Buckeye Hippie I.P.A.

Brewed by Buckeye Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Lakewood, Ohio USA

(22 oz bottle, obtained in trade with bkelley68, thanks Brian!) Well, after having two very bitter, but minimally malty IPAs from the Great Lakes region tonight, this one is a pleasant change of pace. Yes, this one is also quite bitter and hoppy, but what makes this IPA so much more enjoyable is that there’s actually a solid malt backbone that balances this beer nicely. Mildly sweet and malty initially, balanced, flavorful and enjoyable, with the hops becoming slightly more assertive in the finish, though it remains well balanced for the duration. Malty and hoppy aromas yield a balanced, ample nose. Nice, solid mouthfeel. Dark amber and fully clear. Smallish off-white head rapidly fades to a sheen, leaving sporadic spots of "lace" on the glass. Very nice IPA, and a solid example of the type of IPA I tend to like.

Amber colored pour with a chunky head that gives off a good grapefruit hop aroma characteristic of good ole Cascades. The first thing I notice is there is some good body in this one and it’s delivered with a substantial bitterness that stays until the finish. The malts are in there too but the "balance" is towards the bitter side. This is robust without being overly done.

Maybe my nose was broken when I tried this because I could only make out the faintest of hoppy scents. Not at all unpleasant but I just couldn’t smell this one very well. Anyhow, the bottle I had poured a dark mahogany color. Had an off white head with little retention. Initial sweet malt but moves quickly to spicy and woodchip like hop flavors. I thought this thing was fairly well balanced for an IPA that’s claiming to be extremely heavy on the hops. Overall a nice IPA. Just a quick upgrade on my rating (1/05). The aroma has distinct hay/straw and citrus peal. Sorry I rated it so low at firist.

Orange-copper with eruptive head. Monster hops. In fact, it dominates the entire beverage and negates any craft or style that it could have other than the ability to throw an extra truckload of hops in to the brew vat. The hop content of this beer would survive a trip to Saturn let alone India. And for this it is currently rated in the 92 percentile? The aroma? Guess what.......hops! I’m going to invent a hop chewing gum because people obviously really enjoy the flavor. Personally I have grown tired of it. I vow to age all IPA for at least a year before I try them. I guess that is the idea to begin with. Anyway, malt is mellow and decent which salvages a few points. The hops do mellow some upon warming.

On tap: Nice sweet grapefruit hop aroma. Transparent orange with an off-white head. Initial light malty taste with a big hop finish. Moderate hop aftertaste. For the most part, just a well balanced IPA.

Sweet, and bitter, and English toffee heaven. Medium to dark brown, lots of carbonation, minerally (and some vegetal) flavors. Good.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is clear medium amber. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain, cookie, husks), lightly to moderately hoppy (grapefruit, apricot), with light notes of diacetyl and (somewhat fusel) alcohol. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery/velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Eh...seems a little rough and unclean. Ok, but not a drinker.

Clear, bronzish color, strong, sturdy head, active, but quickly crumbling. Aroma, nice, stand-out citrus, grapefruit, pineapple, lemon, more... taste: ,mighty smooth, not a trouble in sight, medium-bodied, and the hops are subdued, but slowly release a juicy flavor...very fruity, sweet, tasty, damnably drinkable, but mellow in the hops, much more in an English style, than a wham, bam, blitz you with the hops, Ma’am approach one might often find....gets juicier and fruitier as we go, tasty, yummy, delicious Well-balanced, full of the the malt, very nice to have in a good IPA, rich, sweet, substantial, tasty....a very nice IPA, glad I got to taste it, finally.