NorCal IPA - Moylan's Brewery

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.54/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Poured from bottle into a pint glass

Appearance – Pours a lighter amber color with a two finger white head. The head fades moderately quickly leaving some spotty lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell- The aroma is heaviest of a grapefruit citrus hop mixed with a little bit of tangerine sweetness. With these citrus aromas so too comes a pine and light earthy hop smell as well as a bit of breadiness.

Taste – The taste begins with a decent showing of the grapefruit hop that was detected in the nose. A lighter breadiness and caramel sweetness is present upfront, with these two flavors fading as the taste moves on. While these flavors fade a bit, of a light fruit flavor comes to the tongue more toward the middle. This fruit however is largely overshadowed by the hop, which now becomes a blend of grapefruit and pine. In the end a somewhat drier and moderately hoppy taste is left on the tongue.

Mouthfeel- The body of the beer is average in terms of its creaminess with a carbonation level that is average as well. Both rather appropriate for the style as well as for the abv and make for a clean drinking and crisp brew.

Overall – It is a very drinkable and middle of the road IPA. Nothing too special, but enjoyable none the less.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 00:38:41 | More by Darkmagus82

kaseydad

California

3.69/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Can't believe I haven't tried this yet. Guess I go for other beers when at Moylan's. Wife pick-up.

Nice amber colored ale with a billowing off-white foamy head. Good lacing.

Getting some nice aroma. Blood orange, pineapple, bready, doughy, malt, toast. Some dankness is very present.

Very malt forward taste with a big dose of bitterness on the back end. Still getting more bitterness on the aftertaste. Not totally balanced here. Big hops abound. Resiny as it states on the label is apparent. Getting some rye as well and pepper on the finish. Not bad, but definitely a non-sweet IPA if you are wondering. I like mine on the spicy, bitter side so this is cool with me.

Nice and full bodied. Carbonated well.

Overall this was a unique experience. A bold, bitter, malty IPA. Sweetness took off at the start of this production. The price point is nice for this and worthy of trying if not for the interesting ride. Still salivating after each sip. Sho'nuff.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 00:47:46 | More by kaseydad

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.48/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Clear light amber, perhaps more of an orange colour, with a thin, fine, eggshell cap. Decent head retention with some spotty/streaky lacing. Aromas of oranges and biscuit, grapefruit and malt. Citrus bitterness with a bit of harshness in the finish, grain and biscuit/bread, grapefruit and orange, slight alcohol. Medium bodied with lowish carbonation, a bit dry and creamy. Nicely put together, but I'm not a big fan of the malt profile with these hops.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2013 01:19:29 | More by DrJay

hopsolutely

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle picked up at the brewery two weeks ago states 6.5% ABV, but did not take notes while enjoying it on draught.

Pours a clear golden colour with amber undertones. Although the surprisingly small white head dissipates quickly, the mouthfeel has body despite this limited carbonation. Beautiful hop-forward aroma of citrus with an underlying backbone of caramelized malts. Resinous flavour is a pleasant surprise, with citrus and mango hop elements as well. Finishes with an impressive amount of bitterness, that lingers...

Unfortunately was only able to bring one bottle back, but definitely a beer I will try to find again.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 02:02:53 | More by hopsolutely

metter98

New York

3.83/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Rattle n' Hum, New York, NY

A: The beer is crystal clear yellowish amber in color and has no visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high off white head that died down and left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface and lots of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are moderately strong aromas of citrusy hops in the nose.
T: Like the smell, the taste is dominated by flavors of citrus and pine resin hops and is accompanied by a moderate amount of bitterness.
M: It feels medium-bodied and crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This is a hop forward beer that isn't that difficult to drink and has a nice mixture of citrus and pine resin flavors from the hops.

Serving type: on-tap

11-03-2012 20:23:11 | More by metter98

Hopheadjnr

3.2/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from bottle into frosty mug.

A...hazy orange with a tall billowing three finger head.

S...getting a very earthy aroma. grassy with a little bit of hay. Could be the cold glass or this beer just isn't much on the nose.

T...bready malt up front easing into the earthy grass and pine resin that was on the nose, finishing with a bitter orange peel.

M...very high carbonation gives it a fairly light mouth feel.

o...has its goods and bads. Not a much citrus as I like on an ipa. Norcal name led me to expect a more west coast ipa style. Nothing to run out and try but, an easy drinker never the less. I think I would enjoy this more if paired with food.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2012 04:17:17 | More by Hopheadjnr

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This starts off looking a bit promising, but seems to go wayward in numerous areas at first. There seems to be more malt in use than I would have expected, and it does show prominently. As times goes on it gets more tolerable, though I suppose me choosing a word such as tolerable is telling in of itself. Decent, but could have been so much more. (Better as it warms.)

