Amsterdam Boneshaker IPA

Brewed by Amsterdam Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Toronto, Canada

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Sampled at the 6th annual C’est What spring festival 28/05/10. Oh Amsterdam...you are so renowned for really mediocre beer and yet recently you made some better offerings. Then came this. Can’t really even describe it as an IPA...lacks all the hallmarks. Reminds me of a very one dimensional home-brew IPA I made a few years back. Drinkable but ultimately forgettable in a hurry.

UPDATED: JUL 24, 2010 500 ml bottle from the brewery. Pours a deep hazed copper ale in the glass with a massive frothy cap that laces the hell out of the glass sides (lots of malt in this one) Aroma is not startling but pleasant: wafts of sweet amber malts over floral leafy hops, some fruity esters....soft pleasing nose.. Sturdy body, moderately soft mouth feel, malty character. Big chew on caramalt in front, decent balance with citra-resinous hopping, some fruitiness mid palate, long malty finish with a hop sting at the end. Well made, malty but in good balance. Not a UK IPA or a US micro APA but a (Dutch?) style IPA...has all the rounded mellowness of a Dutch brewed beer.

500 ml bottle from the brewery. Pours amber to copper in colour, with head that reminds me of cappucino with cinnamon sprinkled on top. Even a hint of cinnamon in the nose. Lots of lacing. Aroma is fairly mild, citrusy floral hops. Taste is really good, a sweet, strong malty taste, with floral hops. Pretty damn good IPA. Didn’t have it on tap, but the bottles are great! Definitely not a American hop bomb!

[2890-20100528] Tap. Light bathroom cleaner aroma hints at floral. Hazy, dark amber body with quick white bubbles. Floral bitter flavour has a long sweet bitter aftertaste. Medium body. No bones shaken but it was OK.
(CWSF 2010 @ C’est What, Toronto, ON)

Boys, try the unfiltered, bottled version just released at the brewery, it is much better than your ratings below would indicate. it has a tangy, darker malt base with insistent, citrus rind hops coming through in the finish. a worthy IPA in an underserved market.

UPDATED: DEC 30, 2011 Rerating as I drink this all the time and love it. This beer has changed quite a bit since my original rating and merits a new score. Simply one of the best IPAs in Ontario.
Original rating: 6.3.6.3.11: 2.9
Draught at C’Est What Spring Festival, 2010. Pours a hazy amber with a spare frothy white head. Aroma is buttery and lightly hoppy along with some fruity notes. Flavour of grain, light citrus hops and an average bitter finish. Average bodied. It’s all very "meh".

Draught, at C’Est What Spring Festival, May 29, 2010. Cloudy, fairly deep amber with a small frothy head (3+). Smells pungently floral bitter, almost sweatily so, with a decent juicy sweet malt backbone - you can smell the alcohol in it too.Tastes dry, leafy, a bit burnt, even a hint of paperiness, the alcohol seems lighter than promised by the aroma, not bad but a bit of a let-down - and I’m getting sick of Canadian "IPA"s having that burnt malt / generic bitterness (hello, Duggan’s #9) - why can’t we have non-carbonized pine/citrus hops and light juicy malt??? Anyway, average body, and everything else - it was okay, good for Amsterdam, yadda yadda yadda - but if this were Sierra Nevada I’d be saying "WTF?!!!!"

At Cest What ? – spring festival 2010
Aroma flat fruity character , slight hint of ripe feel behind. Light hop finish. Not much shown.
Appearance hazed amber red with light top shown.2+
Flavor and Palate : frontal hint of soapy bittering hops. Citric with mid body. Felt as its flavor ingredients were all over palate. Plenty of hops in brew is not all.

Enjoyed on tap at C’est What Spring Festival. Hoppy aromas. Giant grpaefruit flavours. Above-average mouthfeel. Very fresh and decent drinkability. Amsterdam shows what it can do in a small batch,

UPDATED: APR 25, 2012 2012-04-21. Lightly hazy dark orange with a small off-white ring, near headless. 2+ Aroma has pleasant fruit character, lychee, sweet orange, notes of tropical fruit and light hoppy veg. 7+ Similar melange of fruit in the flavour, light lychee touches, modest bitterness. 7+ Average to light palate, light carbonation. Enjoyable but could use a bit more oomph all around. 7+/3/7+/3/14-15 Blind Tasting on Cask at Volo IPA Challenge

2010-05-28. Lightly hazy orange body, near headless. Modestly hoppy aroma, light citrus with a touch of resiny hops. Flavour is similar, modest citrus and bitterness throughout. Average palate is nearly flat. Okay, it showed potential but the lack of head and carbonation made me think it was on cask at first. Will try it again. 7/3/7/3/14 On tap at C’est What, Toronto