Minhas Thumper American IPA

Brewed by Minhas Craft Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Monroe, Wisconsin USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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$2.29 bomber, Boatswain American IPA from Trader Joes. Amber with a small off white head. Nose is herbal, grassy, light pine, faint citrus, malts are also grainy. Flavor is fruity, grainy, lightly metallic, some citrus and grass. Slightly harsh, watery, bitter mouthfeel. Meh.

Rhinelander Boatswain American IPA. 22oz bottle, Trader Joe’s, Roswell. Pours clear, orange-copper color. Thin white head. Aroma of sour mash and orange essence. Tastes of caramel malts (very thin), and a small amount of hop bitterness. At first sip is seems to be more of an English IPA or even an APA. Finishes with a sharp wooded hop,and a touch of grapefruit bitterness. Overall, it is a thin, watery character, distant caramel malts, and an essence of citrus. Expected a bit more... but then again. (3258)

I had this both as Rhinelander Thumper American IPA (as is pictured on the site) and as Boatswain American IPA. (Damned rebadging! Note: I will NOT have this as Minhas Thumper American IPA!) Both times it struck me as a rather bland APA. (79 IBU? Really?) Looked nice, a clear orange/amber body with a decent off-white head and some slippery lace. The aroma was quite light, holding some touches of oranges, tangerines, and citrus rind. The mouthfeel was rather oily. The flavor had a short surge of bitterness that faded rapidly. Beyond that, there was some watery caramel and citrus fruit. The finish was softly sweet with no trace of hops. Blah.

I found this 22 oz bottle today in a small Chicago supermarket chain (not Trader Joes) right between the Unibroue and Chimay bombers. It pours an orange/amber color with minimal head and some lacing. Nose is full of citrus hops, so it started off OK. Taste is bitter, as expected for something with 79 IBU. However, there’s something in the aroma and aftertaste that I can’t quite identify, somewhere between rotting corn and the compound that grade school janitors put on the floor where a kid puked. This seems like one of the most nefarious Minhas concoctions (Axehead?) with a bunch of hops thrown in to try to market it to the $7 bomber consumers instead of the $1.49 24 oz can crowd. Still, it is not as bad as their even more alcoholic Imperial Jack so-called double IPA I tried a couple of days ago. Thanks to Minhas, I saved $7 today with this instead of its shelf-neighbors. I may regret the hangover tomorrow morning.

22 oz bomber purcahsed at the Trader Joe’s in Kansas City, Missouri. Purchased as "Boatswain American IPA" Brewed by Rhinelander, Monroe, WI. 6.7% abv. The pour is a clearish golden copper with a foamy 2 inch off white head. Head falls with splotchy lacing. The aroma is husky grainy malt, bitter resin, and a hint of mineral. The taste is resin hop oils up front, a bit chemically, followed by grainy malt, finishing with a faint vegetal mineral earthiness. The palate is medium to light bodied, lowish carb, flattens out a bit in the back. Overall, not bad for a $1.99 bomber (= $6.51 six pack), though nothing real interesting. This wasn’t terrible, just dull. I would take the Mission Street IPA (or Pale Ale) at TJ’s over this every day of the week. Seemed more like a Pale Ale than an IPA, though that may be freshness - not sure what the code on the bottom of the bottle meant - 1278 01EO233.

22 oz. bomber sold as Rhinelander Boatswain American IPA, $1.99 at Trader Joe’s. Okay, i can respect a beer from Minhas. I took a picture of the bottle with a full glass, and over the past few minutes have been taking in a smell of resiny, almost green hops. Poured a brownish-amber body under a dense white head. Up close, the hop smell lessens, and there’s a bit more malt. Taste is a little better than I’d expect. A lot of pinprick carbonation helps deliver the hops in the form of pine and a bit grass. Nicely managed hops, and just a little bit more than the squeamish would want to try. A great beer for the price. Considering I’ll reuse the bomber if I can ever get homebrewing again, that’s extra value.

Sampled as a bomber of Boatswain American IPA from Trader Joe’s. A rich orange bronze colored body with a thick and long lasting eggshell head. The decent rich nose has grapefruit and some bready malt. There is also some wood. The taste is ashtray and a little plastic. There is also some white bread. This smelled promising, but is a complete let down in the flavor department.

Purchased a bomber at Trader Joe’s, labeled Boatswain American IPA. Pours amber with a fluffy, long lasting, white head and a lot of lacing. Nose is very strange: fading hops, seaweed and hints of citrus. Body is medium and too smooth for IPA. A lot of grapefruity hops balanced on the palate by caramel and biscuit malt, ripe fruit and drying alcohol. Finish is long and dry. At the end it was not a bad brew.

650mL thanks to MrCovington. Pours clear orange amber with a medium yellowish head with poor retention and small yet sticky lace residual. Nose is fresh detergent, fresh laundry, lemon candies, soap, muted honey. Gains a lot of Blue Moon character- macro witbier spices and muted husky grain with impending diacetyl. Taste is tangy, sharp, soapy, near chemical. Chemical, lemon juice palate. Citric, tangy, detergent heavy. Went down the drain.

220z bomber generously shared by nuplastikk. This beer is gross. Tastes like infected hairspray. The aftertaste is overly sweet like breadfruit, which is gross. The color is nice.