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2012 08:12:59 | More by RblWthACoz

UCLABrewN84

California

3.18/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a clear orange with a 1/2 inch foamy beige head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots and streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, herbal hops, and alcohol. Taste is of malt up front with some very earthy and herbal hop flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of hop bitterness on the palate after each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty average beer that is fairly drinkable but not something I would go after again.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 03:04:20 | More by UCLABrewN84

XicanoBeerRun

Texas

3.08/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Lots of carbonation racing to the surface. Golden yellow. Smells like raw honey, pear, some kind of sweet bread that I could not identify. I tasted honey, flower nectar, black pepper and slight bitterness, which was not overwhelming. The hops were not as strong as I had expected. Overall, it is a good beer, but I think I prefer other hop varieties. However, it does make me curious to try some of their other IPAs.

I’ll have another.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2012 16:21:16 | More by XicanoBeerRun

nickfl

Florida

3.23/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

A - Pours with a healthy, two and a half finger head of white foam on top of a hazy, dark golden body.

S - Spicy, sweaty hops with a hint of pine in the background and a backdrop of bready malt.

T - Sweet bready malt up front with some spicy hop notes. A touch of orange it the middle with more thick malt and a finsh of grassy, spicy hops.

M - Medium body, moderate carbonation, and a dry finish.

D - The aroma is decent, but the flavor profile really falls flat and seems like it has lost a lot of what it once may have been. So, is it old or just poorly made? we will never know since someone couldn't be bothered to put a date on their bottles and under those circumstances I have to assume it is as the brewer intended it to be.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2012 00:21:31 | More by nickfl

kylehay2004

Florida

3.13/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: two finger head with nice retention and lacing on a hazy golden with copper hues body.

S: very sweet with mostly candied citrus and pineapple.

T: I think this one is bad. the malts and hops mingle in the finish to make an earthy and metallic note with a touch of an unwanted aftertaste.

M: medium body and moderate carbonation.

Overall: I think I have an old bottle. I took a chance on it. Too metallic with unwanted aftertaste. I guess my review is not really a reflection on the beer overall. Date your bottles please

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2012 00:21:10 | More by kylehay2004

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

3.68/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass from a 22oz bottle.

Pours a clear yet strong amber/copper color with a nice white head that pops up to about 1 inch. Retention is very nice with some great lacing sticking behind.

Aroma is of strong grain notes. Bready and earthy with some nice toasty notes to it. Smells just like the wort would while its boiling. There is a nice piney and resinous yet light hop backed nose to the brew that adds some nice body to it.

Taste starts off with very nice sweet caramel pale malt notes. Grain and bread a plenty with some nice spice notes to it. Very nice and malty with some good grassy spice from the hops coming in throughout the middle and some nice resinous pine notes rounding out what is a very nice and balanced brew. Good hop bitter notes with some piney notes. Mouthfeel is very nice and balanced with some crisp carbonation but a good strong malt body that gives the beer some weight.

Pretty good IPA. It took me a while to come around and decided to try this but it was worth it. Solid malt backbone with some good balancing pine hop notes.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2012 01:24:30 | More by JoEBoBpr

david131

Michigan

3.73/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Pours a slightly hazy orange liquid with numerous strings of rising carbonation. The head is thick and craggy with excellent retention. It doesn't get any better than this for the style.

S- Caramel, pine, citrus rind, and grass. Aromatic and a but old school, but not in a bad way.

T- Exactly the same as the aroma. Definitely borders on the old school style IPA. Not bad but not particularly unique.

M- Abundant carbonation, in a good way. The lasting bitterness is spot on.

O- A bit old school but it is well made. This beer could still get lost in the IPA shuffle.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2012 05:24:10 | More by david131

TheSeeker61

Georgia

3.88/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

The appearance is a kind of filtered orange and the smell is a mostly malty up front with a slight grapefruit fragrance. The taste is the opposite with a strong grapefruit hoppy taste with a slight malt in the midst. Mouthfeel is just average to me. Overall a solid IPA and I've had it a few times.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2012 18:45:57 | More by TheSeeker61

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22oz bottle, 6.5% ABV. Another selection from the Kahala Whole Foods, whilst on a vacation/wedding/honeymoon sojourn to these islands.

This beer pours a clear, glassy, medium golden amber colour, with two fingers of foamy, bubbly dirty beige head, which leaves some random island archipelago lace around the glass as it readily recedes.

