Buckeye 76 India Pale Ale

Brewed by Buckeye Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Lakewood, Ohio USA

Densely clouded orangey amber hue, lively carbonation, thick head of foam. Impressive aroma of sweet citrussy grapefruit and tangerine with very mild biscuity grainy malts. Fairly brutal hoppy flavor, strong grapefruit bitterness, pretty astringent and dry, balanced by white cranberry juice and a mild underlying tangerine that pulls through more in the finish. Strong bitter bite in the finish. Hop heads delight. Thanks to mikemcallister for this one.

This beer was sampled from bottle at the San Diego Strong Ale Festival 2004 and comes courtesy of the kind Drew! This beer pours a cloudy orange, somewhat yellowish brown color with a thick white head and a good amount of lacing on the glass. The aroma is HEAVY and in your face... thick thick aroma of barleywine..but wait...it says IPA on the bottle... simply kooky...let’s just say that! Heavy malt and brown sugar aroma. The flavor is beautifully barley wine like with caramel mixed in with a slight pine finish. Full bodied beer but extremely smooth, and subtle light with the hops and bittering finish. Extremely sweet with age and a slight fruityness comes out in the finish as it warms.. still don’t quite know how this is a Double IPA, but I could give a damn..it’s an excellently mastered beer!

Sampled from a bottle provided by DrunkAsASkunk (thanks!) @ the SD Strong Ale Fest. Poured a cloudy, medium brownish/orange color. Aroma and tastes of caramel with a light piney finish. Some citrus as well. More sweet than bitter. Reminded me more of a Barley Wine than a an IIPA.

Thanks to Sean for sharing this one. Medium brown color. Medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is caramel and a touch floral. A medium bodied imperial IPA. Malts are caramel and sweet. Hops are piney and floral. Tastes more like a barley wine than an imperial IPA. Much more of the malt character is evident than the hops. Smooth tasting, nicely balanced beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Hoppy and slightly piney w/ hints of grapefruit and honey. When poured it has a light brown color w/ yellow finish and lasting head w/ good lacing. Robust grapefruit and citrus flavors w/ hints of pine and honey. Slight effervescence and medium body that is almost a barleywine consistency.

I finally decided to open one of these up and was p*ssed I had wated so long. My mouth is watering just thinking about how good it was.

12/4/04. Poured out of 22 oz. bottle, shared at Pizza Port Strong Ale Fest in Carlsbad, CA courtesy of DrunkAsASkunk on RateBeer 12/4/04. Rumored to be an old-ish bottle, maybe made in ’03. Hazy light yellow with decent, creamy tan head-- fades to a thin, dense patch. Poor lacing. Pale malt aroma with citrus and light sweetness. A little bit gone, but still nice. Lemony and sharply prickly on the tongue. It’s not a full-mouthed bitterness like the best double IPAs, or like sucking on a hop cone, but it’s direct and prickly like it’s aged and faded a little bit. Good dry grassy flavor with a touch of biscuit, faintly sweet butterscotch, and an underlying minty herbal quality that is quite lovely. Medium-long finish where the mintiness demonstrates its control. Nice bitter prick and sting. Solid, but a bit faded, it would seem. Still quite good, but I’d love to try it fresh.

Thanks go out to Sean on this one, I think, if not thanks Mitch. This IIPA pours with an orangish-gold body topped by a thick head with a good amount of lacing. The aroma is sweet and caramelly with a great underlying hop note. It reminds me more of a barleywine than a doube IPA. The flavor is very similar with a touch of pine in the finish. Full bodied, smooth and slightly dry.