Bison Organic IPA

Our organic IPA uses Tomahawk, Cascade, and Centennial hops for a rustic, rough-hewn hop character that pairs great with food or relaxing among friends. Prominent citrus and pine aromas and bitterness that is not over the top balances this medium bodied copper-colored brew.

2010 vintage 6.0% abv

3.2

295 reviews

Berkeley, United States

Community reviews

1.9 Single bottle. Average aroma, decent orange pour. Lousy balance; too much malt, not enough hops; lacking in bitterness. Gritty finish. Utterly forgettable. But hey, it’s organic! Yawn.

3.5 Bottle. Golden, hazy, average and mostly diminishing head. Moderate malty and sweetish aroma, light caramel and light tropical fruitiness, citrus - piney hoppyness, faint alcohol. Body is medium, malty and lightly sweetish flavor, light caramel and light tropical fruitiness with citrus - piney hoppyness. Finish is average, malty and dryish, light frutiness with citrus - piney hoppynes, light alcohol. OK dryish IPA. In the finish hoppyness gets bit sharp.

3.0 Type: 12-oz. bottle Glass: Plastic cup at a Motel 6 Price: $10.49 for the 6-pack Misc.: Drinking out of a plastic cup in a Motel 6 might hurt the ratings Misc.: Had on Dec. 24, 2012 Caramel orange with 2-3 fingers of frothy white head. Thick white lacing on the sides with good retention on the top. Smelled wet Cascade hops, caramel, tangerine and orange. Tasted similar to the nose. Wet, icy Cascade hops. Also sharp citrus hops (orange and tangerine). Bitter finish. Light body. Creamy texture. Lively (above average) carbonation. Bitter, but loner finish.

2.9 Bottle: Poured a coppery toilet brown color with a white head. Aroma is grapefruit and hops. Taste was gritty metal and hops.

2.7 Bomber from Whole Foods. Clear, orange pour with a persistent, medium white head leaving heavy lace. Nose is pine and some citrus. Medium-light body with moderate, fine carbonation. Some pine, toast, not much else going on. This reminds me of the organic IPAs of several years ago: lightweight, lacking flavor and complexity, and overall rather unexciting. Skip it and try one of the other, much better, Bison ales.

2.8 Tap. Pours hazy orange with a large white head and decent lacing. Aroma is pine, grass and caramel. Flavor is pine, bread, metallic notes with a light bitter metallic finish. Not a good example of the style; muddled and unbalanced.

3.2 12oz bottle. clean golden brown, mild head. Rich malty ipa, hops are just underbalanced. whiff of metallic malts, bittering finish. Ok

2.8 Total Wine, Chantilly 12oz ($2): Pours an amber color with an off-white head. Aroma is light citrus hops and plenty of malts. I found this to be a bland and somewhat unbalanced IPA. Beers like this are utterly forgettable to me. It’s organic... so... yeah.

3.0 Bottle. Pours a hazy orange with a small off-white head. Light, slightly fruity aroma. Moderately sweet caramel flavor with some light grapefruit hop notes. Dry and grassy finish. A weak and rough hop profile overshadowed by the caramel malts.

3.4 Very thin and light for an IPA. Has an unusual spiciness to it but not much bitterness. Definitely not a very traditional IPA.

3.6 Amber in color, clear with a thin head. Nice hops cascade aroma and floral with a bite of fruit. Nice Malt backing citrus flavors and cascade hops flavors come out nicely. Very good beer.

3.5 Originally reviewed: 6/8/10. 12oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Pours a clear orange with a thick white head. Great sticky lace. Scents of floral tones, mild citrus, and whiffs of pine on the back end. The mouth is crisp and clean. Flavors of tart citrus, with a bit of a charred aftertaste. Mildly bitter. Some faint sweetness noted. This is not a bad IPA by any means. It’s not the best, or what I was exactly looking for in this style, but still good. Easily drinkable. Could be an easy crossover IPA for the inquisitive.

3.2 Not much to this IPA. Very drinkable and smooth, but seems to be missing some of the characteristic IPA notes.

2.9 Not great. It’s ok with a yeasty cereal body but bitter finish. Not much hops detected other than the bitter.

2.7 Bottle from Cortis Bros. Nice golden color, no head, no fizziness or mouthfeel. Very little hoppiness.

3.9 Bottled sample. Beautiful IPA. Super fresh tasting. Absolutely loved it Can t wait to get some more

2.5 (12 oz bottle into pint class) Poured a light coppery with a very small off white head. The nose had some slight citrus notes and a bit of pine. It has a smooth mouthfeel but the bitterness of the hops was a little overwhelming at first. Allowing to warm mellowed it a bit, but this is a very average IPA.

