Clipper City Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3

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

Pours a clear golden orange color with light amber hues when held to a light source and a one finger foamy white head that quickly fades into a lasting ring. Minimal lacing. Massive hop aroma fills the room once the bottle is opened. Lots of earthy and floral hops, resinous hop oil, citrus notes with a caramel malt backbone and a slight hint of grass. Once again the earthy/floral hops dominate the flavor. Resinous chewy mouthfeel with a huge hop blast of bitterness that lasts throughout, lingering over the caramel malt backbone into a bitter dry finish. Medium bodied with a nice balance from the malt profile. Slightly sweet from the citrus notes and the alcohol is very well masked.

Very very enjoyable! Clipper City has come out with another one I really like. As it states on the label, this one really tastes "Hop3". Pours beautifully, with a medium head and a cascade of aroma that is sure to warm you to the core. I found I liked it better when served around 60 degrees farenheit. Flavor is fantastic, full, rich and smooth, I’m glad this is now available year round, as I plan to get it a lot!

[tap @ Sunset Grill 3/29/06] Nice floral hop aroma.. flavors are slightly sweet and fruity. Still, piney grapefruit and citrus on a nice, solid malt background. Alcohol is well hidden. A nice, hopped-up IPA.

355 mL bottle. (bb Nov ’08). Crystal clear orange with a small head that quickly fades to a film. The combination of hops results in an aroma that pretty much runs the gamut of hop scents: pine, tangerine, grapefruit, floral and pineapple. Same goes for the flavour. The malt fades into the background, but lends enough backbone to make this a very drinkable beer. It’s actually not as bitter as I expected it would be. Pretty good stuff.

This brand new DIPA arriving in Georgia proudly proclaims itself to be a Hop3 Ale, so I had to buy it to see if it had the goods. By the looks of it, pretty much like a regular IPA, with a ultra clear, pale amber body, and a persistent egg shell white head. Smell was that of floral, citric, and spicy hops. Not very pungent not piney like a west coast DIPA, this aroma felt fresh, yet restrained. Taste was very acidic with grapefruit rind astringency. The malt was rather sparingly used for the style with a thin sweet honey caramel taste. Quite pleasantly medium and very appropriate for a regular IPA, the mouthfeel felt short of expectations for a DIPA. The beer fell short of what they were shooting for. Not quite as far off the mark as the Peg Leg “Imperial Stout” from the same brewery. And like the sister beer a very well made product, but not what one would expect.

. Poured amber, nice hops flavor. Maybe too nice, it was pretty overpowering. Nice aroma though.

12 oz bottle - Pours a light amber color that’s fairly clear, with a medium sized creamy off white head. ARoma is full of pungent, oily, resiny citrusy hops, smells like some simcoe and amarillo, along with subtle spicey hops and just a touch of honey-scented malt. Flavor has a notable backbone of slightly chewy malts, along with a fair amount of herbal hops, touch of honey, with a smooth, mildly bitter finish. Definitely good. Much more of an east coast style IPA - bit darker in color, bit maltier, not quite as bitter as the west coast IPAs, but one of the best of this style I’ve had in a while.

Hmm, good IPA but I’m a sucker for IPAs that have a big grapefruit flavor. VERY drinkable. I downed this sucker in no time. Glad I got another bottle but would love to try on draught.