Russian River Brewing, Pliny the Elder

 

Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, CA: http://russianriverbrewing.com/ 

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/863/7971   BA score:  100!!!

Description: Pliny the Elder is brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, and Simcoe hops. It is well-balanced with malt, hops, and alcohol, slightly bitter with a fresh hop aroma of floral, citrus, and pine. Best enjoyed FRESH!

My take: Absolutely THE best IPA I ever had. Pour in a beautiful golden yellow color with a thick head of foam. You can smell the bright and fresh pine and the floral notes as you draw the glass in. First taste, hoppy beer but balanced perfectly with citrus sweetness which makes this such a drinkable IPA since the hop bitterness never overpowers the IPA while maintaining the hop and pine flavor throughout. It's just so smooth for an IPA with all the elements melting beautifully to enhance all the flavors in your taste buds. 

Bear Republic Brewing Racer 5 India Pale Ale

Bear Republic Brewing Co. California: http://bearrepublic.com/home.php

Description: This hoppy American IPA is a full bodied beer brewed American pale and crystalmalts, and heavily hopped with Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/610/2751 BA score 94

My review: Racer 5 is one of the first IPA I had and a big reason why I like IPA so much and fired up my interest in craft brew beers. The Racer 5 is a great IPA, very balanced. It's hoppy and has a little spice and slight bitterness that lingers after sipping. There's also a sort of grassy and earthy note that I pick up on the more I drink. It's mild and really adds another layer to the IPA. All that different combo still makes this a very easy IPA to drink. Definitely one of my favorite IPAs.