A: Orange amber, with haziness based on the pour, cause there's a bunch of yeast at the bottom of the bottle. Thick, fluffy head that slighly off white. Retention is very long.
S:Spicey fruitiness is my first impression.
T: Pleasant and refreshing is the first thing that comes to mind. I was prepped for some monster brew, with a name like extreme. It's got a very subtle tree fruit sweetness and a background of spice/pepper. No part of the taste is overbearing. Hardly any hop bitterness, esp. for a 70 ibu. Nice carbonation.
D: There's been some criticism of the american craft brew tendency to infuse styles that don't traditional have huge hop profile and juice them. Which based on the label, a American-Belgo Style IPA is what's going on with this brew. But, my position is that the american way is to be individualistic and indepenant. At the end of the day, forget about style definitions, the question is whether or not it's a good drinker. Rock Art's Extreme is very good. My personal preference would be to tone down the spice a bit, but others taste preferences could be different. But it's well crafted and there are no inbalances.
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Reviewed: Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 21:17:48
Pours clear (but Rich had the bottom of the bottle and that was fairly cloudy). A off-white, thick, frothy foam. Retention is quite good: thick and sheeting.
Aroma has a bunch of pepper, spice, Belgian, yeast, and a touch of fruitiness.
Taste is something different, in a good way. Starts with a bit of sweet that turns into some fruitiness and bread in the middle. It ends with pine hops and bitterness with strong hit of pepper and Belgian spice. The finish brings out a build up of pepper in the mouth.
Medium body with a solid, crisp carbonation. Dries a bit but after fruity juices subside.
A little sceptical up front but pleasantly surprised. Admittedly the pepper in the nose and in the end of the taste seemed a bit much and over the top. Pretty solid as a Belgian IPA. Enjoy!
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Reviewed: Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 21:10:18