Mishawaka Indiana Pale Ale

Brewed by Mishawaka Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Mishawaka, Indiana USA

Found this one bottled at a liquor store in St. John, Indiana, as part of a mix 12 pack of various beers from Indiana brewers. Hazy, medium reddish-brown pour, a thick, tan head, a nice balanced aroma with sweet malts and rosy hoppiness, balanced flavor, bitter but not offputting finish. Excellent.

Copper-amber pour from a 12 oz bottle. Three fingers of solid, long lasting head. Lacing – it almost coats the glass as the beer goes down. Aroma of sweet malt – caramel and butterscotch – with a notable hoppiness. Solid IPA flavor – slightly sweetish start with a pleasant bitter hoppy finish. Not an extreme IPA but a damn good one.

Bottle courtesy of stfun. Pours copper with a white head. Smells earthy and resiny with some touches of caramel and dough. Tastes spicy with some mild bitter touches. Hints of citrus and some dry malt is also there. Finishes bitter.

@Indiana Beerfest-on tap-pours a white head and yellow color. Aroma is northwest, some citrus hops. Taste is northwest, some citrus hops, secondary light malt. Mild carbonation.

Color approaches amber under a whitish, filmy head. Strong peppery aroma with grapefruit and mild resins to follow. Warming increases acridity. Peppered flavor provides a substantial hop burn, but minor mineral notes detract (I’m guessing due to hard water?) Bitter flavor lingers with a calming malted nuttiness. Not bad! (But I preferred this on tap since I found the bottled version exhibited vinegar notes.)

<font size=-4>Draught pint, October 2008, <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/indiana/mishawa Brewing Company, Mishawaka, IN 46545</font>

Cloudy amber appearance. The aroma is orangey, woody and grapefruity with hints of pale malt. The flavour has light pale malts and fairly restrained fruity (orange) hops. Light bitterness. Solid technically, but nothing stands out.

I’m wondering if I got from a different batch than others here, because mine was actually good. Poured dark bronze with a large tan head. Aroma has a very big hop presence with lots of citrus (orange, grapefruit), some woodiness and light musty malt backing up the hops. Medium body that feels soft and has soft carbonation. Starts briefly with some caramel malt, but that is quickly overtakne by sharp spicy hops with some underlying citrus hops and some citrus-like sweetness. The hops get woodier and more pronounced the further you get down the glass. The shop I got it at said they had just gotten this in, so maybe it has to be VERY fresh to be good.

On tap at the pub. Deep copper color in the imperial pint glass with a foamy off white head and a pine needle nose. Very easy drinking beer with flavors of pine and some orange peel, with a lingering grapefruit rind in the finish. Light mouthfeel for an IPA. It went well with my shepard’s pie. Nothing outstanding, but solid beer.