Wolavers India Pale Ale

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

a little more assertive on the flavor and aroma than Bison, otherwise still fairly average. a little too much carbonation on too little body, otherwise ok.

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

Bottle pour is yellowish/orange with a thin white head. I don't sense a strong hop aroma in the nose. The taste is a pleasant surprise. I would prefer more hops, but this is nice and refreshing. A sweet, caramal malt backbone has it sugary sweetness blitzed by a nice piney cascade hop. This is an IPA that people who don't prefer extreme hoppage would like. I could see drinking this after cutting the grass on a hot summer day.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Bottle: Poured a light brown color ale with some orangey notes and nice foamy head with good retention and no lacing. Aroma consists of very light bitter hops which are disappointing considering the style. Taste is a mix between a bland light caramel malt profiles with a very light bitter finish. I expect some bitter or citrus flavour in my IPA which I didn’t get here. I have to admit that this one was a big disappointment.

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

A hazy golden beer with a thin beige head. The aroma is sweet malty with notes of caramel and hops, while the flavor is primarily sweet malty with notes of caramel, and only light notes of hops, and the body is thin.

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

Pours a hazey orange with a medium sized white head. Crisp, clean and refreshing- isn't overly hoppy but well balanced. Fruity, wood in the aroma as well as a little spice in the finish. Nice clean tasting beer.

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

For this being a beer under a buck, and it being a pretty damned tasty IPA to boot, things were going all the right for this beer. Pour is a cream soda looking beer, sort of yellow/gold/orange combo with a decent head. Aroma isn't quite as pungent as I like my IPA's to be, but it wasn't bad. A bit spicy, floral and fruity. Mouthfeel was slightly biting, but nice just the same. Flavors were really the star of this beer. Nicely malted with a sweet flavor but the hop character is nicely done as well. I wasn't sure what to think of the "organic" IPA but I was suprised at how drinkable it was. Nice IPA.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

This was a bit bitter for my liking. The first taste wasn't bad but the after taste was not. It had a nice slightly fruity aroma and poured a very nice amber color in the glass with a thick head.

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

Pale golden amber body and a thin head. The bubbles rising up from the sides of the glass are pretty large. Dried apricots and grassy hops make up the aroma. More apricots and grassy hops are found in the flavor wiht a bit of pepper.

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

Sampled at The Tap House At Ghent, while on a quick business trip to Norfolk VA last week.

I was surprised to see that I had not submitted a review for this beer yet -- considering that I think it is the only one of the so-called Wolaver's Certified Organic Ales that I enjoy on a semi-routine basis. And while I have to say that from the bottle, this is simply a "fairly decent IPA; nothing to get too excited about", this fresh off the tap is something altogether more interesting.

A touch lighter than what I'm used to seeing in many other IPA's (but surely not as light as the Speakeasy IPA, which might as well be compared to a Kristalweizen, appearence-wise!). But the nice layer of foam, and the resulting lacing, topped-off an attractive-looking beer. Aroma-wise, no disappointments here, either. Quite the "fresh-hop" smell -- the sort of smell that fills your nose, and makes you sad when it leaves. This must be much fresher than what I can get out on the West Coast, since I surely would have remembered one of the finest smelling IPA's this side of Russian River's Pliny The Elder IPA.

Flavor-wise, it's all a matter of "a place for everything, and everything in it's place" (to quote my old Navy bootcamp Company Commander). Nice blending of hops, which I'm sorry to say I couldn't quite pick out individual hop varities (what with a nagging cold and all). But while the hops were good-to-go, I have to say that the malt bill seemed a little on the simplistic side. Nothing to negative overall, but something that I would beef-up, if this were my homebrew recipe.

But this is still a nicely drinkable beer off the tap, and one that I plan on re-investigating again from the bottle sometime in the near future. Recommended.
//TB

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

I tried this on tap last week at Mac Gregors. Hoppy sweet aroma with a decent head. The flavor was hoppy with a hoppy aftertaste. The mouthfeel was heavier than I expected. I tried this on a rather warm night. It was good but I think it would really shine when the weather is a bit cooler.