Oaken Barrel Superfly I.P.A.

Brewed by Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Greenwood, Indiana USA

Tap: More complex than the straight-ahead cascade IPA. A variety of hops come through both in aroma and flavor. Nose is floral and citrusy. Flavor has an undercurrent of caramel overriden by the flavors of grapefruit, orange and other fruits. Nice bitterness throughout.

After a while, IPAs can seem to all be the same. I’m glad I came across Superfly, because it changed that perception for me. The brewer uses multiple hop strains with each addition and it shows. The brew has a bursting bouquet in the aroma, as well as a good amount of citrus. The body is dry hopped goodness, that isn’t overly bittering. The slightly sweet malt backbone gives this IPA depth and takes it to that next level. A great example of the style.

Crystal clear amber body with off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, fairly strong grapefruit. Taste is medium sweet, grapefruit (with nice bite), light caramel. Medium body, some resin.

Festival tap: Bright copper with huge piney, and citrusy nose. Pine dominates. Rich malts are in balance and become sweet and caramelly. Bitter hops at the finish is strong and piney. Well balanced and full of lasting flavor.

Dry and hoppy flavor followed by metallic aftertaste. Probably better with food although not altogether unpleasant.

Draft at Oaken Barrel. Large sized off-white head and fine-small sized bubbles that mostly dissipated. Uncarbonated, transparent and and orange-brown hue. Malty and hoppy aroma. Hoppy taste that stayed around for a while. Tingly mouthfeel. Light-medium bodied IPA with sparse lacing.

This draft brew from the brewery poured a large sized head of finely sized mostly lasting off-white colored bubbles that left behind a fair lacing. The body was uncarbonated transparent and brown colored. The aroma was a medium strength hoppy one. The mouth feel was tingly with a mild hoppy aftertaste. The flavor contained notes of malts and piney hops..

Grabbed a growler of this last night while visiting my baby’s parents in Indy. Cracked it open with her stepdad while enjoying the Reds/Indians game today. This brew pours a sparkling medium copper with amber highlights. The tall off-white tight creamy head has good lacing and is average in duration. The blunt no-nonsense nose is spruce, pineapple, resin, dried fruit, citrus, and flowers. The brew starts burnt and spicy with loads of hops. The moderate citrus acidity blends with the alcohol sweetness in the middle to provide good balance. The long floral/resinous finish has very good bitterness. The medium to heavy lively body is smooth & creamy. The finish feels astringent. This is a big brew with excellent balance and stellar complexity. Very refreshing and highly recommended. I look forward to trying more from Oaken Barrel Brewing.