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Nice ambery copper color, somewhat hazy with little floaty things, hop leaf bits probably, finger high off-white head of thick bubbly froth, fades slowly to a thin haze and a ring which remains present the whole glass. Lace is sticky in large webby sheets.

Aroma is oh so nice with lovely hops of piney deepness and citrusy oils with a soft, round caramel maltyness. Straight up IPA nose from the West coast eh, quite nice, could smell it at arms length.

Taste has a nice piney sense with a mellowness thats welcoming; increasing citrus of dull orange oil and grapefruit mixed with a touch of woody dryness and a nice even bittering hop bite thats resin filled and quite nice the whole way through. Caramel malts keep a sweeter notion overall on the under side.

Feel is solid medium bodied with a nice little creamy smoothness and fluffyness that slides right down. This beer clinched it for me. I love hops!! I've held back on wanting a hop fix, but no longer, I'm going to start hoarding hop heavy beers dammit! This was a very nice IPA! The bomber was gone in no time!

Served In: Pint Glass

This is a perennial favorite. It has that motor oil and kerosene backbone with hopped up resin, pine, and grapefruit with just enough malt to give it a bit of balance. It pours a nice golden wheat amber color and has a highly resinous smell with some piney scent. The flavor is heavenly. It drinks like a syrupy, flavorful nectar of the Gods and goes down smooth despite the fairly high alcohol. One of the best widely distributed IPA’s around.

Served In: Pint Glass

Pours a nice slight hazy golden yellow with a couple fingers of white head atop. The foam slowly settles and leaves a nice coating of sticky lacing on the walls of the glass. A small layer of foam remains covering the top of the brew.

Smells of fresh piney hops. Fresh pine needles with a touch of grapefruit and a hint of lemon are most prominent. Some signs of malt are there too with a note of light caramel and a bit of sweetness to balance things. Mmmm, hops.

Smooth malty body with a nice light caramel and touch of biscuit. Light sweetness that's a bit dry. Hops aren't as strong as in the aroma but still very much the star of this show. Light citrus flavors of grapefruit and then a nice piney note. Touch of lemon on the aftertaste along with malt notes of light biscuit and caramel.

Nicely balanced and very drinkable. Always a nice brew.

Served In: Pint Glass

22oz Bomber

Pop from the carbonation when I cracked this beer.

Racer 5 poured a hazy orange/golden. Lots of carbonation coming up from everywhere on this one. Two finger dense eggshell head sits up top and doesn't want to budge. This is a lively beer. The head lingers throughout and leaves sticky white lacing.

Smells very good. I drank the Red Rocket last night and there was all kinds of unexpected smells. The same thing with Racer 5. The first thing that comes to mind is oatmeal. Then the hops come around. There's citrus, orange rind along with a small touch of grapefruit. Just smells really fresh and refreshing.

The taste is excellent. There's a very solid caramel malt upfront that falls back when the hops hit but stays as a nice balancing point throughout. The hops come in as a refreshing and crisp citrus bite. This is some good stuff.

The mouthfeel is close to perfect. Medium bodied with a really nice carbonation that pushes through and tickles the tongue.

I could easily drink these all night long and I would if I would have bought more than just one of these bombers.

Racer 5 is an excellent IPA. I'm very impressed. This beer is so smooth and easy to drink. It hides the alcohol so well you can't even tell it's there. One of my new favorite IPAs.

Reviewed: 10/14/06

Served In: Pint Glass

Gorgeous, clear, golden amber color. Pours an outstanding head, two fingers in height, off-white, thick and pillowy. Takes some time to subside, monster lacing clinging to my glass. Little streamers of carbonation.

On the nose, also impressive. Citrus and pine. Hoppy, and I like it...

Tastes of sweet malts at first, followed by a quick rush of hops. Ahhh!!! Nice and citrusy (orange zest, tangerine), and yup, piney. Follows the nose nicely. A bit grainy tasting. Good balance. Definitely on the sweeter side.

Medium body, a little slick. Pleasant carbonation. Slightly dry aftertaste, and clean.

Very enjoyable!! Easy to drink, quality IPA. Think I will have me another...
Recommended!

Served In: Pint Glass

Crazy fives are alive. Pours a mostly cloudy orange hue color with a light amber almost reddish color. A fizzy white head with good retention and lacing though did hide to the edge of the glass. I did notice that the bottle was a low fill but no apparent off notes.

The nose is distinctly a west coast ipa. Big citrus, pine and grapefruit form the hops. Really dominates and lingers through the tasting and as it warms. Some minor malt notes but very limited. Some caramel and a hint of toffee. Some minor yeast notes but for the most part very clean.

The taste is similar. The hops really come out more on the finishing hops. The citrus note comes out with a good citrus lemon and grapefruit taste. Some minor pine and a lingering pine notes but limited versus the nose. A slight soapy note but no where near as would have expected per such a hop bomb. Some bitterness that lingers into the finish but very subtle. The malt comes out a bit more compared to the nose. Some bready and caramel notes. Would have liked a bit more malt but still good. A very nice beer.

The body is moderate to full. Would like a bit less body but does support the huge hop character. Carbonation is light, could use a touch more to help with bitterness. But overall a fantastic example of a west coast ipa.

Served In: Pint Glass

Poured from the tap into a pint glass.

The color is a light amber with a nice white foamy head and some nice lacing.

The smell is a bit hoppy with some nice cirus hop flavor. Some nice slight caramel feel and a bit of pale malt in the background.

The taste is a nice hoppy poke at the beginning with some nice malt flavor rounding out the flavor and evening out the taste. Some nice hints of citrus and some floral hop. The malt flavor is also presented pretty nicely here as well.

The feel of the beer is a nice crisp taste. A bit sharp at first but not overpowering. Some hoppy aftertaste.

Served In: Pint Glass

Color is medium-dark gold. Smell has plenty of citrus with orange, grapefruit. Some floral in the smell too. The hops really stand out. Taste is about as expected from the smell, with the citrus from the hops first and a decently notable hops bitterness. Feel is somewhere int he middle for the style, but leans a little to the oily side for a standard IPA.

Overall, a great every-day IPA.

Served In: Pint Glass

Originally reviewed 08/25/06

Poured from bomber into standard pint glass.

A - Pours clear orangish golden. Huge fluffy whit head that isn't going anywhere. Tons of tight bubbles running to the top.

S - Yum. Tangerine, Pineapple, Grapefruit. This runs the whole gambit of sweet, floral, citrus hops.

T - Sweet citrus hops are at the forefront here, but balanced perfectly with just enough malt. Malt is there just to enhance the flavor of the hops. Orange peel with some pineapple.

M - Oily hops with an overall medium body. Carbonation is very good.

D - Great IPA showcasing how delicious hops can be when balanced nicely. Easy drinker.

Served In: Pint Glass