Big Sky IPA

Brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Missoula, Montana USA

(Bottle) Pours a light brown color with a light haze. Very fragrant aroma, with citrus and pine the main notes. Light biscuit in the aroma, with light caramel and some grass as well. Very good hop profile, but could have used a little more malt for balance. Still a fine IPA.

Bottle, pours a nice fairly clear copper color, with a nice lasting off white head. Plenty of grapefruit on the nose and initial taste, followed by some slight malt sweetness. Pretty good actually, a nice fairly balanced IPA.

Bottle. Semi hazy dark straw/copper pour with 1-finger off-white head. Nice crisp hop aroma plus some caramel malt. The hop flavor was also crisp, citric, very pure and fresh tasting, and well matched by a solid malt bill. Solid complexity. I’d buy this by the case if I could.

A nice copper hue. The aroma is grapefruit, lemons and hints of wheat. To taste this beer I had to hang on my seat because I went for one hell of a ride. This is one of biggest IPA I have ever tried. It is bold with citrus, grapefruit, hints of tart apples and a big bitter finish. A very well made beer, but you need some good food to go with it.

Orange, big rocky beige head. Toasty, grapefruity aroma. A bit bready at first, then a resiny, earthy hop bite. Seemed a bit on the thin side. I liked it, but with so many other standout IPA’s in the Seattle market, well...

Bottle at Freaking Frog, Las Vegas
Beautiful amber color. Very nice hoppy aroma, resiny, strong. Good body structure, but less sweet than expected, then suddenly the hop resins kick in and lead to a long final. Very hopped IPA (I would like it sweeter).

12 oz. bottle. Smell under the cap is more malty than hoppy, bit of a surprise there. But hops come out when I pour into a shaker, bitter and piney. Older copper penny color with a spongy head. Hops are more upfront in the taste, almost a scorcher of bitterness. Makes me think of the Bell’s Hop Smash I had last night, though I’m sure it’s nowhere near that many IBUs. Quite bitter, maybe to the detriment of hop character, a bit earthy, with some orange rind peeping out at the end. Malt is just slightly sticky, the kind I always fall back on "caramel" to describe. But the only room for possible fault comes in the choice of how the hops are presented. May be too crude for some, but I find myself liking it. This was from a variety 12-pack, I think $15 in Kenosha, meaning this is probably a bargain for a good IPA at its home state.

Bottle. Light citrus and grassy hops on the nose. Pours copper with amber highlights. Lots of citrus and fruity hops. I was actually pleasantly surprised. Meduim bodied. Finishes crisp wil some refreshing hoppy dryness.