Back Road Midwest IPA (New Recipe/2006)

Brewed by Back Road Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
LaPorte, Indiana USA

Name: Midwest IPA
Date: 07/18/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

hazy orange, fine off white head, lots of drops of lace, sweet citrus aroma balanced with earthy hops, lots of citrus hop flavor on a sweet caramel malt base, long bitter finish,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

12oz bottle acquired in trade with shawnm213 (thanks!). Poured a medium and slightly hazy amber color with a larger sized off white head. Some lacing left on the glass. Aromas of floral hops, earthiness, and pine. Tastes of citrus, pine, some toastiness, and a trace of caramel.

Bottle... Murky orange ale with a big, off-white, orange-tinted head. Terrific, rocky retention. Tangerine, caramel, grapefruit and a rumor of pine in the nose. Malty sweet, fruity flavor up front; followed closely by great bitterness on the backside. Tropical and citrus fruits, toffee and grapefruit rind tannins. Full-bodied with a milky mouthfeel and modest carbonation. Lengthy, earthy, then bitter finish. Excellent IPA. A boatload of thanks goes out to BBB63 for sending me the bottle!

Pours a hazy bronze with an airy, clingy-lacing off-white head. Aroma of sweet caramel malt and some fresh citrusy hops. Body starts with a lot of carbonation, some sweet crystal malt and big grapefruity bittering and flavor hoppiness. Finishes drier and crisp, a pretty decent IPA.

Bottle courtesy of shawnm213. Pours copper with some haze and a thin white head. Smells of resin, citrus, resiny, spicy, earthy. Tastes of pepper, earth, some astringent hints, some spice on the finish.

Needs more aromatic hops because the aroma of this copper colored, off-white headed ale was a bit light. It smelled of old caramel covered by a soft grapefruit, pine, and herbal/earthy hoppiness. The hops do kick it up a few notches in the flavor, the grapefruit dominating along with some zest of lemon. There’s just enough malty sweetness to balance it out. Not bad.

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Draft sample at IBGF 06. Hazy copper color with a large fizzy off-white head that diminished slowly with good lacing. Moderate hoppy citrus aroma. Medium body. Medium balanced sweet flavor with a sweet finish of moderate duration. Solid drinkable breer.

The new IPA on tap at brewery: It is a bit darker in color, near coppery with a nice small frothy head and okay lace. The aroma is juicy and citric hops, caramelized and biscuity malts, some clove and pepper, and a hint of earthy yeast esters. The flavor profile is mostly bittering hops with a supporting acidic fruit component. Sort of sweet on the front of tongue but is there mostly for some balance. This new recipe is more balanced than the old despite an increase in Alpha hops. The mouth feel is lively and moderately aggressive. Good stuff.