Free State C3 IPA

Brewed by Free State Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Lawrence, Kansas USA

Date: February 25, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Appearance: hazy copper, fine beige head
Aroma: sweet caramel and crystal malt aroma
Flavor: sweet malt flavor with a good combination of crystal and caramel sweetness, lots of balancing hops, touch of fruity orange and tangerine, touch of peppery alcohol along with other spicyness, light bitterness
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Draft... GABF ’06... Cloudy, light golden ale with a small, creamy, white head. Earthy aroma with notes of leather and tree bark; hints of pine and smoke. The flavor is heavily bitter and a just a little tangy. No residual sweetness. Medium-bodied and very astringent with moderate carbonation. Lengthy, heavily bitter finish.

Shared by goldtwins: Pours a clear dark bronze with a well-lacing white head. Has a big, fresh hoppy aroma balanced with a smooth, dry caramel malty presence. Body starts with nice crystal malty sweetness and lots of bittering and flavor hops. This is a nice, hoppy, and well-balanced, drinkable double IPA.

Drank from a growler compliments of harliequin
Dark hazy ruby and orange fire color with thick white head and no lacing. The nose is full of earthy hops, lots of columbus (which I’m not fond of) and other cascadey likeness. A respectable underlying malt body hides under the hop front. The flavor is a bit on the sweet side but the bitterness lands on par with some of the other imperial IPA greats out there. A very drinkable super hoppy beer. Yum!

Growler and served in my GI IPA tulip: A hazy and deep copper hue greets the beer geek topped by a small but tight frothy head which left good amount of lace on the glassware. The aroma is pure juicy hops, it is all there...pine, grapefruit, pear, lemongrass and aromatic notes with a fair amount of biscuity and Carmel vapors too.

The taste is much more in balanced than the nose let on. The citric, resin, pine, and peppery character is on display in tour de force however the malty and almost earthy yeast components are enough to provide a shocking easy to drink IIPA! The more I drank of this, the more I was colored impressed. The lingering astringent and resin aftertaste let me know this is still a very hoppy brew. The mouth feel is biting along the edge of the palate but smooth in the center with more than enough body to carry the flavors, oh the alcohol is so well hidden. A prime example of what a double IPA can be without going to extremes. Among the best of the genre! Get ya some if you can!!
(Many Many thanks TJ, it was all I could do from drinking the whole growler in one night)

Thanks to beerhandy for this treat. Poured a hazy dark amber with a medium beige head. Tons of hop in the aroma. Citrus, earthy and floral. Covers up the malt completely. Very big hop flavor. Hops right from the start to a long bitter finish. The bitterness is moderate strength. This leans so much to the hop that you can’t tell if there is malt. While not even close to being balanced it is very tasty and drinkable.

On tap at the Great Taste of the Midwest. Poured a hazy, golden brown with a short whitish cap on it. Nose was very heavy on the hoppage... pine, grapefruit, grass, and a lighter fruit bouquet were nothing short of spectacular!... some malty sweetness was evident beneath. Flavor was solid, but came off a tad stale... big citrus and pine, a respectable caramel base, and hints of cardboard. Thick and resiny on the palate, coating the tastebuds very well! Excellent overall, and would like another shot at it!

GABF ’06: Lovely hop nose didn’t tease, as the rich hop flavors and wafty aromas carried through the first sip. Juicy, citrusy (tangerine and some grapefruit), sprucy and sour. Nice texture throughout. Chew-smooth malts balanced everything out well. Tasty stuff.