Harbor City Full Tilt IPA

Harbor City Brewing Company
Brewed at Sand Creek Brewing Co. (Pioneer/Wisconsin Brewing Co.)
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Port Washington, Wisconsin USA

Picked up a single 12-oz bottle at Flanagan’s in Appleton, Wisconsin. Pours a lclear light caramel amber brew with a thick and lumpy white head that has good retention and lacing. Aroma of slight Ivory soap, some caramel malt and plenty of citrus zest. Taste is light to medium bodied, citrus dry bitterness with some caramel flavor. Finish is slight metalic, dry caramel aftertaste with a slight bitterness that disappears quickly.

Bottled. Poured clear medium orange with a tall, rather creamy cap of off-white head.. lots of rising carbonation. Aroma was of dusty... well.. just dust actually... some grassy notes and some caramel sweetness.. but mostly dust. The flavor was more substantial, with caramel and grapefruit meat at the core with dusty grassy and pine bitterness surrounding... not really good, but drinkable. Moderate bitterness and dusty... not too good, but never offensive.

Light color small white head Aroam is light grass some carmels a tch of citrus Avg pal Flavor is nice & grassy hints of citrus & carmel Decent

I’m not sure where I picked up this bottle. I’m also a little hazy on the difference between Sand Creek Brewing and Harbor City. This beer pours a light hazy tan with a white head. Aroma is a lot of sweet maltiness, only partially balanced by hops. Seems much too malty for an American IPA. Flavor is sweet hops initially, with a very malty finish. Not bad, but not great. Mouthfeel is full and appropriate for the style. This beer is marginally drinkable...I don’t really want another one.

I just rated a Smuttynose Imperial Stout. I guess it is not fair to rate anything after that. Pours a medium amber with a huge frothy head. Appearance was awesome. Aroma is nice but flavor is a different story. Metallic flavor. Everything after the aroma is pretty average. It is not bad but it is also not great. Drinkable........

A clouded darker lemon yellow. Finger high capping of dusty white foam lays across the top with good might and stays present for length. Big inky blobbed lacing in patchy patterns. Aroma is more like a hefe with a snappy yeast tone adding the unusual play of dulled lemon and wheat malt; for an IPA. Even though the aroma doesn’t really speak IPA, its a fairly big and rounded. Well this went nowhere real quick. The flavors don’t say anything too impressive while at the IPA podium. Ummm...its plain,...clean, nothing IPA about it really, kinda lemony, crispened, flat finish with a small dryness of yeast and wheat-like malt. Quite skimpy for an IPA. No real off-flavors, just not alot of flavor, and nothing that says to me, IPA. More like a weakended pale ale, if that. Feel is light/medium with a slight omff of carbonation and texture to get it going. Tenderly mild and semi sweet with lemony tones and faint drying finish. Are they sure they bottle the right recipe here? Seem so much more like a weak Hefe mixed with a weaker pale ale. Strange for an IPA to labeled as so when it clearly is confused. As am I. Still drinkable and enjoyable, but as an IPA, I think not. As a beer to enjoy, sure, to a point of simple pleasure and more so, simple quaffing.

Perhaps production is spotty on this. My bottle contained a well hopped and carbonated, spicey APA calling itself an IPA. Not real dry. Lots of citrus-- perhaps too much lemon. My favorite category but not a great version.

12 oz. Bottle. Aroma was somewhat grainy along with some citrus. Cloudy copper body with big white creamy head, carbination bubbles and a blanket of lace left on the glass. Flavor was a decent mix of sweet citrus hop and malts in background. Some bitterness and a creamy texture in the flavor also. Smooth on the palate, good brew.