Smuttynose Big A IPA

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

poured into a pint. pours a semiclear yellow amber with full high frothy head. real fresh hoppy citrus aroma. light on the front with a citrussy finish and the hop bitterness.

Pint bottle. (Looks bigger.) The colour is copper orange, and it’s not quite clear. Large head to begin with, but it recedes significantly. Great lacing. The aroma is huge, dominated by pine and citrus hops, along with some soap and cold coffee. The taste is large, similar to (but simpler than) Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute. The hops dominate again, but the malt is present as well, in a caramel coffee kinda way. Nice lingering bitter finish. The alcohol is there, but not as obvious as you may expect. Smooth, full mouthfeel. Nice beer.

(Bottle dated 2006) Strong citrus hop aroma starts this beer off. After the hops calm down a bit, there’s hints of caramel, and a touch of tea. It pours a light amber color with a thin white head. In tasting, not anywhere near as bitter as I was expecting. A touch of caramel comes through, fights against the pine and citrus, and gets gently ushered outside. Nice heavy mouthfeel, with a long bitter finish. I’d love to try a fresh bottle of this.

Bomber from 2006, with thanks to Dorwart, pours a slightly cloudy orangy golden with a decent off-white head, minimal lacing. Aroma of grapefruit, citrus, apricot, floral, and some slight alcohol and malts. A bit reminiscent of Founder’s Devil Dancer in the aroma. Taste is a nice hops bite, a bit syrupy and lingering. Alcohol comes out just a bit, but not overly distracting. A nice IIPA, but nothing dazzling.

Pours a medium orange-gold with a medium-dense thick head. Dark spicy earthy hops in the aroma with light citrus fruit and pinewood. Substantial malt flavors with thick, dense, bitter hop profile and some malt and alcohol sweetness. Slightly heavy in the mouth with long, somewhat not unpleasantly coarse finish.

22oz bottle: 2005 Bottling. Pours a golden straw with some haziness from the bottle conditioning. There is ivory head that settles into a creamy crown with great lacing. The aroma is sweet butterscotch with a subdued hop presence probably due to the age. The taste is clearly hop driven but the distinction the hops offered are now muddled somewhat. Some sweetness from the is also notable. The palate is medium-heavy but suited to the style. This beer has aged well despite the drop in hop character. A few weeks back I had a Big A at the Blind Tiger in NYC and the hop aroma and taste were incredible. A fresh version would probably rate closer to a 4.

Courtesy SoLan. Pours a cloudy orange, with a small white head. Big grapefruit hop aroma right off the bat. A little bit of citrus fruit as well, but mostly grapefruit. The taste is of big hops with a big bitter backbone to it. Grapefruit hops are the dominant flavor here, really masks everything else. Solid IPA, but really is up in your face from the get go.

Growler fill form Bierkraft. Smells of citrus hops. Pours a deep amber with a nice firm head. The mouthfeel was heavy hops and citrus fruit along with the nice balanced finish of some bitterness.