I popped into the Toronado last night half hoping it would have Pliny the Younger on tap. Pliny the Younger was not on tap, but apparently it went on tap this morning. Instead, I had Alpine's O'Brien's IPA and Port's El Camino IPA. O'Brien's IPA is a regular IPA. I have read about this beer on BeerAdvocate and on beer blogs and wanted to try it because of all its favorable reviews and comments. O'Brien's floral hop aroma hit me before my first taste. It's a West Coast-style IPA. Its low relative alcohol level (6.2%) gives it a light mouthful, its balance was perfect. If there could ever be a session IPA, this might be it. The picture was taken late in the afternoon and it was dark in the Toronado, so I am not sure exactly of O'Brien's color (apologies for the picture's blurriness).My second beer was Port's El Camino. I was planning to try one of Toronado's Belgian offerings, but once I started down the IPA path with O'Brien's IPA I felt it best to keep on this course. After O'Brien's hops, my taste buds would not have let me appreciate the subtleties of most Belgians. El Camino, like O'Brien's is a regular IPA, but I felt it had more backbone than O'Brien's. Although the alcohol levels are similar (6.2% for O'Brien's and 6.5% for El Camino) El Camino tasted like the bigger beer. It, too is a West Coast-style IPA. Both beers are excellent IPAs.
1 comment:
O'Brien's IPA is so awesome. It is actually one of the darker San Diego IPA's coming in at an amber/orange and not so much the clear light orange or golden we normally see. It's definitely got a nice maltiness to it but still finishes dry (unlike east coast IPA's that are malty and finish sweet). El Camino seems to pack a little more punch, more bitter if I remember correctly. Great IPA day for you yesterday.
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