Grays IPA

Brewed by Grays Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Janesville, Wisconsin USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

(12oz bottle, thanks Barry) Small beige head topping a lightly hazed amber body. Aroma is moderately sweet, caramel, floral, light pine, orange. Taste is medium sweet, pine, caramel, some grapefruit, lemon. Light-medium body with light resin. No one will mistake this for a West Coast IPA -- while I agree with others that this seems more an APA than an IPA, the bitterness does pick up a notch once the beer warms.

12 oz bottle purchased at the Woodmans in Beloit WI. Served between cellar & fridge temps from a 12 oz Michelob glass, Michelob baby! Pours a light clear copper, moderate fizzy off-white head, quick-dissipating, with a touch of fine lacing...mildy piney hoppy nose, touch of lemon, some wood, and some dry biscuity malt...body moderately sweet, quite malty, full, with hops moderate to strong only at midpalate one...barely present at the front, and not really all that bitter at the finish, though a nice dusty dry acidity does settle in late...very quaffable, nothing spectacular and closer I think to an APA, it’s a solid middle-of-the-road effort.

bottle-purchased at corral liquors in granite city, IL. this beer poured dark orange, almost red with a nice sudsy off-white head that had great retention. earthy, lightly piney, pineapple, grapefruit that was mostly earthy and leafy. some nice piney/resiny flavors come out but this is not overly bitter-some nice toasty malts back this up. The body was sligthly light, but i looked at this beer from a non-ipa viewpoint, more a hoppy amber/red ale than an ipa if you ask me. some nice resin on the finish with some leafy hop notes. For what this is, its a tasty beer.

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with hopdog, thanks Steve!) Mmm, this beer smells really nice. Very malty and toasty, somewhat caramely, and a bit earthy and mushroomy, but it’s not very hoppy at all. Not a problem for me, but I guess I do expect an IPA to smell hoppy. And similarly in the flavor, it tastes malty and mildly earthy. However, hops has a much more assertive and balancing presence in the flavor, especially in the finish, and it contributes moderate citrus and solid bitterness. Medium "plus" in body, and it doesn’t thin out, even in the finish. There’s a slight dustiness in the mouthfeel as well, and the beer finishes fairly crisp for such a malty IPA. Dark amber in color, supporting the fact that this IPA is pretty malty, and its also slightly hazy. The tall, light-tan head shows excellent retention. I’ve taken my sweet time drinking this beer so that I could savor it, and even still, the head has slowly settled to and maintained a thin and complete layer atop the beer. And lacing covers the glass with a moth-eaten and very intricate pattern. With its strong, up-front malt component, this IPA is really up my alley. A most enjoyable and righteous brew.

Orange-copper with a decent head and a unexpectedly sugar-malty aroma. Assertive malt undertow in the flavor; little of the hop flourish one expects in an American IPA ... some earthy grassiness, and a full-bodied character, but not at all what I’d expected.

Poured a darker copper color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of light grapefruits and flowers. Tastes of grapefruits, flowers and light caramel. Thinner body. Tastes and aromas on the weaker side. Lacing left on the glass.

Typical grapefruit aroma, seems a little stale. Copper with a thin white head that fades. Very metallic flavor, like sucking on a quarter with some bitterness in the finish. Slick, watery on the palate. I’ve had three out of the six now and just don’t care for the mineral taste. I didn’t pick up any caramel or other malts.

Semi-hazy copper in color with a thin, bubbly tan head. Aroma reveals sugary caramel and sweet floral hops. Some honey, maple and brown sugar wafts provide a nutty dimension to the aroma as well. Flavor is bitter, nutty and sweet, more in line with a hoppy amber. More profound fresh hop bitterness than expected. Hop profile reminds me of Smuttynose IPA, but this one is more robust like a brown or amber. Waxy, dry and tingly on the palate. Heavily leaning on the caramel and roasted malts with a big, dry hop profile. Lingering dry and bitter finish. A solid IPA, and it went damn well with pizza.