Ithaca Excelsior! alpHalpHa
A Hoppy Upstate Ale brewed with Organic Barley Malt, New York State Grown Cascade Hops, Local Alfalfa Honey, Pure Cayuga Lake Water and American Yeast. Enjoy the golden strong color, intensely sweet floral aroma, crisp grassy flavor and clean bitter finish. Part of the Ithaca Beer Company Excelsior series.
3.7
176 reviews
Ithaca, United States
Community reviews
Pours a light honey color. Had a pretty frothy head, lacing lasted a long while. Big grapefruit and pine forest aromas. Heavy on the bitter for the taste, although had some malty caramel in the finish. Seemed a little off balance between the high cascade hops and the malts, but overall was a good beer.
Pours a cloudy orange with a big white head. Nose is orange, malt, and hops. The flavor is the same, but the honey is also apparent. Normally I dont really care for malty IPAs, but this one isn’t syrupy or cloying, as the honey really gives it a nice complimentary sweetness. Very good, if not great.
From the canal Hainesport750 ml. A good hazy golden amber white body poured average bubble size of the next header. Aroma is very good, sweet honey, meat, sweet citrus, honey, toast, orange peel, flowers breakthrough. Not the same taste sweet and bitter hops aroma, the real master, although there are some lingering inch bond grapefruit rind, dry toast, honey and wax, lemon, broccoli, citrus fruits, the old sweetness. The body is, with a strong carbonation and dry hard to complete more comprehensive. Before today, I swear, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, vocational education, and even I remember jtclockwork provide jcwatts, oh well here is in any case.
Ithaca Alphalpha is a beer I’ve only seen at the brewery, so I bought a bottle when I visited around Thanksgiving of 2011. The employees described it as a "double India Pale Ale with lots of honey in it," which definitely sounded appealing. The bottle describes it as a "Double Honey Bitter" - a hyperbolic statement to be sure as the beer drinks more like a regular East Coast style double IPA with subtle honey notes. This might be due to the fact the bottle was well over a month old by the time I drank it, or perhaps the honey was used more as a fermentable than a flavoring ingredient. Ultimately it’s a fine DIPA, but perhaps a little oversold.
I split a 750ml bottle with a friend. We each poured it into tulip glasses.
Appearance: Honey-colored dark yellow with slight orange shade; cloudy but transparent. Forms a large, white, frothy head which laces and retains quite well.
Smell: Big grapefruit aroma due to the Cascade hops. Significant pine needles and some sap fragrance as well.
Taste: Very prominent hop bitterness hits the tongue hard and never lets up. Much like a Stone Ruination or other West Coast DIPAs of the sort, it’s a strong, tart, almost acidic level of bitterness like pure grapefruit juice. The second half does impart some maltiness to balance it out. Slightly sweet, slightly confectionary notes of butterscotch, honey and caramel do indeed make noticeable (albeit brief) appearances. The finish returns to the initial palate of dry bitterness and the aftertaste follows suit.
While I do appreciate and enjoy the grapefruit flavor and unapologetic bitterness, I wish there had been more genuine fruit flavor. There’s definite pine in the second half plus slight candy notes, but it’s still a tad unbalanced (perhaps due to the age of the bottle?). I could see this beer working wonderfully as something to have with a hearty dinner.
Drinkability: Although Ithaca Alphalpha is an overtly bitter beer, it’s surprisingly easy to drink. The mouthfeel has a mostly soft, slightly creamy texture to it. The beer is a perfect level of carbonation which enables it to go down smooth. I wouldn’t call it refreshing, though, but I doubt it’s meant to be. Not something I’d recommend for beginners, but hop heads will definitely be able to enjoy it.
750 ml bottle poured a clear gold with a lasting creamy ivory head. Aromas of straw, grassiness, grapefruit, orange zest, light pine and light honey. Palate was light bodied and crisp with a dry finish. Flavors of straw, grapefruit, grassiness, light pine and a hint of honey with a crisp dry bitter lingering grapefruit finish.
Bottle split with my wife Amy while trimming the Christmas tree with my wife and 3 year old son. Pours a slightly cloudy orange with some head. First sip is nice balance of lots of hops and malt flavors of lemon and lime present in a clean finish. Nice beer.
Capped 750 from Half Time. Pours gold with a foamy whiteish head. Nice floral/fruit aroma. Med body. Flavor has honey underlying a heck of a lot of bitter hop. Suggests resin - but might be strong grass. Not exactly dry, but it’s quite bitter. A busy beer.
