Clipper City Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3

Brewed by Clipper City Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Baltimore, Maryland USA

Good stuff. Bright orange topped by a dense off-white head. The aroma is something to savor: grapoefruit, flowers, and some malt floating around in the back. Flavor-wise it drinks like a very strong APA the hops manage to not totally overwhelm everything else. A bit of soapiness finsihes things off. It never goes to the extreme resinous teeth coating syrupiness that some other super hop beers do. Nice tingly palate. Far and away one of Clipper City’s best offerings.

This has become my new everyday drinking beer of choice. It is really really good. Try some.

This IPA pours a little clearer than I would expect from a good one, copper with good carbonation and a medium, creamy off white head. The aroma is very strong and typical of an IPA. Very sharp hop bitterness in the aroma, grapefruit, slight alcohol, pine. The flavor is very bitter and also typical of an IPA, which I am no fan of. A slight fruityness and sweetness is there, the alcohol is fairly subdued for the amount it says there is, bitter in the back of your mouth, not a whole lot of complexity just pretty much all up front hop. The mouthfeel is also typical, waxy and bitter with a warming finish. Probably one of their more solid beers.

Purchase before month notched: Sep ’07. 12oz bottle courtesy of Ryan (artusory), thank you. Slightly hazy orange with a thick film of off-white yellow for a head, quickly fading to a ring. Aroma shows this isn’t the freshest, but it doesn’t really smell all old and stale like a lot of IPAs with some age do. Lots of orange and grapefruity hops up front with a bit of spice. I feel breweries do a good job melding the aromas/flavors together when I think I smell sweet hops, and this happens here. The caramel sweetness seems to be both from caramel and from the hops. Also there’s a bit of cotton candy. Unfortunately, the flavor doesn’t live up to the hoppiness of the aroma. There is some grapefruit rind and pine, but both seem to be a shadow of their former selves in the aroma. Flavor seems to be more dominated by caramel. There is also a bit of bitter earth in the semi dry finish. Bitterness peaks at a 3-4, but mainly in the finish. Body is a bit thin with low carbonation. Would’ve been good if I had stopped after sniffing it.

Bottle sampled. Pours a clear amber color with a white head. Aroma of citrus, pine, and some grapefruit. Flavor is quite hoppy with a nice malt/caramel sweetness and a bitter finish.

Bottle from sampler 6 pack, best by July 07. Clear, burnt orange, with an enduro three-quarter inch head of meringue that leaves a crunchy frosting all over the glass. Aroma is nice grapefruit with honey, caramel and a dash of pepper and oak. Taste is similar, but big body of malt sweetness holds up well against the powerful (but nice) flavor of the hops. Palate is just a touch to the light side of medium, and smoooooth. Aftertaste is a demonstration of more (yet a different) balance of malt and tongue tingling hops. Top-notch American IPA could also be a session beer for all seasons. Update: This is a damn good hop blend! Love the light carbonation and complex aromas and flavors that are slightly different on every sip. Upped initial tentative and inexperienced rating from a 4.3 to a 4.7 based on comparisons to many inferior AIPAs over the last year or so.

pours a clear copper/ amber color with a decent sized fizzy white head, aromas of hops, citrus, spices, alcohol and sweet malt. flavor; citrus, carbonation, caramel, sweet, with a nice hoppy finish.

12oz Bottle. A very nice, gooey hop aroma. Succulent spring creosote bush, cactus flowers, and maple sap. Floral, spice and citrus amalgamate. Pours a pale orange, with a wonderful off-white soap that builds and stay. Lacing the glass slowly. Flavor is complementary. A rather robust malt and sugar profile hold up a hop flavor that stays in a spice note, but develops some metallic character. Chewy. Not overly sweet. Smacks in pear flesh. Grassy and dry in the back end. A middle amount of creaminess comes from the body of the beer. I could use just an edge more hop flavor from the initial presentation. Alcohols add complexity and appreciated warmth. In total, there is something about the combined effect of the beer that is dusty and dull. A papery dryness in the roof of my mouth that prevents the sugars from seeming clear and pure and the hops from maintaining quality. Otherwise, this is a mostly delightful IPA.

This sample is from buddy, Cornfield. What a nicely brewed IPA. Typical coppery gold pour with a lingering white head. The nose is a very robust and inviting hop onslaught of pine resin and grapefruit. The caramel malt backbone is very prominent and adroitly anchors the bitter hop profile effortlessly. Good balance personified. The bitter PNW hopping is a hop-lover’s delight...big pine and grapefruit notes, with only a moderate tongue bruising effect. The alcohol is extremely well hidden, only really noticible in the dry finish. Best thing I can say about this beer?...I wanted another one immediately upon finishing the last sip!