Wildcat India Pale Ale - Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company & Taproom

Flightoficarus

Washington

3.83/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a nice, almost clear copper hue, with a two-finger off-white head, with good head retention and bubbly lacing.

S - There isn't much of a very strong aroma with this beer, but what is there is hints of caramel, lemon, and pine.

T - Luckily, it delivers the goods here. A biscuity caramel/pale malt backbone supports an earthy hop profile, and lemon/pineapple fruit flavors. This IPA is less piney than many I've had, making it an interesting change of pace.

M - This beer is medium bodied, with a smooth, light carbonation, and slightly oily feel from hop oils.

D - Flirts with being sessionable, but is more of a "couple pints is good" deal IMHO.

Overall - A very solid PNW IPA. Pretty tough to beat for $4 a bomber. If you're in the mood for a decent IPA, this one will deliver.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2010 05:19:41 | More by Flightoficarus

Buebie

Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Another fine brew brought home from Oregon from a friend.

Poured from the bomber into a pub glass. A 1 inch head of hite, settles and leaves a solid cap with thicker collar.
Color is a true 2 row based beer. Darker yellw with hints at gold and amber.

Aroma is filled with honey malt, sawdust, mineral water, spicei hemp hops, mustard seeds, all around good aroma for an apa, but for an aipa...not so much. Hops are mia for the style and malt is just ok.

Taste is malt forward, hops blasting through with pine resin, bittering very strong, plenty of rind and man, just blowing my pallet up with resin and bitters.
Mild mint, but hemp is really phenomenal here.
Malt shinning nicely, as is honey malt and a slight breadyness.

Mouthfeel is slick and carbonated perfectly.

Great brew, a tad warm though, but hops just delight the pallete. Not in an all around easy to drink way, but in a knovk your socks of, bitterness, you are done drinking tonight cause your pallet is shot now kind of way.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2010 01:45:10 | More by Buebie

oberon

North Carolina

4.22/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I have tried this beer in the past but couldnt remember the flavors,now a bottle to myslef to review.Poured into a impy nonic slight hazed light to medium golden with a real burnt orange hue,a craterous one finger white head atop.Aromas of resiny nop over top of sweetish crystal malt,as it warms I notice a hard water note.It is a big nearly balanced northwest IPA,resiny with a hint of leather,the hops dominate at the start,there is a mineral and hefty caramel base to keep it close to being balanced.Its big on the hops wich kicks ass but it has a healthy malt base,a real solid American IPA to be had.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2010 22:39:11 | More by oberon

jdense

Oregon

4.13/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22 oz. bottle from West Richland WA Beer & Wine, poured into shaker pint glass 5.24.2010.

One finger creamy white head, very long lasting ultra-slow dissipation, with excellent lacing, deep gold body with multiple trails of carbonation, a really nice looking beer. Nose is citrusy balanced by bready malts, not too sweet, resiny noble pine on the backend. Taste is grapefruit zest, complex from use of 5 different malts, nicely balanced with a fairly bitter finish, the use of solely Columbus hops works nicely. Full mouthfeel, nice effervescence. Tres drinkable. To be honest, I wasn't expecting something quite this good. Impressive, will certainly have this again, looking forward to trying the tap version. Recommended.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2010 14:15:28 | More by jdense

flagmantho

Washington

4.03/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 22oz bomber into a pint glass.

Appearance: slightly hazy light orange hue with two fingers of rocky ivory foam. The head had amazing staying power and remained thick and full-bodied to the last drop.

Smell: sweet malt base with nice citrus and earthy hop aromas. There's a nice balance here.

Taste: very much in line with the aroma. Sweet malt base with a nice citrus and earthy flavor profile. There's a very nice level of bitterness here.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a very good level of carbonation, so there's a nice creaminess.

Drinkability: a very drinkable combination of flavor, aroma and feel makes this a durn good IPA. I'm glad it's local to me.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2010 01:41:13 | More by flagmantho

ClockworkOrange

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A 22 ounce bomber bottle poured into a shaker glass. The first bottle from my Secret Bunny 2010 haul from ROBORB. The IPA appears a hazed, hop particle filled golden light copper color with a good inch or so of creamy, sticky, off white foam. Nice lacing. The aromas and flavors consist of caramel and toffee malt, toasted bread, resinous pine, tangerines, orange zest, white grapefruit juice, a bit grassy and floral, bitter and dry. Smooth body and amply carbonated with a lingering, yet pleasant bitterness. Just a well made IPA all around. Thanks again for this one Rob!

