Free State Hop Picker Pale Ale

Brewed by Free State Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Lawrence, Kansas USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Growler from one of my favorite people, mreusch. Thanks man! Poured an attractive, mild amber-orange color with an inch and a half thick, rocky off-white head that left some thick sheets of lacing as it slowly receded to a thin layer. Aroma of earthy, floral hops with some light pine and a bit of citrus fruitiness (tart grapefruit and fleshy tangerine), some light caramel, even some faint nuttiness, and an interesting creamy character. Smooth, moderately sweet entry with some soft caramel maltiness and cracker paired with some light, delicate citrus notes (tangerine and peach) that transition into a moderately bitter hoppiness with pine, some herbal spiciness, and a light oiliness peaking through before giving way to a more traditional citrus fruitiness with some hints of orange and grapefruit that linger lightly into the smooth, lightly dry finish as some of the softer fruit and cracker flavors reappear. Soft carbonation, but the beer possesses a delicate, luscious mouth feel and doesn’t seem to suffer from over-attenuation as many IPA/IIPA’s do. Overall, it isn’t your typical brash, abrasive IPA, and I think that is a good change. Thanks again Matt.

Draft at the brewery. Pours a dark golden (SRM 12) slightly cloudy body......nose heavy with resiny pine and grapefruit citrus......taste initially mild malt sweetness then heavy hop with pine and grapefruit and long lingering bitterness.....mouth feel is somewhat light. A fairly standard IPA. Very palate cleansing.

Growler, thanks to mreusch. Big, piney, citric hop aroma, fresh, spicy and lightly grassy, with a dollop of dark malty sweetness. Clear medium amber color with a lasting light tan head. Full of resinous, leafy hop flavor, more strong citrus, pine and fresh wood with a moderately strong amount of bitterness throughout. Oily, smooth palate, body is medium. Really full of hop character, but with a nicely countering amount of toasty malt sweetness. Tasty stuff.

Thanks to David for opening the growler! Poured clear medium orange with a short cap of beige head. The aroma picked up sweet caramel and grapefruit.. definitely on the sweeter end of the spectrum.. nice prickly pine at the end. The flavor had sweet caramel and pine at the core with nice lingering bitterness through the finish.. nice balance to it with a good bitter kick and some mild oxidation to close it out. Medium-bodied.. a bit sharp on the finish. Enjoyed it!

Growler, via mreusch. Pours a clear amber to dark copper body under a foamy one finger off-white head that slowly faded to a whispy covering. Minimal lacing remained. The nose is certainly Cenntennial, with an earthy leafy nature and some toasted and light caramel maltiness below. The flavor was not all that hoppy, sweet toasted malt up front, then fading to a fairly aggressively bitter finish that lingered quite a while. Mouthfeel was fairly creamy with nice soft fizzy carbonation. Overall, nothing too stand-out, but well brewed solid IPA.

Pour from a growler shared by mreusch. Pours a clear copper with a creamy thin head. The nose is a solid blend of Columbus and Centennial hops. Big pine with a sweet caramel back, but the malt is really struggling to be noticed behind the hops. The mouthfeel is on the light side of medium-bodied and is slick with a bitter, lightly dry finish. The flavor is a nice blend of sweet pale and Munich malts with bitter pine and grapefruit notes rounding things out. A tad thin on the mouthfeel for all the hop punch that it carries, this beer is one of the more quaffable IPAs that I’ve sampled. At 7.5%, that could be a potentially dangerous proposition.

From a growler, provided by mreusch. Pour is golden orange with a thinner off white head. Aroma is big, and beautiful - piney hops, some candy sweetness and a graininess. Taste has a nice, pleasant not overpowering hop presence. More of the sweetness, pine and earthiness. Nice body, crisp bitter hop finish. Thanks for bringing this one Matt.

On tap at the brewpub
Hazy copper with a lightly resinous white head
WOW!!vvWhat a kick ass aroma. Orange bubble gum. A bit of Pine Sol. Dripping. I really wish every beer could smell like this.
Wonderful orange and tangerine flavors, with some pine as well. Still, plenty of malt character. Toasted and la touch of sweetness. Guess what. Its pretty damn bitter too.
Medium/light body with medium carbonation.
Hey, this beer is really damn good.

Tap @ FS, pours a clear copper with a fluffy and persistent tan head, great lacing all the way down. Aroma is full of grass, pine, and citrus hops. Flavor follows nicely, with a lasting bitter and slightly grassy finish. Nice and biting with a milder malty balance so the hops really capture your attention, as it should be. Very nice!

UPDATED: NOV 26, 2006 Draft: Clear rufous. Tight, condensed white foam. Bright and enticing nose of peach marmalade, lemon oil, pinesap, and candied pecans. Soft carbonation snugly caresses the palate. Conditioned quite well. Understated but supple hop-derived peach flavors immediately link up with a firm, piney bitterness. Ample maltiness generates a candied pecan sweetness and some chewiness. Snippet of bouncy acidity offers vibrancy, though the pinesap and staunch woody bitterness soon outweighs it before an everlasting trail of peaches reawakens. Hops possess just enough brashness to deposit a cottony dryness at the tip of the tongue. Perfect level of attenuation helps balance the sappiness, as the malts continue to shine. Finishes spicily hoppy and vividly piney with pronounced notes of fresh peaches coupled with a sound structure of malt which provides a balancing pecan- and graham-like sweetness. The fresh hops clearly are to credit for such a clean and vivid bitterness. With that said, a touch more juiciness is what slightly lacks, and some slightly doughy yeast notes manage to steal some of the limelight from the brighter hop qualities. Very balanced (aroma dispays equal amounts of malt and hops) and relatively understated/graceful, though. Nicely done.