Breckenridge Lucky U IPA

Brewed by Breckenridge Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Denver, Colorado USA

While a bit one-dimensional, this is a perfectly decent IPA with a nice medium copper color and good hops character. It won’t blow you away, but there’s nothing bad about it either. Lacking a Two Hearted Ale or something of that nature, this will do just fine.

Hoppy pine aroma with some metallic notes mixed in. Clear orange honey copper in color with a good bitter citrus flavor. There are some sweet malt undertones present in the aftertaste. Overall I think this is a pretty good representation of the style, smooth and easy drinking with an assertive hops presence.

Bottle. Head is initially small, frothy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is medium amber. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain), moderately to heavily hoppy (resin, grapefruit), with notes of gasoline and other petroleum products. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter, unclean. Medium body, velvety/watery texture, lively carbonation, moderately astringent. Disturbing. As it warms, the petroleum aspects become more apparent. While they don’t overwhelm (the hops are quite assertive and usually mask the fusels), the constant reminder of used motor oil and gas is highly unpleasant and evident of components I would rather not ingest. That aside, the hop character is the usual American raw/green variety; concentrated and medicinal. Not much malt or ester interest. So even without the fusel taint, probably high 2’s at best.

12 oz bottle. A golden brown beer with a tiny head. The aroma has some grass & taste like a British IPA. The taste has some citrusy hops, & some bitter. A somewhat oily mouthfeel. A pretty good beer but an average IPA.

Pours orange with a white head. Aroma is sweet malt and citrusy hops. Flavor is caramel malt with a nice balanced hop bitterness.

Bottle. Hazy, rusty, orange-amber, with a pock-marked foamy top. The aroma is orange and piney. This drinks with a nice rustic chewiness, metallic and barky, a bit leafy and green, too. Tingle of citric finish. (#3765, 12/6/2009)

Clear orange color with a beige head. Aroma of bread and a little caramel malts. Flavor is a little salty with medium bitterness. Finish is long and bitter.

Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a hazy orange-amber color with a large orange-white head. The aroma was strong gritty floral hops. The flavor was strong floral hops, a touch of fruity hops and was very dry. No malt presence discernable. Bitter. Smells and tastes like a hop pellet. Ok.