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2010 04:24:04 | More by ClockworkOrange

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.38/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A: Poured a light copper color and cloudy appearance with good carbonation and a nice white head.

S: Nose is citrus and floral.

T: Taste is goood and well hopped, well balanced, but not over done. A bit of metallic taste, some strane hop bitterness

M: A nice bitterness at the end but something is not quite right here

D: Pass

Serving type: on-tap

03-22-2010 00:09:36 | More by barleywinefiend

wcuberos

Washington

3.8/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On the first pour the beer looked great and the nose was great. I'm not sure if I'm having a bad nose day but after that I couldn't get the aroma for the rest of the glass, no matter how close I put my nose to the beer.
The flavor of the beer was good but not great, it had a nice citrus flavor to match that first sniff, had a good drinkable flavor with a full mouth. It has a slight bitterness at the end that compliments the flavor well. I wouldn't search it out but if I came across another bottle I'd give it a another

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2010 05:01:01 | More by wcuberos

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.4/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Scored this one at 99 bottles in Federal Way this fall. Looks like standard ipa, was impressed with the lacing. Nothing apparent aroma wise that is unusual.

Taste, that is a little more unique, a little unbalanced bitterness, but the hop strains seemed like something nugget could have been used in a small sprinkling. Drinkable, as the price is about $4 for a bomber. Can't beat that too often.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2010 06:43:00 | More by Beerandraiderfan

olympuszymurgus

Minnesota

4.15/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I'm sorry I dropped the bag. A bottle of the winter ale and one of the IPA. The IPA survived, so that's worth something. Abuses such as these shouldn't be taken lightly. Shame is felt.

Snoqualmie falls is cute. I thought of them as a cool "hometowm" brewery(decent cheap beer, but really not a world class show) and I was wrong. This is a basic beer, one hop I'm told, that is just plain well made. They did their homework and kept it reasonable, but executed durn'd near perfectly.

Hop forward, hope behind, a trace of malt in the middle. A completely reasonable IPA that could not have been brewed with more care or skill.

Good on yah!

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2010 06:35:39 | More by olympuszymurgus

beertunes

Washington

3.7/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into 10oz glass. Poured a medium-light gold color with not much more than a thin cap of just off-whit head that had little retention, but still had some lacing.

The aroma was a solidly typical hop blast, pine and citrus mostly. The hops were balanced (somewhat) in the mouth by a slightly better than average malt foundation.

The body was a little fuller than usual for this style. Drinkability was very good, I enjoy being able to grab a bottle of this at the grocery store. Overall, a very good example of the style. Just another hidden gem for us, that would be the best around in a lot of places. Worth some effort to try.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2010 19:35:59 | More by beertunes

czechsaaz

Washington

4.43/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Brewery is pretty local for me so filled a growler about 30 minutes ago.

Nice citrus aroma, pretty much grapefruit with a little nutty, grape-nut like cereal grain underneath. Fruity fermentation esters shine through the hops too.

Deep golden colored with a creamy white head. Head retention is a little low but it is a growler so not a big deal. Leaves a solid ring or lace from the original pour level but not much after that.

Really malty start, toffee and honey and more ceral grain. Then the bittering hops kick in. Solid bittering and then nice citrus and woody hop flavor. Both the malt and the bittering hops linger in the aftertaste.

Medium bodied with a nice creamy carbonation level.

Nice well balanced IPA. Shows a lot of Northwest hop character without needing to be over the top.

Serving type: growler

12-17-2009 05:31:40 | More by czechsaaz

Tilley4

Tennessee

3.53/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to screamforme for this bottle from the Northwest...

Pours a hazy light golden with a fairly small head that disappears quickly...very hazy looking, no sediment though....

Big time floral hops here.... Not piney, not citrusy, floral.... Slight malt presence, but mostly floral hops...

Again, this one showcases those floral hops... Slightly citrusy maybe and a little sweet as well... Not overly hoppy but very balanced...

I would guess that on tap this would be terrific as I suspect this bottle might have had a little age on it.. Overall, it was still a nice effort and I'm stoked I got to try it... Thanks, Mark!

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2009 15:51:54 | More by Tilley4

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.13/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Back to the fridge for a random IPA to drink while I am grilling tonight. This is the one that jumped out at me and I am glad it did. Served chilled and poured into a pint glass, this one was consumed on 11/08/2009.
 
