Berkshire Lost Sailor India Pale Ale

Brewed by Berkshire Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
South Deerfield, Massachusetts USA

Poured a very hazy copper color with a small off-white head. Hoppy aroma with light pine and earthiness. The malt seems fine but the hops smell like an old bag of hops. Not faded like in an old beer but like dry hopped with old hops. The hops and malt mix through the flavor decently. Bitterness at the finish was almost there. Medium bodied.

Hazed amber. Very low hopping. Medium fruit. A bit of british yeastiness. This is really stretching to be called an ipa. Mild. Very low bitterness.

Yet another generic IPA to add to the world’s collection. This beer had the standard head that laced quite well, but it was all downhill from there. Standard average grapefruit / citrus type flavors / aroma. Snore.

Orange/brown appearance - very light carbonation. Fairly hoppy (of course) but also some fruit citrus maybe? peaches too...

Nice IPA: a little bit of peachy flavor thrown in with the hoppiness, and a good solid body backing it all up. I couldn’t detect any alcohol at all, but I had this after a glass of 120 minute IPA, so the comparison probably made this come off weaker. But it was a nice, enjoyable IPA even still. I’d like to check out what else Berkshire Brewing has to offer.

I’ve been a BBC fan for a long time, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Their beers always taste very fresh to me. This was from a 22 oz bottle I picked up at the local package store. Poured a hazy, somewhat murky, orange-tan. Lots of suspended yeast. Generous aromatic and bitter head. Citrusy and grassy aroma that makes me wonder if they’re using Cascade hops in this. Flavor was surprising-- there’s at least one other non-Cascade hop in there for a nicely-rounded bitterness. Not too malty, and there’s a bit of a tea flavor going too. This is a great, drinkable beer. I’ll definitely be picking up a keg for my next party.

(22 oz bottle: Obtained 24-Feb-06 in trade with Eyedrinkale, thanks Mike!) With aromas of floral hops and sweet tangerine, I already know this isn’t really my style of IPA, but the nose is pretty nice all the same. Sweet, very fruity, plenty of orange-colored citrus, a bit of ice tea flavor (but my folks used to put orange slices in the ice tea), but it’s only mildly bitter and not classically hoppy like the typical IPA. Only after drinking a pint does the hops start to build a little momentum in the finish. Medium bodied, gently carbonated mouthfeel, smooth and easy to drink, but lacking the hoppy crispness on the palate. The beer is pale amber in color and slightly hazy, but I can still read words through the center of the glass. A large amount of chunky, fluffy, murky sediment covers the bottle and is impossible to leave in the bottle when pouring the final few ounces. A simple, pleasant flavor to this beer, but pretty meek for an IPA to me. Lacks that West Coast character I prefer in hoppy styles of beer.

bottle from oldgrowth. Has a citrus aroma. Cloudy amber colour. Taste is a bit citrus, almost orange. Not much in the hop department.