Lakefront IPA

Brewed by Lakefront Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA

12 oz bottle sent to me by my winter 2009 Secret Santa. Aug wk 1 notched on label. Pour is a cloudy orange brown with a fluffy lasting 2 inch off white head. Really nice lacing. Aroma of resin grain pine and soft fruit. A bit of a catty aroma in there which gives it nice depth. Pretty fresh smelling hops, nice. Taste is the nose with resin pine and soft orange fruit and orange peel - followed by a mineral herbal element in the back. Palate is medium, very unfiltered feeling along with soft fine carbonation. A touch of alcohol present in the dry aftertaste after it warms. Nice one, thanks Santa.

Always fond memories of the brewery tour at Lakefront. Opaque caramel appearance. Small almost white head. Nose is caramel and apricot. From sip to sip the taste varied from sweet fruit to tart grapefruit. There is a big bitterness that doesn’t quite seem natural which can also be said for that sweet fruit. A nice and interesting IPA.

Here is the problem: I like bitter hops. But dumping a ton of bitter hops into an otherwise flavorless grog just doesn’t do it for me. This has hop aroma, hop flavor, hop aftertaste, but nothing else. I mean NOTHING else. No malt, grains, or other flavors what-so-ever. Just a bottle of unbalanced hop juice. it could be worse, but should be better.

Pours a murky honey with hints of orange. Aroma flowers, grass and pine. Taste is slightly bitter with flavors of flowers and citrus with a nice molasses malt coming through in the finish. Pretty well balanced and nicely brewed.

Copper coloured body with a nice tan head that tops the beer and a very pleasant haziness to the beer that shows very well - this is what an IPA should look like! Aroma of fresh cascade hops with the big hints of grapefruit and pine - very nice. Medium-bodied; Chewy grapefruit hoppy flavours with a mild malt backbone, some kicks from caramel and grass, but mostly hoppy without a large malt backbone. Aftertaste has a lot of hops, some malt, but a good dose of herbal and grass flavours. Overall, a very nice IPA - perfect for warmer weather, and lighter drinking conditions - because the hops come out very well, but the malt isn’t there to back it up - which is good in some occasions! I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Half Time in Poughkeepsie, New York on 27-November-2009, sampled at home in Washington on 21-December-2009.

This one was just like how I like my IPAs... cheap. Marked down to 98 cents at BOTW. Small off-white head with a amber body. Aroma is sweet, grapefruit, light orange/floral. Taste is sweet, grapefruit, some caramel, lemon. Medium body, some acidity.

Bottle:   Dirty orange, opaque, moderate to large white head, foamy, nice lacing.   Citrus zest, soft pine and hops on the nose.   Quite the citrusy hop flavor on the tongue.   This one I like.   Good hop presense, not overly done.   Has a mild sweetness about it too.   Clean finish, lingering citrus hop bitterness.   Moderate to full bodied, slightly oily mouthfeel.   This is my kind of IPA.

Pours an attractive murky orange with a sufficient but thin head. Typical Centennial hop aroma of citrus and grapefruit. Familiar, but pretty drinkable. Good IPA.