Ithaca Flower Power IPA

Ithaca Flower Power IPA (2013)

Year Round Beer.

12 fl. oz. (x3) / $6.87 USD / 7.5% ABV

About: "Enjoy the clover honey hue and tropical nose. Simultaneously Punchy and soothing with a big body and a finish that boasts pineapple and grapefruit. Flower power is hopped and dry-hopped five different times throughout the brewing and fermentation process. Malts: 2-Row, Honey Malt / Hops: Simcoe, Cascade, Ahtanum, Centennial / Dry-Hop: Simcoe, Amarillo, Chinook / Suggested Food Pairing: Accentuates hot and spicy cuisine like Indian and Thai curries or Mexican / Recommended Cheese Pairing: Strong cheeses like Stilton, Danish Blue or Gorgonzola."

Thoughts: There's no ABV listed on these bottles or the box. Unholy hell the bottlecaps on these are hard to crack. Like many, but not all of my other beer reviews, this is my first time trying Flower Power. It's incredible how fast this stuff sells out around here. People go nuts for it, seriously. Let's see what all the fuss is about.

Poured a hazy, honey yellow which was lighter than I had been expecting for some reason after popping that top and taking a quick whiff. It's got a fluffy ultra white one-finger head on top. Carbonation is a medium, and the bubbles are quick rising.

That is one mighty fine smelling IPA, let me fuckin' tell ya. Such a beautiful scent, right up there with the best of them. Loads of hops. It's sweet smelling, tons of tropical citrus and pine, with the absolute essence of oily hop resin. I want to smoke it, er, I mean drink it. It's so dank and flowery, and as I close my eyes I can imagine holding a hand full of whole cones and buds. It's spicy too. I'm getting a lot of pineapple, some pear, sweet oranges... I can't take this any longer!

Taste is not as sweet as I was hoping, very close, but alas a really nice balance is to be had here. The sweetness and the bitterness are frolicking together, hand in hand like a couple of dirty hippies. The bitterness is gentle and easy going, as is the spice, yet both are abundant, and that simple yet sweet malt profile holds it all together. There's a lot of strong hop oil that reverberates all throughout each swig and stays long after the beer has been gulped down. This stuff is fantastic... absolutely fantastic! And upon doing some research I find out that the ABV is 7.5%. Marvelous.

Mouth Feel is prickly, tickly and extremely coating. I'd definitely pick a few of these up again. That is, if I ever get to the right shop the day they stock it. I always see their other six packs just sitting there, but the Flower Power spot is always empty.

Ithaca Country Pumpkin

Ithaca Country Pumpkin (2012)

Brewed and Bottled by Ithaca Beer Co., in Ithaca, NY. USA.
Autumn Seasonal (Aug - Oct) - First Time Brewing.

12 fl. oz. / $1.99 USD / 6.3% ABV

About: "Country Pumpkin is our medium-bodied harvest ale brewed with a medley of flavorful malt, pumpkin puree, Magnum hops and a touch of seasonal spices. The masterful blend of 2-Row, Vienna, Munich, Caramunich and Honey malt with Magnum hops balances the sweet pumpkin with an aroma of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and allspice to create a rich, malty ale for the autumn season."

Thoughts: Poured a very cloudy dark amber with shades of dirty orange. It's extremely carbonated and had a solid slightly yellowed one-finger head.

It's got the average pumpkin pie beer scent to it. Very sweet and mild. The scent of "beer" is very apparent, so it's not straight up pumpkin, but about half of it has got a canned pumpkin pie puree scent. Not too heavy on the clove, wait, are there cloves in this? I'm getting basically cinnamon and sugar, and a little nutmeg.

Taste is an amplified version of the scent. Starts out with some typical brew notes, which are slightly bitter, then the cinnamon comes rushing through and it's a bitter blast. Light caramel. It's very yeasty, and bready... and it's as if the pumpkin half and the beer half are at odds here, not mingling together in harmony. There's a lot of spice here that lingers on the tongue, but the problem is that the main taste of the beer and the initial rush of sweetness drops off immeditely.

Mouth is a medium, and it's kind of prickly. Finishes pretty clean and leaves a very dry, dusty mouth. Aftertaste isn't the most pleasant thing about it either.

It's hard to say if this is watered down tasting or if it just wasn't made strong enough. Either way, it's only just another basic pumpkin brew to me. It's not the worst I've tried, but it's far from being a superior brew in its class.