The pour was very nicely done, rich caramel and amber in color with a nice head of white coming up and over the top. Mostly clear with nice and light carbonation that was visible coming up toward the top. Smooth and even looking head and lacing gave it a very solid look. Aroma was deep earth hops. Resin filled pine and orange and melded well with a nice touch of caramel malts and bready tones. Really quite nicely done I have to admit here. Warming brings more balance to it as well. Smooth, medium bodied with nice carbonation you get the nice hop bite up front that then folds into a buttery and biscuit filled mid palate before jumping back down at you with a nice lasting hop bite. Smooth and dry finish leaves you looking for just a touch more and a 22oz of this is a nice way to get through an hour or so,
 
Overall there are no complaints here. I thought this was done very well and really nice version of the style. Well balanced and not overly hopped I really enjoyed this one quite a bit.
 

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2009 17:54:14 | More by mikesgroove

berley31

New Brunswick (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A: Poured with a medium-sized, thick white head. Body is a very nice dark golden color, and quite clear.

S: Citrus is quite apparent, with a medium-to-high hop aroma winning the battle.

T: This is a bitter beer... not overpowering, but the hops come through quite strongly. Extremely dry finish with a long duration.

M: Medium-bodied and creamy, with a soft-to-average carbonation. Very nice on the palate.

D: A very solid IPA... maybe too bitter to be drinking this all night, unless you want your taste buds scraped off. But a helluva strong showing that's definitely worth picking up.

Serving type: on-tap

10-29-2009 19:21:08 | More by berley31

CHILLINDYLAN

Washington

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Slightly hazy golden yellow. Off-white foamy oily head. Sticky slug slimey laces.

Hoppy floral and citrus aromas. Light biscuit malt backing.

Sharp citrus hoppiness. Pleasant floral and resinous notes. Balanced by a caramel biscuit malt character. Lingering bitterness and resinous aftertaste.

Sticky, med body, slightly astringent.

Good Hoppy NW IPA. Very Drinkable and Delicious.

Serving type: on-tap

09-28-2009 23:44:30 | More by CHILLINDYLAN

ILikeGoodCider

California

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed on 08.10.09 on-tap at Sharp's Roaster & Ale House while on business. Served in a 14oz pint glass.

A: A rich, golden color, w/a finger of creamy white head that leaves a lot of lacing on the glass.

S: Balanced btwn mild-sweet pale malt and grassy hops, w/notes of grapefruit, light biscuit, and a touch of booze.

T & M: Palate is well-balanced up front, with the sweetness of the malt tempering the fairly aggressive hop profile. The hops take over mid-palate, with the finish leaving a lingering hoppy bitterness. Body is smooth and a touch creamy, without any stickiness.

D: Very drinkable IPA - I wish it were available in SoCal.

Serving type: on-tap

08-11-2009 04:39:28 | More by ILikeGoodCider

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.48/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A fine little IPA that doesn't offend and certainly meets the style. However, the beer becomes a bit banal and sacrifices texture a bit.

The beer opens with a great copper color, heavy carbonation and medium white foamstance. Retention lasts the session and leaves a lot of lacing behind. Subsequent pours bring much more haze than the initial one and bring a lot of particulate matter.

Aromas show a medium grain-malt mix where full maltiness is prefered. Hop aroma is lighter than expected and maybe a bit too grassy. Good, but light, citrus and pine notes come in intermitten waves.

Flavors are more hop-focused and brings in a prefered citrus, pine, grassy blend. Malts again show a bit more grain taste where a crisper barley malt taste is best. Light soapiness rides along a sweeter, fruity ester note. Peaches, apples, and apricots round out the esters.

The mouthfeel is a little thinner and bitey because of the graininess and lower full-malt textures. Hop bitterness is present but also exhibit a strong bitey, metalic pang in the throat that is problematic at times.

Ultimately the beer is fine and might have been a class act ten years ago. Today however, the crisp maltiness is lacking and the hop quality isn't up to par.

Thanks Opethsprite!

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2009 03:34:19 | More by BEERchitect

bobsy

Ontario (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This used to be on my wants list before I bumped it off to make some room, so ritzkiss must have some kind of clairvoyance when he brought this round last night.

Pours a nice orange with some red highlights, a white head and some fine lacing. Light caramel aroma mingling with grapefruit and pine needles, but a touch subdued. Good hoppy flavour without being too aggressive. Another balanced beer. Orange and grapefruit provide a lovely citrus kick, while pine adds to the refreshing quality of the beer. A nice caramel malt base underpins everything. Medium body and carbonation, this is one drinkable IPA. I'm very impressed with the balance and the evidently refreshing character, and I'd love to have it again.

