Big Horn Big Red I.P.A.

Brewed by Big Horn Brewing Company (Ram International)
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
, USA

This is a pretty rough IPA, but okay nonetheless. Better than your macrobrew. They serve it in 32 ounce glasses in Dallas, TX, so extra points for that. Quite a bit of lacing and it had a nice body. Palate was questionable. Acquired taste maybe.

tap at ’dinks in dallas. let me set the scene so ya’ll know i was in the right environment to have a good experience. i had a stunning beauty sitting across from me with ashen green eyes staring at me with a low cut top and a smile to drop a man to his knees. we were having a wonderful time discussing movies, the ignorant waitrees, and some sports event that was on one of the numerous televisions. i was feeling great. then i picked up my beer and the aroma hit me, yeah it has hops, rubber orangish grapefruit was how i saw it. but i looked back at the woman and things were good again, we shared a joke and some kind of innane flirting comment was dropped, it was good again. i tasted the ipa, christ there goes the moment, this is bad, even her beauty seems diminished by tasting this beer???? what the fuck did you burn the hops before throwing them in the kettle? but wait, stop remember you are with a woman that actually enjoys your company, just get through the beer man. but no the overwhelming plastic burnt taste just keeps coming back, there is a horribly acidic malt taste that is making me want to storm out leave the beauty behind and drive to the store and buy a good ipa to make it stop, but i cant. so instead i do what any cheap bastard would do. i chug the fucker, i chug it hard, and my buxom well tanned friend looks at me askance. damnit if this crappy wannabe ipa ruins my chances this building will burn. but damn the lingering bark and ash taste and playdoh hopness lingers. i lean over grab her bud light and use that to wash the taste out, o.k. so she ain’t perfect if she drinks bud light, but flaws can sometimes accentuate other qualities. i hate this beer. but i love the woman, so i’ll make due with that.

Sampled at the Eagle, ID location: flowery, citric nose; reasonably balanced IPA, ,though weak in the hopping and malt backbone; pretty drinkable and unexciting

Clear Reddish amber colour. slight head. mild citric hoppy nose. definite grapefruit hoppy taste.

On tap at RAM, Schaumburg,IL: Dark amber with clumpy patches of white bubbles on top. Thin bodied, slightly caramelly middle, nice big citrus hops at the finish, but nothing upfront in the nose.

Not a bad drink, but these people make it difficult to judge since they insist on serving every beer in an iced pint glass. Not a bad color, orange-brown, with a moderate head that laced the glass nicely. It’s got a piney hop aroma with a hint of grapefruit. You also get a hint of the malt - unusual for the style. Very solid malt flavor, in serious competition with the hops bitterness. A bit watery... although it may have been from the iced glass. Totally clean finish with (a minus) no lingering bitter aftertaste.

Had a barrel aged version of this at a festival in Chicago. Enjoyed it just as much, even with the added element of Jim Beam in the aroma.

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Orange color with brown overtones and a thin, white head. Resiny hop aroma that remind me more of Columbus or other C-hops than the Mt. Hood mentioned in the description. I smell pine, citrus, and grapefruit not white pepper. There is also a toasty aromatic malt underlying the hops. The malt character is quite odd (biscuity, toasty, highly roasted but not burnt). This malt foundation for the hop flavor is distinct but does not match well in my opinion. The acidity from the hops creates a rather obnoxious overall flavor when combined with the other flavor components.

Amber color with thin white head...looked identical to the Buttface...light floral aroma, maybe a hint of mint...a cloyingly sweet with a bitter finish...excellent mouthfeel, not excellent taste though...