The Brewery:
Mission Brewery San Diego
I.P.A.
Our India Pale Ale exhibits a complex hop aroma, largely due to the generous usage of Cascade and Centennial hops, as well as a subtle malt character from the various malts used to achieve the wonderful balance exhibited in a world-class IPA. San Diego has become world renown for the wonderful and flavorful beers produced here – and India Pale Ales are no exception. Our national award winning interpretation of the style reflects both the history of IPA and the American variation of this distinct beverage. We hope you enjoy it! 66 IBU
Professional Opinion:
Mission Brewery IPA pours a nice copper color with a very nice white foamy head that lasts throughout the glass followed by an outstanding lacing that is very complimentary to this style of beer and has a medium level of carbonation to back everything up – a well balanced beginning.
The nose has a malty hoppy pine, somewhat close to an older style of IPA that is followed by a little citrus and a sugary malt.
The Beer; A very easy drinker, this I would consider an old style of IPA that originated from our brothers across the sea; very piny, smoky, sugary malty beer with hardly any floral and just a hint of citrus that is actually quite hard to find but non the less there somewhere in the middle pallet, from the beginning to the end the smoky hops being the prevailing winner throughout never letting you forget that it is an old world IPA.
A truly fantastic IPA considering there are so many that are or trying to be the same. I’m not sure if this was what Mission Brewery had in mind of their IPA but non the less it tastes so much like an English IPA it stands out alone among its California brethren.
Personal Opinion:
To be upfront, my good friend Mike Mellow is the VP of this company, but what he has going against himself is that I am as honest as honest can be, if I don’t like something or you, you will know it by the end of a conversation. With that in mind I do like ol’ Mikey allot and I did take the extra time to think about this rating open minded as well with friendship lurking in the deep.
My first tasting of this beer was from a warm keg after riding over an hour to Julian in 80-degree weather, at that moment anything would taste good and it went down as if it was swill or Gods nectar. After a few, I did take notice of how it was very smoky, sugary, very hoppy and very easy to drink, I was not sure about the beer itself, but it was wetting my whistle and that was the object at the moment.
Second try was on draft, again, same experience, it was me B-day, I was very thirsty and I was in a great mood, everything is better on your b-day…but the good thing is that I have an entire keg that Mike generously donated to get this beer down pat. After many pints I came to thinking I was not so sure about this beer until it clicked, “fuck I haven’t had this kind of IPA in a looong time, I’ve been so jaded by all this floral new California shit” (which I like so much by the way) that my taste buds have began to look for what they think an IPA should be not for what it really is.
Anyhow, I came to the realization it tasted like some of the first IPA’s I ever tried – The real “English IPA’s”, this opened a whole new outlook on this beer and made me realize I haven’t seen this style of IPA in a long time. I came to the conclusion today that this is a very good beer, not a decent beer! but a very good beer that is easy to drink, good on hot days, a little sugary for my liking but the sugar balances all that piny, smoky hops and to boot, its like nothing else on the market - as far as I know of anyhow.
This beer would of got three stars but after my realization today of it being like an old world IPA I changed my mind and it deserves the four it so strongly commands – four solid stars ****
