McNeills Dead Horse India Pale Ale

Brewed by McNeills Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

Pours amber into a shaker. Thick off-white micro head quickly overtakes the rim and funnels up in a heap and refuses to recede. Bright pine and citrus aromas. Front to back pine and citrus with a lasting bitter finish.

22 Oz Bottle. Aroma is a light misty dry hop, as of a barleywine profile. Profusive tanned fruits. Delicate. Pour of heavily clouded rich amber sienna, fogged with orange bursts of yeasts and hints of caramel. Bold tawny bowling over foamy head. Flavor is a magnificient run of malts and gentle fruit hops. It’s like a wateredown barleywine, but not in a bad way. Flavor is an amalgamation of rich spice fruit, some bold yeast character and an astringent east meets west battle of the hops. Delectable and soothing. Some very light distant aged qualites, dancing with sherried persimmon and oxidized grain. This lends maturity and sophisitication. The malt is excellently constructed in this beer and that’s what really shines. It also beams of balance, which I heavily appreciate. Smack is heavy of hearty hops resins and fleeting pipe tobacco. I can see why traditional american IPA lovers wouldn’t like. It’s not the typical clean, sweet west coast hop heavy animal that so many are. But, this is different. Better and far above, with more character than any other IPA can usually muster.

This bottled brew poured a small sized head of foamy finely sized mostly lasting bubbles that left behind a semi-opaque body with yeast chunks and no visible carbonation and a fair lacing. The aroma was smooth and mild with malty and hoppy notes. The mouth feel was initially smooth and had a mild tingly finish. The flavor was watery compared to most IPA’s of hop note. It was mildly malted and mediumly hopped with a doughy base.

Bottle. 22oz. Pours a deep amber with a very nice white head. Mostly malt on the nose but there is a whisp of hops. Not as robustly hoppy for an IPA, but more of fruit and malts with bitterness throughout crescendoing in the finish. Very unusal flavors for an IPA, could be better balanced, but I stil have the other half of the bottle to go, so who knows.

En fût chez McNeill’s. Robe cuivrée foncée très claire surmontée d’une mousse blanche épaisse. Arômes légers de houblon amérisant. Saveurs de vieux houblon et de malt.

(22oz bottle) Purchased at Winooski Bev in Vermont. Pours a medium, forthy, almond coloured head with an amber, sediment filled body. Nose is mildly tinny with floral and hop tones. Oily texture. Flavour is thick with a toffee malt taste and undertones of caramel. Rather bland and malty English Ale flavour not resembling an IPA.

Bottle, many thanks to Muzzehatch for sending this extra! Nice sweet aroma, heavy on the brown sugar and caramel notes, with hints of fruity hops. Pours amber with a disappointing thin white head. Low carbonation, similar to cask ales. Very British flavor of sweet caramel and malt, toffee offset but some medium spicy hop bitterness. Finish is semi-dry with a hint of soapiness. This one was not too bad, and coming from McNeills, I would suspect it’s better on tap. If you like British IPAs with a little more amercian hop kick, this one is worth a try.

Bottle. Small ivory fizzy head, poor lacing, floaties, cloudy. Malty, caramel and hoppy nose. Flavor was bitter and mildly hoppy. Sticky and thin palate. Light body.