Great Dane Texas Speedbump IPA

Brewed by Great Dane Pub & Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Madison, Wisconsin USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Fresh growler: Dull copper, largely bubbled and thin off-white cap, sparce lacing in strings. Aroma is warm with mild darker citrus orange and grapefruit, lesser lemon notes and pine. One very nice and unique toasty malt backing reminds me of graham crackers and cinnamon toast. Taste is broad, warm, subtle, and complex with a smoother balance then what was expected. Very well rounded hoppyness, no big edges here, straight up dark citrus of manderine orange, a good squeeze of red grapefruit pith, subjacent dry lemon peels and pine resin shadow the forefront. Bitterness is beyond in-check. The grapefruit juicyness gives most of the energy. But every rough edge and corner has been polished off by a peculiar warm toastyness thats still making me think of cinnamon toast or cinnamon biscuits. Uniquely balanced and flavored. Feel is massively warm and thick for an IPA; full bodied, heavy creamyness ensues from front to back. Balanced more so towards the malt end as the hop tones are ghostly intertwined with more of a darker citrus tone then bright. Stiil clean though. Oh how I would like it to be a smidgeon crispier; then this would shine. A pretty nice IPA, its thickness is pretty big and its hop tones are mellowed out compared to most. As I think through what I like about this beer is that it makes me think of what Bitter Woman would be like if it was more malt toned or perhaps aged. The Amarillos play a big role here but just not as bright as they could be. I hear this is much better on-cask, and I wouldn’t doubt that for a second. Its heavier texture just begs to be pulled not pushed.

Draft at Wausau. Toasty classic sub-par brwepub IPA. Unfiltered cloudy orange-brown. Thin, oily head laces the glass. Moderate orange-citrus, relatively well balanced. Somewhat mild and watery, not so memorable. OK, but too watery to love. My numbers seem way too generous.

On tap at the brewpub in Madison, WI. Pours a deeper golden, slight orange tinted body with a finger-width, frothy, off-white head that dissipates slowly and leaves a moderate lacing. Aroma is light with some sugary florals and stale hops with a thin, but sweet caramel. Flavor is really sweet. Lots of sweet orange fruits, some earth and lemon pines, thin caramels, and a slightly buttery toffee. Finishes sweet and fruity with a moderate bitterness that dries this lightly. Lengthy aftertaste following a light body and a light carbonation. Overall, this wasn’t a very good IPA. Really sweet and fruity with a soapy hop bitterness and an off flavored caramel.

Pitcher at the downtown brewery. Heavy fruit flavor, very big alcohol presence, and something weird must have been going on with the taps because it was completely flat with no carbonation. No foam retention after the initial 10 seconds after the bartender’s pour from the tapper. Bitter at the end and thick bodied. I’ll have to try it again some other time to give it another chance.

Pint New Years Eve DT Madison. Light yelow pour with big head. Taste is simliar to aroma, light and watery. Needs more hops!!! Left me wanting more.

On tap at the brewpub in Wausau, WI. Clear amber pour with a white head. Nose is hop and some scotch-ale sweatsock. Good lively carbonated and hoppy palate. Taste is earthy, caramel malt, hop, and more of the scotch-ale elements. Not my kind of IPA.

On tap at the downtown location in Madison. Notes only. Aroma is hoppy - citrus. Taste largely grapefruit. Bitter end. Ok.

Sampler at the Doty location to compare with the Hop Jack. Poured a similar hazed, orange/amber hue, maybe a bit more coppery, with decent, off white head foam, and wavey lacing. The aroma was also a good combo of pine and citrus, as grapefruit and orange, with a little more resin. Caramel sweetness was prevalent in both the nose and flavor. With medium+ hop bitterness, a medium body, and lively carbonation, this IPA was also crisp and quaffable. Flip a coin, I liked them both!

On tap at the Great Dane brewpub in Wausau WI. Called Speedway IPA by them. Poured a rich amber color with a medium white head in a traditional pint glass. Good retention and lacing. The nose was soft with pine and citrus. The taste was biter hops forward with piney hops, resins and a hint of grapefruit set in a caramel and toffee base. The palate was full and smooth with lively carbonation. Finished short and clean. Overall: Very tasty IPA, one that I would be proud to brew.

Cask into english pint, Madison brew pub (from my notes): Big creamy bubbling yellow oatmeal-looking head over a mostly clear, orange-copper beer. Nice thick lacing. Smell is mild, but there are some corn sugars in there with the faintly flowery hops. Creamy texture (from the cask), buttery caramel malts followed by a metallic, salty bitter in the finish. The middle is kind of mealy before the hops kick in, and overall I didn’t really enjoy this as much as I wanted to. Some beers don’t benefit from cask treatment.

Reviewed from notes. On tap in Madison - August 2009. Pours a moderate copper coloring with a tiny half-finger head on the initial pour. This quickly recedes and doesn’t really leave much of any lacing behind. The nose is really light citrus hops with a bit of toffee backing it up. The taste isn’t much better than the nose. No off flavors, there just really isn’t much going on. The hops are really light and there is just a bit of light bread in the background. The mouthfeel is decent with a medium body and a smooth character. Drinks fairly well for what it is, but not exactly what I would call an IPA. Serving type: on-tap Reviewed on: 11-13-2010