Bottle shared by bhensonb. Pours clear golden with a four finger white head and a fruity aroma. There is a nice caramel malt base with a strange mix of piney hop bitterness and honey sweetness. This is a very tasty complex and interesting brew with a bitter finish.
lightly hazy golden with a bigger white head that fades relatively quickly, nice lacing... decently hoppy aroma, with distinct notes of honey, aroma seems a bit subdued relative to what i would expect... loads of pine and some citrusy hops, a bit spicy, a bit of honey, honey sweetness without being sweet and sticky... medium bodied, almost has a belgian ipa character...
Pours hazy gold with a lasting white head. Smells of floral, perfumy hops, touches of honey, some vegetal undertones. Tastes resiny and peppery with some sweet honey hints. Full bodied and enjoyable.
Bottle to start my weekend. Pours a clear golden with great fluffy head that lasts. Nose is floral, honey, and tropical fruit. Taste is of honey, malt, bready, lemon, pineapple, some pepper, and grass. It’s drying on the palate but the taste lingers. Another great one from excelsior series
Alphalpha is a hazy golden, brew with a fluffy, bubbly, yellowish white head that has good retention and leaves fancy patterns on the glass. The fresh, fruity, candy-like hop aroma is very clear and bold. There’s a sweetness to it that just makes it literally mouth watering just from a whiff. It’s pretty full bodied, smooth and oily. The finish is the slightest bit abrasive from the acidity. It has lots of hop flavor that comes off as flowers and grass. There is a little tang and a nice bit of sweetness that seems to come from the honey. The flavors work together very well and give it a bright, outdoorsy taste. It tastes like a sunny meadow full of wildflowers is what I’m saying. The bitterness lingers on the back of the tongue for a while. Wow, I’m really starting to think that these big bottles of Ithaca are the way to go. This is an invigorating drink.
500ml bottle (ChrisO’s pre-GBBF2011 "Donkey Dork Lord" shindig)
Slightly astringent hoppy nose, a bit yeasty too. Bites just a bit too much. Certainly big on the hops in the mouth, grassy and piney, they dominate, but without making the beer too unbalanced. Full in the mouth too, quite yeasty. Very very not my style of beer, but in the end I quite enjoyed it, and could at least appreciate that they’d made what they set out to do with a reasonable level of skill and craft.
Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy golden color with a small white head. Has a fruity malty yeasty honey aroma with hoppy hints. Sweetish malty yeasty hoppy bitter honey flavor. Has a sweetish malty yeasty spicy honey finish.
Bottle at Chriso’s. Brilliant, almost pastel, yellow. Aroma is of rich grains, honey, lemon. Sweet-and-sour flavor, tangy, grainy, with spices and strong bitterness at the finish. Great.
750 bottle-pours a rich off white head and hazy gold color with particles. Aroma is pineapple, secondary medium malt-bready. Taste is sweet resin/pineapple/orange/herbal hops with some bite, secondary medium malt-bready. The taste is slightly off.
A - Pours a cloudy bright orange color with a thick covering of frothy white head. The head fades very slowly down leaving behind some nice lacing.
S - Aroma is a mix of sweet honey, caramel malts, and some grassy hops. There is also just a bit of yeast in the background.
T - Starts off with a mix of sweet honey and grassy hops and bitterness. Soon after a bit of caramel malts come in to balance. Through the middle, a bit of bready yeast flavor comes through with some more bitterness. The finish is a mix of honey and hops with some bitterness that lingers.
M - Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth and a bit syrupy. The finish is a nice mix of sweetness and bitterness.
D - Very drinkable. Smooth and fairly well balanced. The honey flavor is at a really nice level and balanced with the rest of the flavors extremely well.
Aroma of grass, malt and pine. Pours hazy yellow with a frothy head. Tastes of honey, flowers and barley. Very unique and very tasty.
20110613 750ml bottle from JC Buy Rite. Beautiful appearance, golden amber, slight haze, glowing, with a lofty, rocky eggshell head that lazily laces and slowly fades. Aroma is full of grapefruit and orange with mild spruce, marmalade, and baguette. Light mineral, limestone, soft honey notes, Fruit Loops. Semi-slick on front of palate, semi-sticky on the finish, long lingering pithy bitterness. First few sips were meh, but it really grew on me and I ended up raising my score a couple times. Could be palate fatigue, could be elation from getting a contract on my first house, could be the beautiful weather, but who the heck cares...the end result is I’m digging this beer. Glad it’s not over the top at only 8.5% but still packs a serious hop wallop and sturdy malt backbone. I’m guess the honey both adds to the illusion of body and encourages dryness while also adding an interesting fruity dimension. Good stuff, and worth the money.
