Clipper City Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3

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

Bottle shared at acertain’s gathering.

Pours a light gold with a fine frothy white head. This beer provides an enjoyable fruity (Amarillo coming out nicely) hop aroma and a matching flavor, laid out atop a very light-on-the-malt body. Overall the hop intensity is more in the East coast vein, and the cascade flavors are conspicuously absent. There’s some pepper here, an interesting interplay of floral and fruit notes, leaving a beer that is extremely drinkable at 7.5% or at any percentage for that matter.

The same absence of strong malt (and strong hop resins) makes it a potentially very good hot-day IPA, but such also prevents it from quite reaching up into the top tier of IPAs.

On tap. Pours a bright, clear golden amber with a three-finger rocky white head that lingers for the duration of the session leaving sheets of lacing along the way. Smell is very light with citrus hops dominating, mainly grapefruit and lemon zest. Flavor is heavy on citrus as well with mostly tropical fruits and with little hop bitterness. There is a bready malt base as well. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied but creamy and with less bitterness than I was expecting. This is an extremely drinkable IPA and one that I could drink all night long.

I can’t believe I haven’t rated this until now! I’ve had numerous six-packs, and II even had a cask version at the World Beer Fest in Downtown Raleigh in April that was REALLY incredible. Pours orange gold, fairly hazy, with small white head, nice lacing. Aroma is hoppy, citrus, pepper, soap, some caramel malt. Flavor is also hoppy--but not up front, mostly in aftertaste and at end. Up front, I get caramel, a little alcohol, and in the end there is a good bit of citrus, pine hops. Lovely beer. IF ANYONE GETS A CHANCE TO HAVE A CASK VERSION, KILL IF YOU HAVE TO, IT IS WELL WORTH THE TIME YOU WILL SPEND IN PRISON!!!!

Cloudy, light orange pour with soft, white head that doesn’t last long. Flowery bouquet with grapefruit and orange aroma filling in around the edges. Faint smell of toast, plastic. The flavor is full of hops, nicely balanced. Juicy, spicey, citrusy — orange peel, grapefruit, perfume. Not overly bitter. Peppery finish. The medium body is moderately sticky leaving an aftertaste of light floral soap.

Merci Ruth! Robe cuivrée très claire surmontée d’une mousse blanche qui s’estompe. Arômes amères de conifères. Saveurs de conifère, de malt caramélisé, d’alcool et d’agrumes.

Bottle sample at the Free the Hops 2009 Blastoff Party. Poured a pale yellow with a frothy off-white head that had some lasting. Aromas of pine, citrus, and floral hops. Nice balanced flavor of orange citrus and caramel. Medium to full body with a creamy texture.

Firkin. Orange with a big fluffy head ... kind of surprisingly big. Big floral hop nose with some citrusy notes. Very hoppy taste nicely balanced by the more subtle malts. A great IPA.

Very nice IIPA. This has a monster hop profile and very complex flavor. I love the hints of spice in this one, and they are backed up by a nice caramel malt backbone. Refreshing and enjoyable.