Smuttynose IPA

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

12 oz bottle. Pours lighter than most IPAs with an expected thin off-white head that laces nicely during consumption. The aroma was somewhat hoppy with maybe a hint of crystal malt sweetness. The taste was okay, nothing wrong with it. To me it was just a generic IPA with nothing to make it particularly unique. Don’t get me wrong -- it’s a good beer and a good example of an IPA. Just a bit boring for my tastes compared to some other IPAs like Two Hearted, Green Flash, etc.

Extremely drying mouthfeel, big grapefruit smell and taste. Not much body, tho- definite lack of malt balance. Kind of spicy. Not very pleasurable or filling. Bottle at Zeke’s Miami Beach.

Bottle. Orange amber in the glass with a thick, creamy white head, medium to light carbonation. Head retention is solid, long lasting with thin lines of lace in circles around the glass. Aroma is full of pine with some background white grapefruit. Mouthfeel is medium in body and a bit oily. In the flavour there is plenty of woody hops, full of pine with some background pink grapefruit and lemon. The finish is medium in length with a fair bit of fruit.

Golden pour with a white head. Aroma of malt and hops.Nice hoppy flavor up front balanced by the malt. Leaves a nice hop flavor in the mouth. Nice lacing on the glass.

Bottle. One of the many beers that I’m surprised I’ve not actually rated as I’ve had it so often. Pours a lightly hazy golden amber with a large beige head. Big citrus notes on the nose at first, that slowly give way to a touch of grain and a hint of stale cardboard. Medium bodied, but just barely. Big grapefruit notes start even before the finish which is quite bitter for 65 IBUs that they claim. Overall a solid easy drinking IPA.

When I drink IPAs in my dreams - which is often - I envision the beers tasting something like this. Delicious, strong and solid, the Smuttynose IPA is everything I think an IPA should be. Pours a dark orange color with some mild haze and a slight head. Strong aroma of pine and grapefruit. Taste is a little bitter with citrus notes. Very smooth for an IPA. I like what another rater wrote: you do smack your lips after swallowing this brew. The flavor lingers on the tongue and you can savor this beer more than most. I loved it.

i drink this beer when im in a mood where i dont want to be knocked over with some weirdo taste from some strange beer ive never had before. its an anytime, anyday beer for me. tastes like a good IPA should. its a tad fruity, but nothing crazy and always has a piney, quite hoppy taste that kicks in as the aftertaste and makes you smack your mouth to savor the taste... and its always a plus it looks like an old drew carey sitting on a lawn chair on the bottle.

Got this in a trade. The Amarillo hops can give it a bit of a cat-pee like aroma, but overall this is pretty solid. Good hop flavor with a nice malty balance so it doesn’t knock you over with hops.