Granite City Duke of Wellington India Pale Ale

Brewed by Granite City Food & Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
St. Louis Park, Minnesota USA

draft - Pours a lightly hazy copper with a one finger head. It has a mild hop aroma. The flavor is all about the hops as one would probably expect from the style and that hops flavor was alright, but was lacking in character. It’s alright for a session brew when you want some hops though.

On draught during the Winterfest 2008 in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. Pours a semi-hazy golden amber brew with a thick off-white head that quickly dissipates clean. Aroma of citrus zest, a touch of grapefruit and some bread malt. Taste is well-carbonated, light to medium bodied, a very one dimensional flavor of miild citrus zest, with hardly any light malt flavors. Finish is slightly watery, along with a mild citrus aftertaste. Maybe this could be considered as a light American Pale Ale but not a West Coast caliper IPA that I am used to.

Tried at Granite City in Fort Wayne. Decent...liked it better than their bock but still not very impressive...seems like not much effort was put into it...needs some distinct flavor.

You know that taste in your mouth you get right after puking....that’s pretty much this brew in a nutshell. I taste all hops and nothing else....do’t get me wrong, I love hops...but this brew has got nothing going for it.

This looks good. Hazy straw color. No head at all. No aroma at all, might as well be water. Hop bomb. No malt balance at all. Tasted decent with the meat I ordered but this beer is all out of whack and not good.

This was easily the best of the bunch I had at Granite City. Pours copper with a wispy white head. The aroma has grapefruit hops along with toasted caramel malt. Medium / light body with soft carbonation. The hops on the taste is very nice with grapefruit pith and some bitterness. There is a sourness that detracts from the good points as well as some wateriness. An okay beer, but far from balanced.

On tap in Madison location. Pours a gold color with a foamy head and lots of sticky lacing. Aroma is pine and grapefruit. Very balanced and easy drinking. The hops aren’t overpowering if you’re a huge bitter hop head but for me it has all the good characteristics of an IPA without being overpowering. I guess it’s nothing special but something easy to enjoy. It was better than I was expecting.

St. Louis Park location. Best of the beers they had on tap by far. Actually mildly surprised by this one. Decent aroma of some grapefruit, a hint of pine and a bit of sweet malt. Pours full copper with some ok lacing down the glass. Fairly dry and bitter with some citrus and sweet malt. Medium bodied with a disappointing short finish.