Smuttynose Big A IPA

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

Golden yellow with a small fluffy white head (3+). Good lacing. Big pine and resin aroma. Interestingly hoppy, wiht lots of leafy resiny hops and trace hints of tea. A touch more malt and balance would ease it closer to perfection. Medium palate. Nice, thanks tupalev.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, blankboy, tupalev & jerc. Courtesy of tupalev. Clear golden-orange with a wispy head. Big aroma of piney hops and tea. More tea in the flavour, along with resiny hops and fruit (peach, apricot, pineapple). Finish is bitter, with a lingering lemon character. Nice example of the style.

Courtesy of Pailhead. Pours orange with film for head. Huge sticky pine hop aroma, with lots of sweet malt/residuel sugar. Initial flavor very sweet caramel, turns to big hop bite through the middle and lasts long into the aftertaste.

The aroma is strongly piney, with a fading head. The flavor is bitter upfront- wholly hoppy with a nice balance- not too sweet, but somewhat and thick on the tounge.

very strong, thick IPA with a very bitter aftertaste,creamy head, and almost an ESB, but not quite

It pours a clear honey orange color. Pleasant hop and citrus tones, but not overpowering. Strongly bitter with a near grapefruit aftertaste. For IPA fans only.

Pumpkin orange. Wisp of head, but attractively rocky and sticky. Balanced nose of pine straw, peach skin, and sugared orange rind. Fairly herbal and sherbety. Soft, condensed carbonation. Full bodied. Slick but oh so tightly piney with a beautifully understated notion of bitter grapefruit rind. Gentle jellied malt character, but quite subdued at a colder temp. Rather than lending balance, a cool breath of alcohol somehow intensifies the tongue-clinging sappiness, which blankets the brighter hop elements. Delicious secondary notes of toast and straw develop as it warms. Sweetness soon takes foothold, as dried pineapples stymie the polished peach notes. Finishes orange rind bitter alongside a dryly herbaceous peach skin backing. Refined, but surprisingly modest, nose for the style, but the mouthfeel is luxuriantly soft with remarkable density, to boot. And while the malt shines at a warmer temp., this really should be savored at a near-cold temp. in order capture the resounding brightness of the hops. A few minor adjustments and this’ll really be something.

Poured a mostly clear orange color with a medium white head. Aroma of citrus and grassy hops with sweet malt. Flavor of caramel and biscut/bread with citrus hop flavor running through from middle to the bitter finish. Alcohol warms but flavor is hidden.