Estes Park Renegade IPA

This is a beer that came to me with the shipment of Avery brews from Colorado.  My Uncle is awesome and surprised me with a couple bottles from Estes Park Brewery.  This is a small but well-known CO brewery that's been around since 1993 - it started as a 4.25 Barrel brewhouse!  Over time they've won lots of awards for their beers, so I'm excited to have an opportunity to try one of them! 

Renegade IPA is one of those award winning brews, winning Silver in the 2003 World Beer Championship.  They use over 3 lbs of hops per barrel, which is music to mine ears.  The main hops used are Amarillo and Cascade in the kettle, with Cascades used again in the dry-hopping.

This beer is going into my ale glass, a very dark, hazy brown color with little yeast chunks floating around the bottom of the glass.  Doesn't look like this beer is filtered.  A rough pour yields just a thin layer of off-white head that vanishes quickly.  The aroma is a combination of strong florals, and light tropical fruits of pineapple/mango.  It really reminds me of handsoap...but not in a negative way.  In fact, it probably only reminds me of handsoap because I've been pavlovian conditioned to wash my hands all the time.  Thanks Mom.

The flavor starts off with a light citrus hoppiness - tart unsweetened grapefruits and unripe oranges.  The malts in the background morph the beer into an earthy, herbal zone that definitely adds a chewy factor to the experience.  Sweet biscuits dominate the malt backbone, brings a nice balance against the hop profile.  There is also a funky flavor that is definitely brought by the yeast sediment that adds extra tart and bite to the palate.  The mouthfeel is full and thick, quite heavy for an IPA. 

Overall Rating:  This is reminiscent of one of Steve and I's IPA homebrews - the color, the sediment, the raw flavors, this has all the characteristics of a delicious homebrew.  Easy drinker, and probably a great replenishment beverage after a day on the slopes of the Rockies.