In January 2009 I posted tasting notes for Alaskan IPA. I remember that I had a cold that day. I did a string of tastings and even noted in some of them that my taster may have been off. Looking back at those notes it seems that I liked it, but it didn’t really stand out to me as anything particularly special.

What a difference two years makes. I had a bottle and decided it would be interesting to do another set of notes. It just goes to prove something that I always say; you can’t put too much stock in reviews. So many things influence how a beer tastes on a given day. Then I was sick in Palo Alto, California. It was winter and while not cold, it got somewhat chilly at night. Today it’s 95 degrees with a heat index of 109 degrees. That kind of weather is more like IPA weather for me. I’m not stuffed-up today. And I have two more years under my belt of paying close attention to the beer that I’m drinking. I’m sure my palate has changed. The beer may have changed as well.

I found it interesting to compare my two experiences. I thought I would post the two sets of notes together. So here’s my notes from then and now:

Alaskan IPA
Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau, Alaska
Style: American IPA
Serving Style: 22 oz bottle

Aroma 2009: Citrus and pine American hops
Aroma 2011: Bread and graham cracker. Hop aroma is light but bright and citrusy. Grapefruit and tangerines.

Appearance 2009: Light amber/deep gold. Lighter than expected, must be mostly base malts. Fluffy and persistent white head.
Appearance 2011: Dark golden with full and persistent white to off-white head. Clear.

Flavor 2009: Grainy malt with very light caramel balanced by pine and citrus hops. Medium-high bitterness and hop flavor is lower than expected and allows the malt to shine through.
Flavor 2011: Delicate, balanced, sharp and clear. The mild, grainy and slightly sweet malt just balances the hops. Very well attenuated. Bright, citrusy, grapefruit-pith hops. Background notes of tropical fruit and tangerine. Medium-high bitterness, but balanced. Get the hop flavor without the bitterness. Finishes extra-dry with grapefruit and tropical fruit lingering. So delicate and yet still bold.

Mouthfeel 2009: Medium body. Medium carbonation.
Mouthfeel 2011: Medium body and medium carbonation.

Overall Impression 2009: A solid IPA. Nice malt with lighter than expected hops. I think I have come to expect “greatness” from Alaskan Brewing and this was not “great”. It was just a good IPA. That said, I would certainly have a couple more.
Overall Impression 2011: Sometimes you taste a beer and it says to you, “I am great.” It’s a combination of things like complexity, clarity, and delicacy. This beer has it, at least for me today. For my own part I would like a bit more malt, but that’s just me. I like malt. It is not an overly complex beer. In fact it’s probably less complex than some other IPAs. But it is really well made. The folks at Alaskan really do know how to make beer.