Big Sky IPA

Brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Missoula, Montana USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

Medium sized beige head with good retention and nice drooping lasting lace. Clear, amber/copper hued ale. Nose is more malty than hoppy, grainy, bready with a light floral hoppyness. Body is lightly medium, lil oily, slick on the palate, softly carbonated. Grainy malts persist in the flavor dept., faintly sweet as well along with light pine and grassy hop flavors. Lil leafy, earthy with a slight hint of oxidation.Fairly dry, fast finish. Hop bitterness lacking. More of an Amber Ale to me. Props to 5000 for the bottle!

I think this is a really underrated IPA. Really piney and grassy, with lots of hop flavour. Lots of citrus of pineapple and grapefruit. Really well balanced.

On tap at Monsters of Beer 2011. Pours a dark amber with a medium creamy of white head leaving sticky lacing. The aroma is grapefruit and pine. Medium mouthfeel with a sweet hop and pine. Easy to drink, a very good IPA from Big Sky.

1. Look – A very clear medium amber color IPA with thick medium white head. 2. Sniff – It has balanced nose, but it also has a subtle spicy hop aroma. 3. Sip – This medium bodied ale is different than mainstream IPAs. It is more focused hop presence from start to finish. Also, this IPA has a wet long lasting malty finish –a trait that is not characteristic of IPAs. 4. Another Look – This is without question one of the most attractive and good looking IPAs or even ale for that matter, I have come across. 5. Evaluate – Overall, this IPA has some unique characteristics that make this ale standout out. It has a taste that says it’s from the mountains of Montana. I would strongly recommend this IPA to others even those who are not fans of the style. Big Sky IPA is a easy drinking, fun, and quite possibly the best looking ale I have come across.

Bottle from Woodman’s. Pours very busy orange/brown with a lot of bubbles/activity below the surface. Aroma has citrus fruitiness (orange & pineapple, for a bit of a change from grapefruit or lemon), caramel, pine and some other wood. Taste brings pine, some sweet citrus, toffee and a honey flavor. Finishes medium long and sweet with some bitterness.

Bottle. Clear light amber pour with a huge frothy white head with great lacing and retention. Aroma is grapefruit and pine. Medium palate. Taste is citrus and pine hops, a touch of caramel malts. Good IPA.

Clear amber color with a very pillowy white head. The nose has a little spice note with floral qualities being present. There is a ginger feel on the palate which comes across as medium bodied. All in all a good IPA that presents itself a little sweeter than others within it’s class.

Poured a hideous brown color, but had a lovely citrus nose. But the flavours are all over the map dominated by heavy-handed hops.