Smuttynose Big A IPA

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Bottle. Wonderful aroma hits right as I pull the cap off... grapefruit dominates the air and I watch a massive head develop over what eventually proves to be a dingy orange body. As things die down there is also a pineapple scent that I missed at first. Flavor is pretty sweet at first and then gives way to bitter citrus hops. Wonderfully nice big IIPA.

This old tyme boxer on the cover is the type of man I wish I was. Bare knuckled and in my underpants ready to fight a bear or a roo of some sort. The Killer Kielbasa makes a fine brew. Hoppy but still pretty balanced.

Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark golden color with a large yellow-white head that was billowy and provided lots of lacing. The aroma was sour and had grassy and fruity hops. The flavor was somewhat harsh and rather bitter with sour and tangy malts, moderately strong grassy and floral hops, light fruity hops and an undertone reminiscent of cooked cabbage. The alcohol was well hidden.

Mar. 2007 - Another nice one from the Smutties. Pour was dark orange, nice head and lacing. Weakish aroma of grapefruit. Flavor was grapefruit, sweet malt, some orange. Mild hoppiness, but well balanced. Full mouthfeel. Good beer.

I would love to actually rate this one, but unfortunatly for me fredjaz drank mine! Will re-rate when i can

2006 Batch 22oz really good IPA. Not the prettiest beer pours a murky orange color, but thats about as far as you can go with any criticism. Nice citrus hoppy great tasting brew with a well hidden high alcohol content.

Bouteille 650ml, courtoisie de Hogtownharry. De couleur orange dorée et voilée. Nez de houblon résineux, citrique (pamplemousse) et légèrement herbeux, de fruits (agrumes, pêche, notes de mangues et d’abricots), malté de caramel sucré avec des notes de biscuits. Moyennement ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen et une texture résineuses et aux notes crémeuses. Goût amer de houblon citrique (pamplemousse), résineux et aux notes florales (une amertume s’amplifiant légèrement au cours de la gorgée) avec un goût de levures fruitées sucrées (agrumes, léger d’abricots et de pêche, notes de mangues) lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un goût malté de caramel sucré ainsi qu’un léger goût de biscuits au miel puis en finale l’on retrouve une amertume asséchante de houblon plus résineux et citrique ainsi que légèrement herbeux (herbe fraîche) et accompagné d’un moyen goût d’alcool. Post-goût long et moyennement sec, assez amer de houblon citrique, résineux et aux notes herbeuses avec un léger goût d’alcool et de fruits (zest d’agrumes, noyau de pêche).

22oz Bomber I get the opportunity to sample this bottle courtesy of Kempleton. Big A IPA pours a hazy sunset orange with slow rising carbonation. The head grew to one finger and quickly fell to a skimming. The off white head does leave some decent spotty lacing on it’s way down. Big A has a solidly built caramel backbone but the hops take the spotlight. Over the top of the caramel the hops bring a pink grapefruit bitterness and resinous quality that create an appetizing aroma. There’s a touch of spicy alcohol mixed in for added complexity. Flavor falls right along the lines of the aroma. I usually prefer big hopped up IPAs, this one is closed to balanced, although the hops do take lead. Although it’s fairly balanced the flavors extracted from the hops are my favorite: Bitter pink grapefruit and resinous hops. The mouthfeel is good for a IIPA. THere’s a bit of creaminess on the swallow but the carbonation is lively enough to keep things moving before they get too sticky which is a downfall of many other IIPAs. With such a high abv the drinkability is obviously limited but that aside this beer goes down very easy. A sipper to be sure but very enjoyable. Although Smutty’s IPA isn’t my cup of tea their IIPA is definately an enjoyable sipper. A beer to sit back, relax, and take your time with. 2/3/08