Moylan's India Pale Ale

Moylan's Brewery

after my fill of wine during this weekend's camping excursion, it's time to go back to the golden goddess. this Moylan's IPA was one of two bottles that were initially picked up when Big Love and I decided to get extra nerdy with our drinking and write reviews.

Moylan's is a brewpub just north of San Francisco in the town of Novato. like a lot of west coast micro-breweries, Moylan's selection of beer looks like they are trying to recruit a hop army to take over the beer world. along with this 6.5% IPA, they have a double IPA which boasts an 8.5% abv and a triple Imperial IPA, Hopsickle, which comes in at a liver stopping 9.2%.

poured into a glass, this IPA comes through with a nice thick haze that is the colour of apple cider. the head is extra generous and was maintain throughout the glass. the aroma is mainly light floral, but I smelled some citrus in the mix. now, let's get to why people love their IPA's - taste. to start, it's hops, hops, hops, but the floral aroma comes through even stronger in the middle. a few more sips and your tongue will be ready for the hop assault. the more you drink, the more this hoppiness mellows. the finish has a savoured bitterness that lasts a full minute - it may linger a bit long, but doesn't overstay it's welcome. the complexity of the hops is achieved in the latter part of brewing, when this IPA is finished by being twice dry-hopped (get your mind out of the gutter). the second glass of the IPA was to go with my dinner - a smokie and french onion soup (no, i was not planning on going out afterward) and was perfect with my hearty meal. this is when i started tasting the hops as a complement to the citrus and floral notes instead of being a solitary entity. me likey.

B+ by itself
A with food