Nectar Ales Nectar IPA

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Pretty sure I had this before and forgot to review. Saw on clearance for $1 at ABC Liquor so decided to sample again. About how I remember. Has some decent bitter hop for a 6.7% IPA, but still leaning towards the sweet/malty side in balance. The hops opens up as you get further into the sample, but the first few sips are a little too sweet. I agree this this is more East Coast/New England style vs. the West Coast that you would expect from a CA brewer. Has potential and one that has potential to be more...just can't rate it that high at this point.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

A bright amber colored beer with a one finger frothy textured off white head rising briefly above. Settles into a medium ringlet. Profile is citric and piney hops balanced by biscuit sweetness. Full bodied and smooth. Refreshing.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

I quite enjoyed this! ..Had on Draft at the Kansas City Flying Saucer .. . Copper in colour, fantastic head and lacing .. . floral, fruity hops makes this fun to drink, i recommend this for sure! .. . There's was a love that was not allowed to flourish. Society said no but their hearts said yes, tonight on The Hump.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

a little better balance than the pale (more malt), but the hops are stronger too...and just a touch too bitter. overall, an aromatic, but just ok, effort. 7/11 a little better and more balanced than remembered. 11/11 perfumey super strong aroma

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Very good IPA. It shouldn’t be any surprise that a company with ties to Firestone Walker can make a good IPA. Nectar IPA fits in nicely as sweeter, more floral counterpoint to FW’s hoppy pales. The beer is a rich golden color without too much head, not that I really care. The aroma is floral and piney with a touch of citrus. Caramel and bread malt flavors creep in along the edges of the hop barrage, albeit a friendly, pleasant hop barrage. The flavor is rather dry with a raspy bitter aftertaste. This is an enjoyable, easy to like IPA.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

Sampled on 11/11/08. This IPA pours a medium amber color from a 12oz bottle. Medium to large sized white foamy head with decent lacing. The aroma is caramel, fruity and sweet, with some floral hops. A medium bodied IPA. The malts are caramel, fruity and sweet, with some tropical flavors. The hops are floral and citrusy. Decent balance. Kind of a in between IPA. It’s not realy malty and sweet yet its also not really bitter. So I can’t tell if it’s a English IPA or a West Coast IPA. It closer to being neither. Very drinkable, but a little thin. There is some lasting bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is bitter

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

Nectar's aromatic floral hops are right on top of things. Loved their pale ale but it doesnt seem to work as well as an IPA. Be good if they gave this some more muscle......Medium bitter, more so than the pale, and more caramely/toffee malts. Frangrant hoppy aftertaste, tropical fuity notes (papaya), apple, flowery and crisp. Light bodied, good feel, kinda plain/ one dimensional.... Crisp gold color, small head, light lace.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

~ Initial Review (Draught), 08-11-2003:
Had a pint of this at the Yard House in Costa Mesa during the most recent Southern California Gathering last month.

Fruity, hoppy, workable, albeit a little unimagative, IMO. I went into this beer expecting something along the lines of a typical "PacNW"-style IPA (i.e. big on hops, malt secondary), and ended up with something that would fit in better with what I have always tended to think of as being the "New England"-style of IPA -- not so bitter, a bit more maltier, with some complexity coming from the yeast. Not that I have anything but positive things about such a beer, mind you, but it doesn't make this IPA (of whatever IPA style) any more interesting.

~ Re-Review (Draught), 08-04-2004:
Had a pint of this while hanging with some of the SD locals last night at the San Diego Brewing Company (a place that has better "guest beers" than "house beers").

Both me and Richard remarked that this was pretty damn interesting, especially in the aroma department. Seems like the brewer not only beefed up the middle (Flavor) addition-hops, but definately did some dry-hopping too.

The flavor was a bit cleaner than I remember too -- all giving this beer a fair-to-better-than-average overall drinkability score, IMO.

Not sure if this would ever see the insides of my fridge at home, but for a pint or three out in town, this isn't too bad....
//TB