark caramel malts.

D: I enjoyed tasting the ale as it warmed, moving from blindingly bitter to bold and balanced. This may be the only bottle I have tonight but I'm enjoying the slow pace.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2009 12:00:11 | More by akorsak

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.83/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This beer is a testament to what bottle conditioned brews can do...keep in mind it's from 2008 according to my label and batch number is E!019 hop character is still banging. A bit subdued but hops still explode I'd love to try this fresh this is my second bottle of the same batch and it's been great. Pours a murky golden peach color with a bright white head foam is effervescent and thick with tiny bubbles due to the bottle conditioning. Usually stale hops straight up offend me, in this case the nose is rich with hop essence including pine,citrus, and herbal grassiness. It's lively more than 2 years after the bottling date what gives? How did this beer not go hop stale on me. Every other hoppy IPA or pale I come across is much better fresh this just seems awesome right now, next batch I will seek fresh. Flavor with the yeast brings a great nutty character to the party with the hop flavor still blasting with citrus/pine, and earthy/herbal tones great brew. A double honey bitter according to the website, great. Creative juices were flowing I love this stuff. Mouthfeel has effervescence and strong ample bitterness with some resinous hops going on. Drinkability overall is challenging compared to most other brews and really a whole new experience that I can't get enough of. Go for it. I love this stuff and I'm willing to do more of the coffee beer that they make that's still in stock outside of the Burgh, Ithaca Eleven was awesome I can't wait to age some Ithaca 12.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2010 15:55:37 | More by WVbeergeek

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.38/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Poured a glowing, cloudy orangish yellow color with good carbonation initially leaving a nice white cap which quikly resedes into a small ring of white bubbles, no lacing and so much for head retention

S: Fresh. Lots of citrus, little spice, flowers, not like rose pedals or your traditional IPA floral note but moreso freshly picked from a rolling green hill type floral...unique. A little bit of honey dashes across the nose does some biscuity goodness

T: Initial grass and floral blend, fresh citrus, buscuit and grains, this beer is amazingly and shockingly good. The fresh notes are followed by a little honey sweetness, spice and some moderate bitterness takes hold. The finish idry, crisp, clean, refreshing with a light tinge of booze

M: Light-medium bodied, tasty, well carbonated, refreshiing mouthfeel, loads of flavor hang on.

O: When I initially read the label description I stuck this beer in the back of my beer fridge as a last resort beer. I am very impressed. I honestly wish I had another.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2012 00:25:36 | More by barleywinefiend

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Clear and dirty gold color. The head is reasonable while it settles slowly. Lots of "cloudy" lace (meaning more than spotty but less than a blanket).

High alcohol and moderate hop dominate the smell. More earthy than floral on the nose.

Strong hop bitterness in the swallow. The alcohol is very evident, particularly in the swallow. I do not detect any honey or mead-like flavors despite the "Double Honey Bitter" monicker except for a touch of sweetness. Otherwise, this is all peppery bitterness. Long aftertaste. The body above moderate with a corresponding level of carbonation.

Overall, I would describe this as a near extreme beer--lots of hop and alcohol, but little complexity.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2011 21:13:12 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

4.33/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks goes out to ybnorml for this one.

750ml Bottle
Green Foil/Capped
Batch: E!019

Pours a nice cloudy yellow color, too much carbonation, nice three-finger creamy/foamy white head, with tons of thick sticky lacing left behind. The nose is hoppy, with some malts, yeasty, with some floral hints, some citrus. The taste is slightly sweet, hoppy, malty, good yeast note, some citrus. Medium body, this brew has some bitterness to it, different though. A different DIPA to me. Very Drinkable, I'm liking this one today, reminds me more of a Belgian Pale Ale/DIPA. Thanks Wayne!

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2010 18:46:07 | More by Wasatch

Billolick

New York

4.25/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Large bottle, green foil and capped, batch E! 013. Pours cloudy/hazed darker apricot/drownish amber. The head is long lasting, large, light khaki, settling to merangue, persistant thick blobs of fine bubble lace and skads of tiny bubble sheeting, world class look to this one. Delicate, but faint minty hop nose. Soft and inviting in the mouth. Simply delicious DIPA, the hops dont smack you in the face, but instead steadily accumilate on the palate and add up to a healthy, yet somehow still soft grapefruity and yummy blast. Underneath the hoppy notes, ride a steady sidenote of malty goodness. Complex yet subtle with quality craftsmanship abounding. Well done Ithaca, more high quality brew from NY State. Hoppy beer/DIPA lovers go get some and enjoy. $11.99 from DeCicco's in Adsley, NY.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2010 01:20:51 | More by Billolick

mdfb79

New York

3.9/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From 7/24/10 notes.

a - Pours an amber color with an inch of white head.

s - Smells of caramel malts and sweet dark fruits. Also some fruity hops.

t - Tastes of bready malts, caramel malts, and some sweet, fruity malts and hops.

m - Medium body and low carbonation.

d - A decent IPA that I found more on the malty side. Would try again.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2010 02:12:31 | More by mdfb79

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.4/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Batch E!013

A: Even with a slow pour it still rises with the huge 50% of the glass head, which seemed to be forced by the bottle. It's a creamy rich head that slowly fades, leaving a lacing on the glass. The color is a slightly hazy golden honey straw orange color.

N: Nose has some bright chewy hops, with a little grassy and floral hop aromas, as well as a slight malt character and sweet honey. A very slight boozy aroma goes with that. The honey comes out more and more as I get past the hops.

T: Starts pretty sweet actually, with quite a bit of honey. Fresh honey is the key of this one. The adds a bunch of nice hops, some grassy, spicey, and chewy hops. A decent bitterness as well. Some lighter malts are present but hidden. I get a slight metallic flavor as well. The booze came out a bit on the nose but is almost non-existent on the taste, hidden well. A very slight nougat sweet flavor goes along with the honey. If this had a little brett to give it some bready quality it would have a really interesting combination here.

