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Smuttynose Big A IPA

Smuttynose Big A IPA - Imperial/Double IPA

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 Percentile 
98
overall
Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA

Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

bottled
common

on tap
available

Regional Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
5063.86/5.03.85/5.09.2%90.3Snifter, Tulip
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Commercial Description:
For our hopping regime we went with Cascade and Nuggets in the boiling addition. Centennials were added every 5 minutes for the last 30 minutes of the boil. We added Crystals into the whirlpool. Dry hopping was done in both the fermentor after primary fermentation and the bright tank. We used a mixture of Chinook, Nuggets, and Sterlings in the fermentors and whole leaf Centennials in the bright tank.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 KawaBomber (193), New Jersey, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/104/516/20
Jul 14, 2008  
22oz Bottle: Orange amber in color w/ a fluffy off-white head. Nice lacing as it dissipates. Grapefruit hop aroma. Strong, very strong aroma. Flavor mirrors the aroma. Very hoppy, the grapefruit variety. Crazy bitter, hoppy madness. Nice full body. Great beer!


 oteyj (713), Canterbury, New Hampshire, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/105/57/104/516/20
Jul 13, 2008  
Snifter. Pours a beautiful opaque amber with huge lumpy, frothy two finger beige head. Aroma is of spicy hops with lots of citrus and a slight floral note. Flavor is an incredible blend of bittering hops with a subtle balance of malt. Lots of citrus and spice. Surprisingly not as harsh as expected from the style. Balanced and subtle. If your looking for a bracingly bitter, knock your socks off DIPA, you won’t find it here. What you have here is an expertly balanced, though low key and subtle example of the style. Hops are quite prevalent, but hop character is not overwhelming. Palate is prickly and resinous with a sticky middle and slightly dry finish. Another unique and world class offering from the boys at Smuttynose.


 pintsize (1042), Austin, Texas, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/105/518/20
Jul 12, 2008  
7-12-08 bottle shared with lb4lb thanks to the wonderful kmweaver
Beautiful rich thick glowing orange amber pour with a great dense off white head and some slight lacing. Smell is fruity apricots, oranges and fresh flowers. Flavor is fruity and rich and sweet and bitter. Mouthfeel is perfect here - it is thick but not syrupy, refreshing but not thin. Ideal all around. A great IPA in all ways. Thanks Ken!


 lb4lb (2011), Austin, Texas, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/105/517/20
Jul 12, 2008  
Bottle in trade as an extra courtesy of kmweaver. Thanks man!!
Pours my favorite color for the style; a gorgeous glowing and hazy bright orange with a fluffy light beige head atop that leaves nice lacing. Smell is big and bold fruity hops with scents of peaches, apricot, oranges, melon and clean, fresh citrusy fruits with a hint of alcohol peeking in perhaps. Taste is crisp and bitter but not overly so, with fresh citrusy and hoppy fruity flavors and a nice balance of malt as well. A touch of alcohol is noticeable and only holds the beer back from near perfection for me. Full mouthfeel and crisp bubbly carbonation provide a perfect refreshingness to it. This is a fantastic beer, that for me, only suffers from a slightly higher ABV than necessary. Thanks again for this one, Ken!


 joekinty (263), rockledge, Florida, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/104/517/20
Jul 1, 2008  
Amber orange pour big white frothy head bottled in 2006 big floral aromas combined with sweet and grassy notes wonderful sweet malty balance with citrus and earthy hops


neredneck (7), New Hampshire, USA
does not count click to see why this rating of Smuttynose Big A IPA does not count
4.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/59/104/519/20
Jun 28, 2008  
Love this one! Smutty IPA is my staple and this one just is bigger but with similar aroma, appearance, flavor. The use of hops is great. Have spoken to the brewer about this years edition and due to the hops issue, several hop variations needed to be used. Limited supply so get yours!


 blipp (1630), Newark, New Jersey, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/103/517/20
Jun 28, 2008  
Bottle (2008). Pours orange with a lasting and sticky off-white head. Sweet grapefruit and pine needle aroma. Medium body, Flavor is very well balanced with sweet citric and pine notes, as well as peach and caramel. A tinge of alcohol is very faint. This beer is a perfect combination of taste, drinkablility and affordability. $6 for a 22oz. bomber? Sure, twist my arm.


 TeamTrappist (365), jericho, New York, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/58/104/516/20
Jun 21, 2008  
Tap at Blind Tiger. Poured a nice creamy cloudy dark blonde, with a nice head. This is no doubt imperial and one sniff will tell you that. Bright hop aroma that hints you hard. Creamy thick mouthful, with a great hop aroma. Great bitter finish, but definitely noticed the alcohol. Very tasty beer, and a pleasant surprise as I had no idea how good this one would be.



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