Smuttynose Big A IPA

Hazy golden orange with a medium white bubbly head with very good retention and lacing. Aroma is all hops, mostly citrus. grapefruit, orange, pineapple, and lemon. Little to no malt aroma. The beer is medium-full bodied and is smooth and slick. Noticeable alcohol presence, high amounts of bitterness and acidity. Fairly long bitter finish. Any pale malts totally overpowered. The hopheads will like it, but it’s a little 1-dimensional for me.

Pours a golden orange with little head. Aroma of floral and piney hops. Nice palate. Much too bitter for me.

Bottle (rating from August 2005 notes). A hazed golden color with a white head. Rich, smooth, intensely thick and bitter. Vanilla and peach notes come through at the finish.

Pours light hazy orange. Piny aroma with pineapple sweetness and some flower nectar. Medium bitter, grapefruity flavour with a deacent rasiny ending. Some flowers and an almost sticky, sweet malty backbone.

Bottle via trade with Thaichile. Pours a cloudy amber-orange color with a sizeable thick, off white head. Aroma is pine, grapefruit, floral. Flavor is orange, grapefruit, pine, caramel malt. Palate is medium to full, medium carbonation, resinous, smooth, bitter finish. This was really, really, good.

22oz Bottle: Pours a beautiful deep hazy orange honey color with off white head. Leaves a great lacing. Big hop aroma. Leafy earthyness, resiny with wood-like notes; yet has an underlying sweetness. Great hopfilled flavor. Has hints of buttery malts (butterscotchy) background. There’s a strong citrus element. Hints of bitter orange and piney earthyness. It develops minty notes with warming. Twig like earthyness, with a great balance between sweetness and hoppyness. Has a prolonged smooth resiny bitter finish with hints of lemon-rind. Nice stuff.

Too bad I didn’t get this one fresh. The bottle says brewed in 2006, I wish I knew when - I’m guessing from much much earlier in the year as most of the hops seem to have fallen out. Pours orange with a fair sized soapy uneven head that laces nicely. The aroma is fairly light for a IIPA - has some floral hops and some grapefruit. There is a lot more of a malt dominance that normal for the style. Medium / thick body with lots of soft carbonation and a good amount of resin on the finish. Starts with musty caramel malt and finishes with woody / cardboard like hop presence. Too bad I got an old bottle. It wasn’t bad, but not up to the breweries standards & didn’t seem like a IIPA. I will gladly rerate with a fresh bottle.

Bomber from secret santa. Thanks. Unfiltered orange color with a minimal head. Dominant citrus and floral hop aromas and flavors. Hops are present. Nice clean finish. Not as malt heavy as many double ipa’s. I really like both kinds.