Breckenridge 471 Small Batch IPA

Brewed by Breckenridge Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Denver, Colorado USA

Bottle; Hoppy but very drinkable - hides its high alcohol % well. Nice balance of hop and malt - not as cloying as other IIPA’s tend to be.

This Imperial IPA pours a light orange color from a 220z bottle. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is orange, citrusy and fruity. Medium bodied Imperial IPA. Malts are fruity and sweet. Lots of orange and citrusy flavors in this one. Hops are grapefruit and citrus. Well balanced. Good carbonation. Fairly sweet, but has enough hops to almost balance the malts. Good carbonation. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

bottle, from Cary Wholefoods. Good aroma, sweet. Started with a peach/apricot, pinneapple aroma that turned more grapefruit/orange as it warmed. I did get a yeasty funk when I first opened and sniffed out of bottle that disappeared when it was in the glass. Clean lite brownish orange color, ok head that faded quick. Minor lacing. Bittersweet flavor. Like aroma, but with more of a grassy/grapefruity bitterness. Lite sugary/caramel maltiness aboutit too. Medium body, creamy mouthfeel, bitter finish. I liked the aroma when cold, when it warmed it got less enjoyable. Still, very drinkable for a IIPA. Blind I would have guessed just an Ipa.

I wasn’t too blown away by this IPA but it was ok. I sucked it up my damn nose so the aroma aspect was easy. Some apricots, pine, oranges, and alcohol. The flavor isnt all that complex but smooth and easy to drink. Some orange peels, apricots, and lemons in the flavor. Overall its pretty good.

Bottle from Sam’s Blue Light. Pours deep orange with a small white head that fades quickly. Aroma is strong citrus--orange and grapefruit come to mind. Flavor is more grapefruit, some lemon and lime. Sweet and bitter finish. Pretty good, but far from the best double ipa’s I have tasted. Alcohol pretty well hidden.

Appearance: Pours a honeyish golden-amber body with an enormously foamy yellowish head with some of the thickest lacing I’ve witnessed in ages. Smell: Fresh orange peels provide an unmistakable oily, juicy fruitiness to make for a rather enticing aroma. Also some toffee and spruce notes. Taste: Pleasantly sweet, biscuity malt base and a light, leafy grapefruit flavor start things off. The taste moves into a nearly unceasingly orange zestiness before finishing with a piney, bitter finish. I must say, though, the alcohol is skillfully hidden. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, with an oily, resinous texture. Drinkability: Matchless quaffability here, folks. Its almost hard to verbally express that.

My 100th brew review! I learned a lot about beer styles, regional micro brewing; but mostly about taste. Sweet, well hopped and citrusy nose. Pours golden yellow with a foamy white head. Good carbonation. Sweet hoppy, (did I say sweet?) flavor. Bitter long dry ending. Somewhat suripy mouth feel. Not as crisp as I’d imagine. This is defiantly an ale. I love IPAs almost as much as I like porters and stouts. I like this IPA because of its balance of character in hoppiness, bitter dry ending and palate.

Bottle sampled. Pours light amber with a small off-white head. Aroma of fruit, caramel malts, and citrusy hops. The flavor is smooth, sweet caramel, fruit, and a dry citrusy finish. Good brew.