Maumee Bay Cask Conditioned IPA

Not a bad beer. Visited this Brew Pub on the way home from Detroit. First time in about 5 years I had been to this place. VERY DISAPPOINTED. It’s now a noisy kids place serving their fine beers along side dishwater like Bud and Labatt Did enjoy the IPA ’tho. Fine aroma and appearance. Not the best cask IPA by far but recommended if your ever by this place. Hint, come early in the evening!

I stopped by this brewpub during travels elsewhere, and the cask conditioned beer stood out as their most unusual offering, so having time for only one beer, there was no question that this would be it! It was labeled as a English-style IPA, and it seemed to me true to style. The beer poured an amber color with a thin velvety head. Aroma was very fruity and excellent. It was a good bit hoppier than I expected from an English IPA, but I liked it. Taste was good, but not nearly as fruity as the aroma led me to expect. Mouthfeel was exceptional, as it is with many cask beers. It was velvety smooth and delightful without being watery. I very much enjoyed this beer, and would recommend it. I mentioned this in my review of the Maumee Bay Brewing Co, but it is an easy detour from the Ohio Turnpike (I80/I90)...it is at most a 10 minute trip.

Maumee Bay Cask IPA pours to a beautiful, burnt orange/amber color with a thick, creamy head, and a very soft carbonation. This beer is pulled from a beer engine or hand pump by gravity, and is served at cellar temperature, which is a cool 56-52 degrees. This is important, as the hop aromas and flavors really "breathe" and let you know what a superior IPA should smell and taste like. This beer is hopped with imported(from England) East Kent Goldings aka EKG’s, and they are in this beer by the bale loads. The nose hits you from a mile a way. Waves of fragrant, flowery hop aromas flood the nose. It is like sticking ones face in a hop pocket full of fresh hop cones. There is a slight underpinning of pale malt, but hop aroma is the star here. The palate is firm with a solid base of pale malt, with a touch of caramel malt sweetness. The finish is the show stopper. A citrus bomb of hop flavors grab hold of the tongue and just does not let go. The finish will make you pucker it is so bitter, and for a hop head, that is a little slice of heaven in a glass. Without a doubt one of the most impressive IPA’s I have ever tasted, a big league beer from a tiny micro with class and character. If you ever find yourself in the Glass City of Toledo, OH, what ever you do, don’t miss the Maumee Bay Brewing Company. A fantastic brewpub/brewery with some phenomenal beers.

This draft brew from the brewery poured a minimal medium sized of unnoted length clear bubbles that left behind an unnoted lacing. The body contained no carbonation, was transparent and light yellow orange in color. Its aroma contained notes of mild malts hops and mild orange . Its mouth feel is poor and flat with a vinous thick malt aftertaste. Its flavor was more like a vinous English IPA. A below average brew.