Left Coast Brewing Co.
San Clemente, CA
Available: CA
Left Coast Brewing Co. is the distribution arm of Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Co., which was named champion small brewery by the 2004 World Beer Cup. This double IPA is brewed using Warrior, Columbus, Centennial, Liberty, Simcoe and Chinook hops. The hops are added to the kettle, in the usual manner, and also to the mash and into the hopback. The beer then spends 4 weeks dry hopping in both the fermenter and the bright beer tank.
Alcohol (wt.): 7.9
Color: 6
Bitterness: “massive”
Gravity: 1085
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The nose here is wonderful. One as the urge to sniff and sniff and... Great pour, color, head, and sound, but the aromatics are gripping, and the hop character is intense, yet not at all unbalanced. One is easily lead into further fun here. It’s certainly true that I am a hophead, but this goes well beyond that, while still remaining as satisfying and enjoyable brew.
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This has a beautiful deep gold color and a rocky head that… oh my. The aroma just reached me from a foot away. A ridiculously hoppy blast of grapefruit, pineapple, fresh squeezed tangerines, and Jolly Rancher candy. On the palate, robust bitterness is parried by candyish malt sweetness and a worrying warmth of alcohol. It plays into a long off-dry fruity finish. It’s brash, unbalanced, very American and oddly compelling. I love it. Pair it with Pla Sarm Rod, the Thai deep-fried red snapper covered in sweet chili sauce.
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Deep bright gold. Powerful orange peel and grapefruit in the aroma—the classic aromas of American hops. More fruit (very ripe plums?) in a jammy palate. The beer world’s answer to an Australian syrah? Syrupy, malty middle. A big, soft, expressive, generous, flavor-packed beer. Plenty of sweetness to balance the hop juice.
