Third Base CR IPA

Brewed by Third Base Sports Bar & Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Cedar Rapids, Iowa USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

Sampled at the 2009 Parkville microbrew festival. Has a very nice citrus/ice tea aroma. Nice hop flavor which is very strong. This gives the palate an interesting burn. This lives up to its name unlike many alleged hoppy beers. Nice but just slightly out of whack.

On draught during Great Taste of Midwest 2009 in Madison, Wisconsin. Pours a clear pale orange amber colored brew with an average off-white head that has some excellent retention and excellent lacing. Aroma of mostly citrus and grassy hops with a hint of caramel malt. Taste is medium bodied, plenty of hops overall that over-powers any caramel malt, Finish continues the hoppiness with a lingering mild bitterness.

Had on tap at the brewpub. Big piney aroma and moderate malty flavor with a good hoppy bitterness linger.

Sample at the brewpub. This IPA pours a slightly hazy dark amber color with a thin light beige head that diminishes steadily. Sheet of lacing with small holes in it. Citrusy hops aroma along with notes of malt and herbs. Medium body with a moderately bitter hops character and flavors of citrus, malt and floral notes. The finish is hoppy with a lingering bitterness left over. Above average overall.

Draft at the brewpub. Advertised as 80 IBU’s. Served very cold. Too cold. Poured a hazy orange-brown color that resembled iced tea. Head was thin, off white, and reduced to nothingness after about a minute. No lace was left behind. Aroma was of grapefruity and sprucy hops with a whiff of toffee and sweat. Dry on the tongue with strong sprucy and grapefruity hop flavors up front giving way to a mellower orange/lemony citrus in the middle. There was also some accompanying toasted bread and malty toffee. Hop bitterness peaked at about 6 out of 10. The beer improved as it warmed up a bit. It’s not a strong statement, but this is one of the better Iowa-made IPA’s I’ve tried.