Fitgers 20/20 IPA

Brewed by Fitgers Brewhouse
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Duluth, Minnesota USA

Wow, I have been chasing this one down for two years. On draught during Great Taste of Midwest 2009 in Madison, Wisconsin. Pours a clear copper amber brew with a creamy off-white head that has some nice retention and lacing. Aroma of citrus, grapefruit, grassy hops with a hint of caramel malt. Taste is medium bodied, plenty of hops overall that over-powers most of the caramel malt, Finish continues the grapefruit with a hint of toffee and a lingering bitterness.

Bronze, clear pour. Syrupy, pungent grapefruit aroma. Powerful. A biting chemical bitterness taints the rich maple sweetness of the malt. Toffee and black licorice fill in the gaps. The hop parade here simply becomes too riotous as it warms, bound together in uneasy harmony to start, only to unravel awkwardly - the pleasant qualities of each variey arrive only in muted, fleeting flashes. Finishes with a punch of nail polish burn. Confusing, but retaining a satisfying quality.

Pours a lightly hazed, reddish, deep copper color with an inch of soft tan foam. Decent head retention and lacing. Briefly fizzy after the pour. I like the aroma - grassy, juicy, green, and fresh hops - all complimenting a bitter citrus. The flavor is dominated by a full spectrum of hop flavors - tons of pine, then citrus, grassy & spicy into the finish. The hops are bitter, but also quite sharp and pungeant. A toasted caramel malt is present, though well in the background most of the way through. It becomes more pronounced in the finish. A strong pine and bitter almond flavor linger in the aftertaste. Medium bodied and exceptionally soft.

On tap at the 2005 Great Taste of the Midwest: Pours a clear copper bronze with a frothy off-white head. Aroma is fresh, piney and hoppy with a touch of citrus and caramel malt. Starts lightly bittersweet turning more dry and grapefruity toward the very bitter finish. A nice beer, but is too confused and needs more balance in flavor.

Orange/Brown Coloring with White Ring. Grapefruit, Dry Hop Aftertaste. Light Citrus/Grapefruit then Dry Hop Dominance For Most of the Voyage and a Dry Hop Farewell at the End. Nice Medium Mouthfeel and Consistantly Good Hops Throughout.

Great look! Sweet amber orange, slightly hazed pour, with a nice rich creamy froth of ivory head. Aroma is dense and somewhat smock, with deep wafts of floral and light citrus. Very hoppy, as expected, but more complex and muddled. Not enough malt to make it an IIPA, but plenty of hops to get it there. Aftertaste is dominated by ultra-bitter hop sugars and a touch of lemon. Flavor rides on three levels of grainy hops presence. A rich olive oil bread, a dominating rosemary floral, and a wafting blend of citrus. Complex and fantastically solid.