Cooperstown Back Yard IPA

Brewed by Cooperstown Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Milford, New York USA

12oz bottle acquired via a sweet trade bonus from grandet, thanks buddy. Pours brilliant clear pale copper with assertive tan head. The aroma hits with a quick one – two punch from maltiness and straight up citrus bitterness and acidity followed by more mild maltiness. Overall the nose comes across as being a little light for the style. The taste like the nose has both citrus hop bitterness with little in the way of late boil addition hop flavor coupled with smooth maltiness and a hint of nutty, roasty, faint butterscotch. Darn solid taste for an IPA.

Bottle sampled at NFB&WF ’08 at Martha Clara Vineyards. Pours a clear gold. Aroma of pine and not much else. Flavor is again mostly pine with a very weak malt backbone. Bitter, astringent finish, like sucking on the white pith of a grapefruit. Not very good.

Bottle. Pours a dark amber body with an off white head. Aroma is sweet hoppiness some with some fruit. Flavor is strongly hoppy almost like copper. Not for me.

6/15/2008 - 12 oz bottle, pint glass. Poured large white head with piney aromas. Could have a fuller body and darker color. Overall a decent but not great IPA.

3/12/08 notes: bottle. Pours a light apricot color with a small white head. Medium body with a slightly oily texture. Aroma is of cascade hops, pine. Body is smooth, and there is a nice blend of hops that add complexity, balanced tastefully by malt flavors. I taste some orange fruitiness in the body as well. Definitely a quality brew, just nothing special. Flavors are a bit too mute, and I like hops to be a bit firmer in an IPA.

12 oz. bottle at Flat Rock Saloon. Poured hazy copper with ridiculously fluffy head. TONS of lacing. Lots of sweet caramel in the flavor with a bitter finish. OK at best.

When trying new beers, I like to get a few different brews in order to properly get a good representation of the brewery. So I bouight this IPA along with the Cooperstown Old Slugger Pale Ale. Did not enjoy the Pale Ale and this one did not fare much better. Some key factor here is missing in these beers and that is character. There is just simply no memorable quality that I can reflect on time spent drinking this. No nose, not much body, no respectable lingering finish...kind of like just taking a sip and hitting a brick wall. I was interested in checking out their porter but rethinking that plan after these two strike outs.

Bottle. Slightly hazy copper with nice head. Not a lot of aroma. The body is nice: medium-to-full with light carbonation. As others have pointed out, this isn’t a hoppy West Coast IPA. The Ringwood yeast is apparent, there’s biscuity malt and grassiness and some faint citrus hops at the end. Not enitrely clean, but drinkable.