Left Hand 400 lb Monkey

Brewed by Left Hand Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Longmont, Colorado USA

On tap at Bar on Buena in Chicago a long time ago. Pours a cider light brown with a creamy off white head. Aroma of strong piney hops and a super sweet citric grapefruit and pineapple character. Awesome honey and sugar cane notes as well, very fresh. Flavor, hops dominate from start to finish, sweet honey and sugar overlayed malt to start along with a tangy fruitiness before a bitter hop resin finish. Medium to full sticky body and an active carbonation. Nice beer, could use a little less bittering and more flavoring hops

Pours a pretty clear amber with a fine bubbled off-white head. Aroma is not strong but hoppy and inviting. Flavor is strongly hoppy and fairly but not overly bitter and has whispers of citrus and sweetness. Texture is rough, lively and sassy, leaving a tingly and hoppy finish.

Tap at CAH. Pours a lightly hazy golden amber with a medium creamy off white head. Aroma of sweet orange, some pine and caramel. Flavor of pine, floral hops, metallic notes, caramel and honey. Kind of easy drinking and a bit thin/disappointing for an IPA.

On tap at Tapwerks in OKC. Pours dark orange with white head. Aroma is piney hops with some caramel malt, citrus and spices. Flavor is bitter hops, pine, citrus, some fruit and spices with caramel malt. Finishes bitter. Mouthfeel is medium. Decent carbonation. Main flavor components are pine and bitter hops. Not enough balance to be sessionable. Average IPA and nice find in OKC.

Appearance: Pours out a clear, light copper-hued body with a medium-small, but lasting, white head. Slight, slender lacing on the way down. Smell: Initially, a whiff of vaguely sweet-scented malts greet the nose, followed by hop notes of pine needles and oil-soaked, fresh tangerine rinds and a pervasive earthy overtone. Taste: Standard pale maltiness, lightly grainy and sweet, with just a teeny iota of sweet almond. The hop character is predominately earthy, but there’s also tastes of white pine and tangerine oil. Moderate bitterness. The finish is reasonably dry with a lingering hint of raw barley in the aftertaste. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Overall, a decent brew to drink; it’s hop-forward, certainly, but not overbearing and could pair with a wide variety of foods. I opted for Taco Mac’s Smothered Kettle Chips. I and other previous reviewers agree that the name is a bit misleading -- it’s less a palate-ravaging 400lb Monkey as it is a Curious George. Ah, that lovable lil’ scamp.

Sampled on draft at Zeno’s in State College PA this beer poured a golden color with a large white head. The aroma was dryish and fruity with a touch of pine. The flavor was dry, tangy, fruity and had light undertones of pine and spice. Medium finish. Medium body. Ok.

On tap at the brewery during GABF 2009. Pours a dark yellow color with thin white head. Aroma is sweet and floral with notes of honey, spice, floral hops, light grapefruit and pine. Flavor is generally about the same. Medium body with a floral hop finish.

Pours bright golden with a mostly receding off-white head. Notes of mango, sour citrus, and pale malt. Medium bodied with moderate resins and lively carbonation.