Pours hazy golden orange. This beer makes me wonder why more brewers don’t utilize honey and hops together. Works for hopslam, definitely works here. This one is a little heavier on the honey notes, which lend a rich nutty sweetness to the pungent cascades. Beautiful aroma, flavor, and a nice rich palate. Color me impressed- sweet, fruity, and abundantly drinkable.
Reviewed from notes.
Pours a slightly-hazy yellowish color with a moderate white head and a spot or two of lacing on the way down. The nose carries some citrus fruits along with some tropical notes and a bit of light sweetness. The flavor has honey and semi-sweet malt along with a moderate citrus and tropical hop presence. Body is more toward medium with a bit of residual sweetness and a nice bitter finish. Solid brew.
Bottle. Pours hazy orange with a thin, creamy beige head. Aroma of tea, a bit of honey, citrus and floral hops. Aroma is reminiscent of an English bitter in some ways. Taste is hoppy with bready malt and more honey, lemon, some sweetness from the malt and honey but not overdone. Very enjoyable.
Rating 2200! 750 ml bottle from Root Cellar. Pours a cloudy gold color with a finger-thick initially creamy head that develops large bubbles- don’t see a head do that very often. Aroma of pale and caramel malts, grass, herbal and piney hops, bread, and honey. Flavor of honey, sweet and pale malts, straw, grassy hops, pine resin, and sugar. Medium-bodied, with moderate carbonation and a creamy, malty mouthfeel. Dry finish. Interesting DIPA and I wish I would have gotten my hands on one sooner to try it fresh.
nice orange/Amber colour, good foam and lacing. nose is big with citrus and pine. flavor has nice sweetness but perfectly balancing bitterness. Great beer
Bottle, sampled 4/6/11: Pours a slightly hazy deep golden bronze with a clingy-lacing froth of white head. Has a lightly oxidized caramel malty nose with some subtle resiny piny hop notes. Starts with a light caramel toffee sweetness with some oxidation and floral hop flavor with a drier herbal bitterness that lingers into the finish. This is definitely past its prime, but is still plenty drinkable.
Automatic +1 because it’s upstate NY sourced. Poured from a 750ml into a snifter. OK amount of head, but not nearly as much as in the picture. No lacing. Great grassy and hoppy aroma with some lemon and mango as well. Mouthfeel is substantial and firm but not syrupy. Also has a good amount of carbonation to lighten things up but without being fizzy. Taste is grass, banana, mango, skunk and some pine, but not much. Overall a top quality beer. It’s not over the top like some IIPAs and it’s a "mere" 8.5% abv so there’s no alcohol burn or boozyness. I really like this one but at $13 a bottle, I won’t be buying too many of them. I have yet to be disappointed with an Ithaca Excelsior beer... Kudos!
750mL stolen from Desaperacido. The pour is a glowing orange with a medium, bright white head. Nice retention. Little lace. Aroma is peach, cantaloupe, vanilla, something lightly funky, fresh tangelo. Taste is boozy at first, sweaty and salty, some fresh citrus and heavy peach. Silky mouthfeel upfront but finishes chalky and powdery. Yeast tossed in really mutes all the flavors and ruins the mouthfeel. I heavy advise against it with this beer.
(750ml bottle from cosmicevan!). Pours hazy yellow with chunky white head. Almost looks like a wheat beer. Aroma has honey and citrus. Taste is bitter with a sweet malt backbone. Medium bodied with an oily texture. Pleasantly bitter finish that balances nicely with the sweetness of the malt. Nice beer.
22 0z bottle (from Pinocchios) poured into a Duvel snifter. Beer poured yellow/gold with a two-finger, white head (aggressive pour). Lacing was light and fragile. Smell was floral and citrus with some sweetness (honey?). Taste was honey, caramel, lemon and orange. There is some hop presence in the finish and nice dryness but this remain sweet, even in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is crisp, medium and a little sticky. Carbonation is about average for the style. All-in-all a decent offering I would try again.
Sample at EBF 2011.
Aroma : Nice floral hops with nice sugary notes and some hints of honey. Nice malt too.
Taste : Nice floral hops with sugar and honey. Nice dry and hoppy finish with a light bitterness.
Overall : Really well balanced and drinkable. Nice hops, nice malt. Awesome stuff.