Great Northern Going To The Sun IPA

Brewed by Great Northern Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Whitefish, Montana USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Draught, taken as a growler from the brewery by Parksy, then generously shared. Clear orange hued amber. Aroma is grassy, slightly herbal hops overlying course grains. Malt"-forward palate, with herbal hoppy character and subtle floral notes. Medium bitterness. Not sure of the hop varieties here, but they are more EKG-ish than American PNW varieties. Not bad, but the lower hop content makes this more like an American or English pale ale than an IPA.

Golden orange pour with large off white head. Aroma of hops, pine and grapefruit. Taste of orange peel, grapefruits and a hoppy bitter finish. Nice carbonation. Not bad but not memorable.

Pint at Cooper’s down the street from the brewery. Nice hop nose and flavour. Refreshing and very drinkable. Hits the stated goal of drinkability rather than extreme hopiness.

22oz bomber pours almost clear copper with gold edges and full semi loose light tan head. The aroma seems to be a mix of grapefruit like hops, some pine hops and a bit of spicy hop notes. The taste is similar with some bitter hop notes nearing astringent qualities with grapefruit and lime as well as a bit of pine and spicy hops. This is a modestly hopped brew where the flavor hops show up along with a touch of dry roasted maltiness. So so IPA

Bottle: Middle depth orange with a light haze. Tons of this lacing coats my paper motel room cup. Not a lot of aroma, some florals and dirty malt. Tastes mostly hop forward, florals and a bit of grass, gets a bit herbal and has notes I’d associate with iced tea. Not bad at all.

22. Pours a cloudy medium amber with golden edges. Loose whitish head. Big toasty piney nose. Creamy medium body with lively carb. Toast, nuts, caramel, and pine mid-palate, a little grassy and tangy but in a pleasant way. Refreshing and drinkable.

Picked up at St. Mary’s on the way out the park. Nice light amber colour and a thick messy white cap with staying power. The bottles mentions earthy stuff and I agree more so on the aroma than on the flavour side. Mild citrus nose, soft malty aroma as well, orange and grains, a touch floral as well. The taste follows the mellowness of the aroma. Ok bitterness, pine and dust (finish), oranges, grains and a bit dirty which is ok. Decent carbonation, smooth mouthfeel with just a bit of thickness early on but overall that doesn’t match up with the fact this is a bit thin. Medium lengthed bitter lingers. Nothing wrong, decent beer that allows you to drink mindlessly. The marks seem a bit low since there are no real flaws but it is what it is.

Good hops that stay a while after they first hit your palate. Not overwhelming or even strong but pronounced enough to let you know it’s an IPA.

UPDATED: MAR 8, 2011 Bomber-Hazy orange, thick beige head leaves good lacing. Aroma of mild hop, lots of husky malt. taste also has a lot of malt and some nuttiness with a mild bitter hop. Not the best IPA, it needs more lively citrus or bitter pine. A little English tasting, not bad.... Another bottle, nice floral aroma, taste is better than the first bottle as well. Still not much bitterness to speak of, fruity and mild.

On tap. Hazy light amber with a white head. Aroma is weakly hoppy with some orange. Watery mouthfeel, little body. Slight bitterness, light hops, some fruits. Disappears at the finish. Overall just thin and unexciting.