Cascazilla, Ithaca Beer Co., Ithaca, NY

Sitting down to watch the USA Canada Gold Medal Hockey game this weekend, I knew I had to have everything just right. Doritos? Check. Bugles? Check. Labatt's? Um, NO. I needed to have an American beer. I couldn't afford to leave things to chance, you know how Miller is from Millewaukee but owned by South African Brewing; so I went with an Ithaca Cascazilla Red Ale, born and brewed in Ithaca, NY a mere 5 hour drive from Lake Placid, home of USA Hockey's greatest triumph. Now I was ready for the game.

We've joked a few times on the site that IPAs are easy to spot because they often have hokey names derived from hops, Hop Devil, Hoptical Illusion etc. So imagine my surprise when I realize that the Cascazilla is not an IPA, it's a Red. Granted I had some beers prior to picking this beauty out at the store so my judgement may have been impaired. However popping off the cap of the brew you are immediately hit with an aroma of hops, so to the blind eye you may still be thinking IPA. However once the beer is poured and you see the rich dark color of the beer, it is clearly not an IPA. The picture on the left totally captures the foaming head that emerges from the glass as the beer is poured. The caramel malt synchs perfectly with the hops and creates a smooth flavor which ends with a just a hint of bitterness as the hops get in the last word edgewise. The beer also has a nice 7% ABV.

Now, the US didn't win, which was sad. But I found this great new beer, which was good. How good? 4.0 good. Definitely keep an eye out for this one because I won't be sharing the remaining 5 I have at my house.

Flower Power IPA, Ithaca Beer Co., Ithaca, NY

Another beer with a hop-based pun in the title (flower = hop flower for the slower readers). The Ithaca Beer Co. in upstate NY makes a solid hop-focused IPA. The most remarkable element of this beer is the intensely citrus aroma and taste given off by the hops. It is probably a very nice IPA, but the smell of lemons/grapefruit, combined with the nearly overpowering taste of citrus is the primary focus of this beer. The malt does appear as a sweet flavor, but the balance is tilted towards showing off the hops.

Despite my criticism, this is a tasty beer, and the 7.5% ABV is definitely welcome. The hops are very dominant,and I think that you need to be ready for it.

Rating = 3.5

I had this in a bottle. I'm wondering if the beer enjoys a better balance out of a keg, but I've never seen an Ithaca product on tap in my area...

Excelsior White Gold

Welcome to goodness my friends. I had a bottle of Excelsior White Gold the other day and it was pure joy.

It's packaged in a wine bottle and brewed by the Ithaca Beer Company. When first poured it's a golden color, but it gets a little darker as the sediment flows around your glass (be careful when pouring as there was quite a bit of sediment in my bottle). Plenty of head led to a very flavorful taste, with a slight lemony/fruitful smell. If you're a fan of the Harpoon IPA, then you'll definitely like this, as it takes that flavor up a notch. Each sip went down very smoothly, ensuring that I'll soon go out and buy another bottle.

At 8%abv, there isn't a huge kick to it, but it sure got the job done. I mean, since it comes in a wine bottle, once it's opened you might as well drink the entire bottle, right? It would be wrong not to I suppose.

I'd give this brew a solid 3.5. Very tasty, and I won't hesitate to buy it again, but to me it was more of a summer beer, so I probably won't be picking any up this winter. I highly recommend you try it though, as you will not be disappointed.

So that makes two excellent beers in a row for me. Well, after the Clamato Incident I deserve it. Not sure what I'm going to try next week, so if you have any suggestions, fire away.