2.9 bottle from the distro 2/24/11. golden with a small ow head. it smells like carrots mixed with caramel, spice, lemon and sugar cookies. the flavor is the same only sweeter than hoppy even though it has a dry odd hoppiness in there. 5.5/3/5/3/12

2.8 Overall, not bad, I’ve had worse IPA (anything from Flying Fish), but lacks that hoppy bite flavor, and bitterness. Maybe the “organic” touch lacks this flavor, but this beer was thin, somewhat watered down. Again, a decent beer, not sure this should be in an IPA category. I know the description says "not over the top", but, at least get near the top.

4.3 Video review at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUIRkVbTh08 Appearance: Golden-amber, 1-finger head dissipates to layering, above-average lacing Smell: Fresh pine sap, floral notes, hint of blackberry + carmel malts Taste: Medium body, fresh pine sap, grapefruit, stainless steel sweetness, light hop astringency + carmel malts, strawberry + blackberry finish, orange candy residual, medium carbonation, drinkable Pairings: Thai food

3.3 12oz bottle, reviewed from notes from 9/16/2011. Clear, yellowish orange color. Thin white head. Rows of lace. Nice, light, sessionable, savory hop taste. Not as bitter or dry as the usual IPA but still good. Somehow tastes organic. Kind of a leafy herb aroma, something savory.

2.9 Bottle sample at the organic beer tasting at Blacklick Wine & Spirits on 8/18/11. Pours a clear amber with a thin off-white head. Sweet malt nose with notes of berry, citrus and dankness. Malty and watery flavor with grassy hops.

3.8 I poured a 12oz bottle into a tulip glass. Appearance: slightly haze orange hue, forms a small, off-white, frothy head. Good retention and lacing. Smell: Light floral fragrance with pine needles and slight coffee notes. Taste: I enjoy it when brewers break convention (or at least are successful when doing so). Since this is definitely a West Coast brewery, you’d think Bison Organic IPA would be in the same vein as Stone or Bear Republic and other notable brews from the left coast. Interestingly, is more akin to a traditional east coast style with light piney notes, dry bitterness and a lingering coffee aftertaste. It’s reminiscent of Dogfish Head 60 Minute or Southern Tier’s standard IPA. Sharp hop bite as soon as the beer hits the tongue, followed by slightly resiny pine flavor. The finish is essentially the same, but with the addition of an iced coffee flavor and accompanying bitterness. Hops definitely linger and begin to wear on the tongue, but the beer never becomes cloying or intimidating. A tasty beer on its own, but I bet it would be well-served paired with food. Mouthfeel: Medium all around as far as thickness, body, carbonation, etc. Drinkability: I’m not sure of the IBUs of this beer, but for a standard IPA weighing in at only 6% it’s got a lot of punch. Not that it’s overwhelming in any aspect, though. Bitterness is overt, but never obnoxious. It goes down quite smooth and while the hops do linger, they don’t dry out the mouth. Overall, one of the better single IPAs I’ve had in a long time. Also one of the most impressive considering it’s fairly light in terms of potency, and the fact it’s organic is the cherry on top.

2.1 Bottle courtesy of CantillonKing. Served in a Hill Farmstead tulip. Pours a very hazy orange-copper with a good white head that goes away almost immediately. A few spots of lacing. The nose has not much other than some bread and accompanying toasted crust. The flavor has a slight bit of light hop bitterness, but not any hop flavor. Bready malt, that’s it. Body is medium with a slight bitterness in the finish. Too chewy. Not a big fan of this. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 06-16-2011

3.1 Bottle. Deep yellow color, a little cloudy, nice white head. Aroma is floral but also mixed With some other tones sort of rough or slightly roast. Strong bitterness with release. Decent ipa but not one of my favorites.

3.2 12 ounce. Pours a big carbonated head. Slightly metalic and grassy. Fairly decent hop profile. Ok IPA but not outstanding. Drinkable.

3.2 For 6.8 i thought this was a very nice drinking and enjoybale IPA but it was a little watery and flat. I understand the Organic has some drawbacks to it, but call it an APA then.

3.0 Orange pour with a medium white head. The beer is not completley clear and the head fades quickly. Nice lacing and good carbonation on the tongue. Aroma is buscuits and heavy malt along with floral hops. The taste is only slightly bitter, good malt character and kind of a metallic tinny finish that thankfully seemed to fade as I kept drinking the beer. Not a bad overall beer but the lack of hop aroma and taste along with the metallic finish make me think a 3 out of 5 rating is fair.

3.0 Not bad, not great, but very drinkable. A lot of "not too’s," i.e. not too hoppy, piney, citrusy or bitter. If I were served this IPA sight-unseen, I’d say, "not bad."

3.3 Bottle thanks to DLau. Pours a light bronze. Some hazing. Smallish cream coloured head. Big resiny hop aromas. A little light citrus and some light caramel. Flavours are super bitter with a resiny grassy finish. Medium mouthfeel.