UPDATED: OCT 17, 2021 500ml bottle from Brewers Haven. Dark golden pour, cloudy, one finger foamy head. Musty, fruity aroma, burlap. Taste is hoppy, grassy, dry, light maltiness.

UPDATED: DEC 13, 2019 15-Oct-13 (500-ml bottle: Purchased 15-Oct-13 for $5.99 at The Bine & Vine Bottle Shop in San Diego, CA)
I'm ready to give up on this brewery. Now comes the Fresh Hop beers, and this first one is very mediocre. The beer pours a hazy, amber body with half an inch of off-white head that settles to an uneven sheet, leaving spotty lace on the glass. The nose is very green, grassy, and hay-like with a grainy and rather husky malt backing. On the palate, it's well balanced, so that's something good to say, but neither the hops or the malt are pleasant enough to want to drink this beer. The hops are grassy and plant-like with medium, lingering bitterness, while the malt is mildly sweet, grainy, and very husky. The spent grain character impacts the mouthfeel too with a very noticeable astringency like sucking on a tea bag. It's medium in weight and carbonation is moderate. Overall, this just isn't enjoyable beer. The flavors are unrefined and the mouthfeel is a bit harsh. The Killer Red came out too, but I have no enthusiasm to try it.

UPDATED: NOV 30, 2019 500 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 9/19/2019. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy deep golden/amber/light orange color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, lime, peach, pear, apricot, passion fruit, mango, honeydew melon, black currant, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, mint, peppercorn, pine, cracker, bread dough, toasted biscuit, light honey/caramel, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and bready malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, lime, peach, pear, apricot, passion fruit, mango, honeydew melon, black currant, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, mint, peppercorn, pine, cracker, bread dough, toasted biscuit, light honey/caramel, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, minty, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, lime, peach, pear, apricot, passion fruit, mango, honeydew melon, black currant, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, mint, peppercorn, pine, cracker, bread dough, toasted biscuit, light honey/caramel, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and bready malt flavors; with an awesome malt/bitterness balance, and no lingering hop astringency after the finish. Fairly crisp/clean finishing. Moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and carbonation. Medium-plus carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy malts and sticky/resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 7.3%. Overall this is a fantastic wet hopped IPA. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and bready malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, clean, and easy to drink with the modestly bitter/resinous/drying finish; not overly aggressive. Fantastic Brewers Gold, Simcoe profile. Extremely vibrant, earthy, dank, and fairly juicy hops; with a great balanced clean bready malt backbone. Minimal residual sweetness with crisp resin dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example as expected.

UPDATED: OCT 29, 2019 500 ml bottle from Tavour, 10/29/19.  Unclear orange-amber color, beige head, strong lacing.  Definitely a good looking beer.  Classic west coast hop thing here, pine / resin forward, lots of spice, some herbal notes, touch of grapefruit, but otherwise, this is not really at all fruity.  Drinks hoppy, dry, and big.  Really a top notch example of an old-school west coast IPA.  The hops do feel fresh.  Tasty.   8/4/7/4/15

UPDATED: JAN 26, 2019 The bottling date was messed up so all I could tell you is that it was sometime in 2018. The Aromas are old hops, Amber malt, mint. The flavors AR Bittersweet fresh hop qualities are gone with a full body and good carbonation. Too bad I didn't try it when it was fresh.

Amber with a white head that lasts. Aroma is peach, raw fruit, grass, caramel. Medium bodied, moderate to high bitterness, I like this.

UPDATED: OCT 20, 2018 The most unusual fresh hop ipa I’ve encountered. So dank; so hemp(?). Beautiful orange pour....pleasantly chewy mouthfeel. The taste though? If you like dank (and I do), this is the ticket. First thoughts are of Ganga, both smell and taste. The Gold and Simcoe hops just right on to your palate. The antithesis of boring.

UPDATED: JUL 28, 2018 2017 bottle opened July 2018, so definitely not as fresh as it should be. Nose has light caramel, pine resin, jasmine, some grass, citrus and light juniper. Flavour is light caramel with a medium+ pine bitterness and a touch of spice. Doesn't seem as bitter as the 95 IBU would indicate which may be due to the age. Mouth is medium slick with average carbonation and a long bitter finish. 8/3+/7/3+/15+

Near clear dark orange from the bottle. Aroma is sweet pilsner malt with lots of resinous pine. Flavor is a touch sweet too with a hop bite. Crisp body. 3.7+

Fresh hop version on draught with 95 IBU. Amber colour, rather too dark for an IPA with white head. Light aroma, less than you'd expect with a nice evergreen note. Restrained flavour, doesn't taste as hoppy as it says. Over the tongue finish.