It smells of toasted bready malt, a small twinge of caramel, thin citrus peel and leafy hops, with a mildly metallic lukewarm booze edge. The taste is bitter resinous pine, nondescript citrus rind, some earthy herbal, somewhat spicy notes, and a sturdy bready caramel malt.

The carbonation is a bit zingy, but in support of a commendable cause, the body an oh-so-close-to medium weight, and smooth, but for the offsetting edgy hops. It finishes off-dry, the underappreciated grainy malt still having its hands full with the lingering resinous hops.

NorCal, SouCal, can't everyone just be friends? Anyway, this is a wee bit too herbal, without the heavy-handed (once introduced, one yearns for it) requisite citrus gatekeeper, but still with a game-saving bitterness, to justify recommendation to those who may still hold sectarian Cali biases...

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2012 05:22:23 | More by biboergosum

dougmiller112

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22 ounce bottle.

Appearance: Pretty typical beer color - light mahogany, light sienna.

Smell: Earthy. Some raisons. Piney, maybe cedar for sure. Everyone mentions resins. I'm not sure what they means, but they could be right.

Taste: Definitely hoppy. I can taste the pine, too.

Mouthfeel: This is a somewhat confusing, but intersting beer. It has a somewha thick feel.

Overall: I would definitely try this again. 22 ounces doesn't seem to be enough to make up my mind. After it's gone, it has made me very happy :)

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 01:07:59 | More by dougmiller112

kawilliams81

Illinois

3.08/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a Half Acre tulip.

A- foam spilled out once opened after sitting on the counter for 20 minutes. Pours a light golden with huge, neary full glass of thin white foam. Big bubble, blotches all over the glass.

S- lemon, tons of pine and dank grassy smell.

T- lightly toasted malts, slightly sour lemon, with big pine bitterness and some grassy taste.

M- light body, high carbonation. Fairly easy to drink with long grassy bitter aftertaste.

O- just an ok ipa. Hops overtake the malt and makes for an unbalanced beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2012 01:56:13 | More by kawilliams81

evilkalla

Alabama

4.35/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Serving: Bomber into my Arrogant Bastard Ale glass.

A: Pours clear and golden. Barely any head though. A fair amount of carbonation is visible. No haze to speak of. Very nice.

S: Piney and resinous hops, with orange and lemon peels. Quite a bit of malt in there as well.

T: IMMEDIATE blast of bitterness followed by hints of malt. Bitterness is absolutely huge. Holy cow. Maybe a little unbalanced in its bitterness but I still love it.

M: Not thin but not thick either. Very nice.

O: Very good IPA. Very bitter. I love it.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2012 20:14:42 | More by evilkalla

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.08/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Moylan's NorCal IPA

Pours a dark orange with a chill haze. Soapy head forms and has good staying power. Aroma of citrus hops, floral, soapy, and some toasted malts as well. The first thing that struck me was how malt forward this beer is, with an almost scottish/scotch style malting, then a lot of citrus, grapefruit and pine. There is a pretty even balance; with nutty, biscuity, toasted flavor and citrusy, bitter pine hops. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied, smooth, and decently carbonated. Overall, I'd call this a Scottish IPA, and it is interesting.

Serving type: on-tap

02-16-2012 02:59:44 | More by Stinkypuss

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4.03/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Sampled on tap 1702, Tucson; October 2011
Arrives from the tap with a frothy, pale head. The beer is a clear, slightly copper tinged, deep gold color that shows a brilliantly clear, bright gold color when held up to the light. My nose is greeted by a righteously hoppy blast of tangelo zest, ripe lychee, ample floral tropical fruit notes, super fruit driven bright citrus notes and perhaps a hint of dank / herbal and perhaps a touch of pine. The nose is exactly what I want to find in a proper IPA.

A biting bitterness grips the palate up front and just holds on through to the long finish where it significantly dries out the beer. The bitterness, backed by a piquant pine like character and a dankly herbacaous hop character is the dominant hop flavor in this beer, but there is a soft, somewhat supporting hoppy fruit character that provides notes of lychee, floral, tropical peach and super ripe tangelo. This beer is quite dry throughout, which is why the hop fruit character is so surpressed in the flavor; it is also quite light bodied and extremely quaffable; this beer drinks quite dangerously for its strength. Because of the dryness, this beer is aggressively hoppy in a tongue flagellating, abrasive way (definitely a beer for the hop lovers out there). The malt plays a distant, extremely supporting role here, it barely contributes a touch of pale biscuit maltiness and perhaps a touch of cracker like character that lingers a bit in the finish.