M: Medium to light body with decent carbonation. A slight oily or sticky honey like sensation hints in there as well.

F: Finish is pretty bitter, and dries off quite a bit (with the hop help). A lingering honey taste is there, but without the sweetness. A lingering hop flavor, with some grassy taste is also present. It dries off so quick that i almost get a sense of wild yeast dryness and bready quality, as I was hoping for. I would love to see a brett version of this beer. It holds up on it's own already, but that would just put it over the top. Now, to try to get through the entire 750ml by myself. At least I have all afternoon. I'm also surprised the beer held up so well this long, as I've had it almost a year now.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2010 20:09:54 | More by jlindros

ppoitras

Massachusetts

4.53/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle from charlew, thanks man! Black plastic "foil", Batch E!013.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1 1/2" off-white head over the effervescent clear golden brew. Head rises boldly, but does not overflow, with a meringuey island in the center, and tons of chunky lacing. Aroma is fresh pine, through and through. Taste starts sweet, goes pine in the middle, which carries through to the end to mesh with the alcohol. Mouthfeel is smooth, a sometimes rare feat for the style, and drinkability is excellent. Great representation of the style.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2009 00:47:17 | More by ppoitras

weeare138

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to TomDecapolis for this...
Batch E!OI3

Appears a hazy, light gold with a small white cap that quickly fades into a mild head and collar. Tons of spotty remnants of film are left around the glass.
Smell is of doughy, citrusy, vanilla, and candy orange.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with some crystal(caramel) malts coming through in the flavors.
Mouthfeel is citrusy, prickly, sweet, and mildly bitter.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2009 22:20:14 | More by weeare138

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.78/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Pours a dark copper color with golden orange hues and a massive frothy, soapy head. Excellent retention with huge chunks of soapy lacing.

Beautiful citrus west coast style hop aroma with lots of grapefruit, orange peel and pine notes. I'm also picking up some guava and other tropical fruit notes along with some sweet honey.

Creamy medium body with a an amazing sweet honey/molasses and caramel malt presence that balance out the floral citrus hops. This beer is ridiculously smooth with an almost undetectable ABV. Very smooth and refreshing, one of the most quaffable beers I've had to date. I have to stop myself from pounding the whole glass.

Extremely well balanced with nice citrus hop bitterness, caramel malt, smooth swet honey and guava/tropical fruit notes. Pine, grapefruit, lemon zest, orange peel flavors with a slightly dry finish.

This is an excellent beer that I wish I could buy by the case.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2009 05:17:06 | More by corby112

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.9/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the TDR during their recent hopfest.

The beer pours a slightly hazy, solid dark gold color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is interesting, showcasing a combination of earth, grapefruit and honey. The honey component really comes through on the palate in this fairly sweet IPA, though there is a considerable amount of bitterness in the finish. It helps to counter the sweetness somewhat, but at the end of the day, the flavor profile in this beer is dominated by the honey and sweet malt. Mouthfeel is no more than medium bodied, with a fairly long, fairly bitter finish. Drinkability is OK, but the sweetness and noticeable alcohol in the finish detract just a bit.

An interesting beer, though I'm afraid I'm just not a huge fan of the sweet IPA style.

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2010 01:52:22 | More by johnmichaelsen

HopHead84

California

3.9/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Consumed on 8/28/2009 and poured into a snifter. Thanks for the extra jleblanc.

The beer apperas hazy orange with a thick frothy off white head. The retention is excellent and some nice lacing is left lingering.

The nose is reminscent of a faded floral hop boquet. There's noticeable honey sweetness, which adds a nice touch. Alcohol is well hidden and the malt is light and caramely. There's a little lemon as well.

The flavor is very bitter, with honey sugary sweetness. The hops are reminscent of citrus and pine, but the most prominent characteristics of the beer are the sweet honey and the bitterness. The alcohol is pretty strong. The finish is sweet and bitter with lingering booze.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2009 21:06:52 | More by HopHead84

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4.43/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Alphalpha is brewed with honey and indeed has a sort of nectarous look; this heavy golden concentrate looks viscous, despite its incandescence against the light, and denies sight of even a shadow of a finger on the other side. Its head is foamy and thick, with big, round bubbles that look like pearls. Its lacing looks like crashing waves frozen in time.

The aroma is like a colour swatch of the many different hop flavours: grassy, soapy, citrusy, floral, stinky, piny resinous and earthy pungent, among more. Knee-jerk reaction was to award the perfect score. A nectarous honey is buried somewhere beneath it all, although I'm not sure I would have picked up on it if not for being tipped off before hand.

Wowzers! Can you ever taste the honey! And so much more... hops that are colorfully fruity, with notes of candied pink grapefruit and lemon and orange rinds as well as malts that taste of toasted biscuits. The alfalfa honey, however, steals the show: it lends a perceptible waxiness, a light spice and a soft herbal/floral quality I'll relate to lavender tea.

Alphalpha is so rich and sweet that it borders on digestif territory. At the same time, however, it has brisk, needle-point bitterness and lively, keen-edged carbonation that give it the superpower of refreshment; the image of a sunny pasture coated in wild flowers pops into mind with every sip. It is perhaps the definitive summer quencher.

Ithaca utilized all that is charming about American IPAs and infused those features with an ambrosial, distinctive honey so as to create a beer so artistic and elegant and ingenious that I feel it might warrant its own style guidelines. Its uniqueness cannot be overstated, and neither can its deliciousness: imagine a blend of your favourite DIPA and favourite mead. Let's hope the brewery has the good sense to make this a perennial release.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2011 23:31:37 | More by biegaman