Siletz Paddle Me IPA

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

Not so extreme, plenty of all around flavor, its a great example of a true 'craft' NW India Pale ale. A distinctive flavor not being overloaded with 'C-hops'....... Pours with yeast, opaque orange and a lacy head. A bitter toffee/grass taste. Sweet spiciness (sweet hickory wood)...... A broad mouthfeel is beefy and ultimately supportive; a quality i always find in Siletz beers...... Sappy amber-like resin taste and some citrus flavor hops. Light on the pine taste which was good and a lasting bitterness

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

Interesting. I've loved several of the other Siletz offerings and I thought I'd give this one a try. I'm glad I did. Pours a beautiful cloudy amber with a nice head, though not much lacing, although that could be due to the fact I didn't really dry the glass before pouring the beer. Donno on that one. Smells hoppy! The malt scent is there but this has a lingering spruce scent that is a bit enticing. Tastes rather nice, although something is missing for an American IPA. The spruce (pine, for those not in the PNW) taste is there, oddly enough, with an orange taste as well. It doesn't have the usual PNW (Pacific Northwest) hops, as someone pointed out. It doesn't overload on the hops at all. If you're a hop-head, you might be a bit disappointed, but the IBUs are certainly there. Oddly, after every sip I can't help but to think of spruce more than hops for the bitterness. Mouthfeel is good and foamy without being over the top. I could enjoy several of these, which perhaps should lead to a higher "drinkability" mark than I've given, but I can't think of where else to keep from giving it 4s across the board, which I really don't think this beer deserves. Bottom line: This is a good beer that's somewhat complex and is is nice change of pace. It's not spectacular, but definately worth a try or two.

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

A relatively obscure IPA from what is a relatively obscure brewery (by Southern California standards, at least). And while I liked the name, and I appreciated both the quirky remarks on the label, and the quirky nature of this IPA, this beer still doesn't really work for me.

Appearence-wise, this deep orange colored brew has fairly little in the way of carbonation. No belgian lace to speak of. The aroma seemed rather subdued and nuetral -- not a good sign for an IPA, in my opinion. Supposedly East Kent Golding, but not substantially so.

As far as the taste goes, I have to give credit to the brewer for not going for the standard "Big 5 C's", as far as the hopping goes. What the heck does that mean, you ask? Well, there are no obvious indications that the hops used for this beer include (1) Cascade, (2) Centennial, (3) Crystal, (4) Columbus, and/or (5) Chinook. These PacNW-centric hops may be in the mix somewhere, but the dominate hop is much more obscure -- Simcoe? British Columbia Goldings? Warrior? The label talks about three different hop varities, but only calls out East Kent Goldings in the Aroma on the label. Regardless of the hops, this beer just doesn't taste like it fits in with the standard PacNW hop profile.

With the obscure hop additions, both the mouthfeel and drinkability of this beer seemed a bit off to me. I can see this being more interesting from either the tap or from a cask, but bottled it has a few too many quirks to be truely enjoyable. Not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but just something that I can't see picking up too often.
//TB

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

Medium gold color, small head. Hoppy floral aroma. A medium bodied West coat IPA. Very hoppy without being too overpowering. Nice balance. A Hop fest for the taste buds: alternates between floral and spicy and bitter. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is crisp and clean. Aftertaste is bitter, and the bitterness ligers a while. Nice IPA, big and bold, not overpowering but not for the weak of taste buds. High alcohol? Painted beer bottle.

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

A slightly darker orange than is usual for an IPA..slightly hazy..great pure white frothy head. A great spicy hop aroma..nice and fresh. Very hop dominated taste,,strong and bitter yet refreshing. Smooth and extremelly bitter on the palate This is a hop heads dream type of beer..its a good beer but I couldnt drink more than a couple of pints