Cheers E!

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2009 15:07:14 | More by bobsy

sonicdescent

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to whoever sent me this one as an extra.

This is a really pretty looking beer, transparent red/amber color with a very nice fluffy white head and active carbonation.

Smell is pleasant but so very small in stature that I can barely detect anything.

Taste is still there, a pretty flavorful beer for a regular IPA. A bit of bread over taken by fruity pineapple.

Mouth is thin and bubbly with a nice bitter finish.

Overall a solid but unspectacular beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2009 00:56:30 | More by sonicdescent

ritzkiss

Ontario (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured on tap at the brewery's tap room. Arrives a cloudy burnt orange. Foamy head that leaves a nice patchwork lacing.

Smells of light floral hops, hints of sweet caramel - light.

Taste leads with fruity pineapple, then a blast of grapefruit, and tons of bittering hops in the finish. Wow. Smell did not warn of the hops attack. Yet, this is pretty much dead on. If I were to make an IPA it might be like this. Lively, fruity hops on the entry, strong drying bitterness in the finish. Faint hints of a light caramel malt body.

Super drinkable at 6.6%, I would move to Snoqualmie for this beer. Though I can see how, if the lively entry faded over time, this beer would be lacking. Bought a bottle to see how it does there. Great fresh!!

Edit: In the bottle it's not nearly as bright or layered. Still not a bad IPA but not the same - you have to get this one fresh!

Serving type: on-tap

06-05-2009 01:04:12 | More by ritzkiss

akorsak

Pennsylvania

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

A 650 mL bomber purchased at Liquid Solutions.

A: The IPA is a copper hue, more auburn than reddish. A mild haze blankets the glass, likely the cold temperature. A two finger head is busy lacing around the glass.

S: The ale has a heavy hop aroma. The bite has faded just a bit, bringing out more of a barleywine aspect. Citrus peel and pine needle drive the nose, on top of caramel malts.

T: The ale's taste profile has retained its strength, packing a lot of hops into the bomber. Citrusy grapefruit and orange peel are dominant overtop the caramel malts. A pinch of boozy heat swirls near the end, where the barleywine aspects are greatest. There the malts come through and some hop degradation is more evident.

M: The hoppiness in the mouth is very lively, prickly from start to near finish (see above).

D: I nursed the bomber, enjoying the hoppiness as it warmed. A good IPA.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2009 23:56:51 | More by akorsak

HumuloneRed

Oregon

4.47/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bought this 22 oz. bottle at Bottleworks in Seattle.

The beer pours a bright orange hue with a thick white head and sticky lacing.
Loads of grapefruit and earth in the nose.

There is a blast of juicy fruit/grapefruit in the flavor with a nice malt background to help balance the bitterness. Still there is a great earthy lingering bitterness at the end.

Nice chewy mouthfeel and great drinkability.

This beer was a nice surprise to me since I had never had Snouqualmie beers before. I will be looking for this one again for sure!

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2009 04:17:28 | More by HumuloneRed

gford217

Georgia

4.18/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

22oz bottle courtesy of 5000 poured into a tulip.

Pours a bright, slightly hazy orange with a big fluffy white head that stays on as a cap for ages and leaves tons of lacing. A very nice looking beer.

The aroma is mostly light citrus fruits, especially lemons, oranges and a bit of grapefruit. There is a bready malt presence that serves to support the big hop profile.

The taste has the same light citrus hops presence in the form of a nice bitterness up front that lasts throughout and lingers in the finish as well. There is just enough malt to balance things out but the hops are the real star of the taste.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with lots of carbonation and leaves the palate sticky with juicy hops.

This is a citrus-dominated IPA that has plenty of hops but remains very drinkable as the hops don't overwhelm the palate by any means. Very tasty.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2009 23:27:03 | More by gford217

drgonzo3705

Ohio

4.53/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A: Pours a pale copper color with a thin white head that leaves sticky lacing around the glass.

S: Lightly citrusy with a caramel malt backbone.

T: Same as the smell. Good citrus notes and hoppy but balanced by the malt.

M: Medium body with good carbonation.

D: This is quite sessionable. Good flavor and not too much ABV so if this was distributed around me I would definitely drink this quite often.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2009 03:04:12 | More by drgonzo3705