Bad Elf - Ridgeway Brewing

cokes

Wisconsin

4.22/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Ah, they've turned the tables on us.
Plenty of USA-brewed "english" IPAs. Now comes the Union Jack posing as Uncle Sam.

Well, not quite. But close.

Hazy goldenrod with a miniature cream-colored topping.
Nose of shaven lemons and wet iron.
Initially, this screams Cali. Loads of citrus. Orange peels, lemon peels, lime peels and grapfruit peels. Sticky-fingered Mary Jane.
Oh yeah, there's a toasty caramel, bready malt backing.

But Dude/Chap, screw the malts on this one. For real. They're there. They work. Whatever. Good enough.

Back to the hops. Citric hues shift more and more towards lemon as this warms. Buttery hues arrise, but are staved off acidicly. Suddenly this returns to its heritage. A large slap of mineral-laden water. Hopping surges towards bitter, savory herbs and cold steel. It sticks here, and rides itself out, with minor relapses of Americana.

For you main-lining hopheads that thought the UK couldn't brew something to cure your hop-induced tremors. Find this.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2003 05:08:16 | More by cokes

ngandhi

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev +17%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sweet citric melon nose and palette reminiscent of some very select Australian (and occassionally New Zealand) Sauvignon Blancs. There's a latent Amarillo/Cascade meets Styrian Goldings finish and bittering with a pleasant hint of grain. This brew is notorious for its high hopping rate, but I can tell you for certain that it's mostly late-boil. The result is a medium-light bodied, fruity British-style ale that balances the grain heartiness of a late fall harvest with the delicate scents of spring.

Relax, relax.
ng

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2003 01:17:08 | More by ngandhi

Loki

North Carolina

4.33/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The first gift, for the States anyway, from Peter Scholey and his new brewery Ridgeway Brewing. Shelton Brothers delivered this gift to the States wrapped in an Imperial Pint bottle. The card on the present (Shelton Bros. website) said this gift was a IPA/Hoppy Beer, Winter/Holiday Beer so I didn't know what category to put this present in. However, the noticible absense of any strong spices lead me to put it in the IPA category. This beer is bottle conditioned and has some yeast sediment.

Appearance: After unwrapping this gift from it's large brown bottle it poured a crystal clear dark, golden honey color with a wispy, thin, white head that disappates to a spotty cover quickly. However, the lack of head did not affect the lacing in any way. Sheets and webs of lacing all around the glass, clining definantly to the sides. I would have rated the appearance much higher except for the nearly complete lack of head. The wrapping recommended leaving some in the bottle for the Elves, which I did and still ended up with some yeast sediment in the glass, not that I'm complaining. I was amazed that the sediment was not noticible in the glass and did not affect the clarity of the beer.

Smell: This present also came with a wonderful bouquet of floral hops, malt, and minerals with a grassy tinge. Almost a wildflower fragrance to the floral tones. I did notice an absence of cinnamon and clove that I expected, but I did detect some nutmeg. The minerals come off with dry earthy smell. Very reminicent of a traditional English cask ale.

Taste: English malt is the first gift of flavor to the tongue. Followed by a shower of minerals and floral, grassy hops. Dry mineral present came in the middle and one the end, very similiar to a true English cask ale. The last present is a slightly bitter, dry taste and clean finish. This present transports me to an English Pub during the holiday. A great escape and a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2003 15:22:02 | More by Loki