A thoroughly aggressive, quite dry, IPA; it is almost a touch too dry as much of the bright, promised fruitiness from the nose is greatly suppressed in the flavor. A beer that is definitely for the hop heads out there, but I wish there was a touch more residual malt character that could have accentuated more of the fruit leaning hop notes in the flavor.

Serving type: on-tap

02-15-2012 03:19:30 | More by Gueuzedude

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.78/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours amber with a large head.
Nose shows piney hops, along with peach and floral notes. Underneath is biscuit-like malt and caramel.
Very hop-focussed flavours, lots of resinous pine and a massive sharp bitterness. Not much malt.
Slightly overcarbed.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2012 01:08:44 | More by CrazyDavros

Drinkerofales

California

3.68/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours golden honey with an amber hue. Nice white fluffy head and medium sticky retention.

Smell is light citrusy, fruity, with a hint of soapiness.

Tastes and feels of bitter earthy hops, a hint of grapefruit from the start to the middle and a smooth crisp finish. Kind of one note.

I liked the beer, simple but good, hops are on the forefront of this beer, but it's nowhere near overpowering. I think the Hopsicle offering from the same company has more of what I am looking for, but that review has yet to come.

DOA

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 05:52:07 | More by Drinkerofales

Metalmonk

North Carolina

4.43/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

6.5% on bottle label, as well as Moylan's claiming that the IPA style "provides a stimulating assault on all senses." So I'll make sure to listen to this beer, the sense that we all forgot to use when tasting beer. Right?

Well, doncha know, it is an audible beer, the head crackling and snapping with intensity. The head is a slightly dirtied white, and leaves a lot of lace on the glass. Color is a glistening copper-amber color with a lot of clarity (no hop haze).

This aroma floors me. I cannot NOT love this smell. It's a resin explosion, yet doesn't seem like it'll taste anything but balanced, and it's got a candy-like sweetness, toffee and salty taffy both. Plenty of California IPA personality, ie. hoppy as hell, yet never forgets to bring plenty of malt along. Oh, you're supposed to taste this too? Almost forgot.

Beautifully bitter on the tongue, also having that interesting character known as "resin" (let's cut to the chase, it tastes like resin from a hash pipe might taste). Sharp edge of grapefruit peel also, some astringent/unripe tangerine. It's interesting how there's a very, very strong suggestion of maltiness here -- and maybe that's the interesting burnt flavor that lingers. You know the malt is trying to exert a little bit of influence/balance here, but its presence hangs back in the shadows. Very much unlike the aroma, which seems to hint at more malt inclusion. A bit soapy in the finish, more grapefruit too. The totality of the taste is exceptionally pleasing, if you can handle the bitterness.

Soft, smooth, round, lighter body but hardly thin. More malt and bigger body would have pushed this easily over the edge into double IPA territory.

I don't know, maybe I've just lost my mind, but this is a fantastic IPA! I've tried to lay off the super-hoppy beers of late, it's easy to burn out on them, but I love my hops. Also, hop lovers tend to get jaded quickly, and I think I did, so maybe it takes a twisted flavor like NorCal IPA to bring a hophead back around to praising the freaky flower once again. All I know is this is superb and one of the better Moylan's beers in a stable of usually really good (and hop-heavy) beers.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2011 23:28:10 | More by Metalmonk

gpogo

California

3.45/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A- Crystal clear light golden amber color with a cream colored head. Quite a bit of bubble traffic.

A- Floral, grapefruit, and pine with a slight bready caramel background. The malt is really faint, but adds a sweetness to the aroma. Very nice aroma.

T- Fell a bit flat of the aroma. Bitterness and a light hop flavor. Slight toastiness, but rather weak in both the malt and hop flavor profile.

M- Light body with moderate carbonation.

D- The aroma was delicious. The flavor was a bit weaker than I was hoping, but it isn't as alcoholic and heavy as I expected either. Good, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2011 07:23:46 | More by gpogo

xnicknj

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

on tap at tapestry in philly

Pours a slightly hazed golden orange color with a two finger high white head on top. Retains for a bit, leaving plenty of lacing all over the glass while drinking.

Bitter and pithy in the nose with pine. Some lighter bread notes with a light touch of warmth. Fairly simple.

Pine bitterness up front with some citrus peel and grapefruit flavor. Some orange notes before the bready backbone kicks in. Not too sweet, but with a touch of caramel. Finishes with a mounting pine bitterness and very soft warmth.

Medium body, slightly higher carbonation, dry and lingering on the tongue. Drinks pretty well, nice piney, bitter West coast style beer.

Serving type: on-tap

12-05-2011 04:21:09 | More by xnicknj