Smuttynose Big A IPA

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

amber in color,small white head that had a nice long hangtime then slowly faded to a small lace.malty aroma with a decent amount of hops,grapefruit and maybe just a hint of pine coming through as well.The flavor was pretty decent malty upfront then a blast of hops and grapefruit with a bitter side that comes on towards the middle and lasts and mellows until the end.Very nice brew that is easy to drink and keeps the alcohol well hidden.

Dunno about Double IPA. IPA and a half, maybe. Possibly IPA and 3/4, with a tailwind. Auburn, large puffy head. Nose pine and resin hops. Flavor quite hoppy, but the malt dies too quickly. Lacks the depth of the killer IIPAs, decent stuff but the bottle of Dreadnaught in my fridge kept trying to get out to bitch-slap this one arouned.

22oz Bottle, purchased at Haxton Liquors - Warwick, RI. A refreshing piney aroma, that takes me back to my first hoppy beers at Fitger’s and the fresh spring pineywoods of northern Michigan. Vibrant and electric. Pours a slightly translucent shimmering gold, with a gentle rim of whitish. Flavor begins a nip soapy, but then the piney hop character picks up steam. Some honey-like sweetness blows across the bough mid-palate. This is a solid beer. Strong resinous hop character, filled with mixed spicy and piney flavors, balanced by clean malt sugars, finished with minimal to no yeast flavor. Excellent.

Ligher amber with a moderate head, decent lacing. Aroma is the usual... grapefruit, citrus, pine, etc etc. Mouthfeel is fighting a battle with a delicate smoothness and a rough alcoholic finish. In the end it’s up in the air. Still a solid IIPA, but nothing really interesting here other than my BAC.

22 oz bottle: poured light orange with very little head. No ffttt when opening the bottle. I thought I was doomed. But, turns out it was carbonated. Big hop aroma. Light pine, pineapple, citrus. Flavor is sweet on first sip with a bitter hop finish. Flavor of pineapple, grass. Sweet malt. Very nice.

Poured a beautiful, cloudy yet glowing orangish brown. Nice frothy head about 3/4" tall. Scattered lace, like mountain peaks. Aroma is grapefruit, floral hops, honey and sweet potato pie: altogether, nearly flawless. Flavor is sweet and hoppy, fulfilling all of the aroma indications. Creamy and full-bodied. Smuttynose could put on a clinic with the way they nailed the carbonation levels and hops-to-malts marriage. Finish is dry and bitter / sweet. There’s a little burn on the throat. I want more more more. HUGE thanks to tpkenned for sending Big A my way!

A pretty good value IIPA. I got a bomber of this for 4 bucks and it’s hard to go wrong at that price. Kind of a dingy body (amber-ish) with a very modest head, what gets you about this one is the heavy citrus and pine aroma. There’s a real kick that the hophead in me loves, and a bit of malt cream as a backbone. A little spice gives it extra character. Not mind-blowing but really good.

This is definately an IIPA that showcases malt over hops (or very very balanced). Aroma was so so. Citrus, pine and caramel. Pour was a dense murky dirty orange with a thin off white film for a head. Taste was caramelly sweet with just a hint of hops on the back of the throat and into the aftertaste. Hides the alky content better than any beer I’ve had. This is a good beer, but not my style of IIPA.