Grays IPA

Brewed by Grays Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Janesville, Wisconsin USA

This is a wonderful IPA. I took a nose full and WOW ! It filled my nasal passages with citrusy aroma. Then the first sip ’Bam’ it hit me. A strong bitter presence that folded into wonderful hop aromas and deep complexity with malt flavors swimming through. I would recommend this hoppy ale to anyone and everyone.

A nice IPA from the good folks at Gray’s. Not bashful with the hops and a nice finish. They also have a very nice (non-alcoholic) Root Beer if you can find it.

As the description says, dead on. I really enjoy this one, and hope they make it one of their regular taps at the Tied House.

Draft at the Tied House. Hazy orange-tan color. Solid bitterness, with a touch more depth than other Gray’s beers I sampled. Solid grapefruit citrus flavor on top of a basic sweet malt backbone. A touch more bitterness and dryness than a typical US version.

For a less expensive IPA, this beer is not bad. To quote Homer - "Ah Beer, is there anything you can’t do?"

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with hopdog, thanks Steve!) Mmm, this beer smells really nice. Very malty and toasty, somewhat caramely, and a bit earthy and mushroomy, but it’s not very hoppy at all. Not a problem for me, but I guess I do expect an IPA to smell hoppy. And similarly in the flavor, it tastes malty and mildly earthy. However, hops has a much more assertive and balancing presence in the flavor, especially in the finish, and it contributes moderate citrus and solid bitterness. Medium "plus" in body, and it doesn’t thin out, even in the finish. There’s a slight dustiness in the mouthfeel as well, and the beer finishes fairly crisp for such a malty IPA. Dark amber in color, supporting the fact that this IPA is pretty malty, and its also slightly hazy. The tall, light-tan head shows excellent retention. I’ve taken my sweet time drinking this beer so that I could savor it, and even still, the head has slowly settled to and maintained a thin and complete layer atop the beer. And lacing covers the glass with a moth-eaten and very intricate pattern. With its strong, up-front malt component, this IPA is really up my alley. A most enjoyable and righteous brew.

Semi-hazy copper in color with a thin, bubbly tan head. Aroma reveals sugary caramel and sweet floral hops. Some honey, maple and brown sugar wafts provide a nutty dimension to the aroma as well. Flavor is bitter, nutty and sweet, more in line with a hoppy amber. More profound fresh hop bitterness than expected. Hop profile reminds me of Smuttynose IPA, but this one is more robust like a brown or amber. Waxy, dry and tingly on the palate. Heavily leaning on the caramel and roasted malts with a big, dry hop profile. Lingering dry and bitter finish. A solid IPA, and it went damn well with pizza.

Bright amber color with a light cream head. Orange peel and floral aromas. Light malt sweetness with a sharp bitter hops finish. A little lighter in body than I prefer for this style.