Smuttynose IPA

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Cask at Great British Beer Festival ’07. Gold with a small off white head. Glorious sweet floral aroma with grapefruit and other citrus plus ripe melon. Sweet ashy taste with grapefruit. Mid bitter. Excellent.

Originally reviewed back on 10/2/04. Received 4.75 score. Added to my RB list to check "New Hampshire" as a beer state consumed. A great IPA (back in its time). Zesty and glorious with hops abounding. Malt backbone is firm with solid breadiness. Hops zig and zag over the palate with reckless abandon. Nowadays it seems this beer has taken quite a "dumbing down". Sad.

Bottle.

This one was a serious disappointment. I’d had high hopes after what I’d heard about this one, and I was eager to try it. So I had a half-dozen bottles over the course of a week’s visit to New Hampshire, and they ranged from darn-near-undrinkable (at the upper end of cellar temp) to tolerable (when very cold). Basically, you get a strong and aggressive astringent hoppiness, with a nasty sour-meets-metal off flavor tang in the finish that ruins the whole thing. It’s bitter, and it’s an IPA, but it’s really a disappointment. Even Harpoon trumps this one with ease.

Without a doubt, this beer is unfiltered. I think maybe it should be. Aroma is feet and rose petals. Amber color with floating white flakes, much like a snow globe. Taste is a rather strong mixture of grapefruit and yeast. I’m shocked that this beer is rated as highly as it is.

12 oz bottle via bmartin08 (thanks!). it is July 07 and bottle has a ’best by’ date of April 07....Pours a semi-hazy amber with a small white head. Aroma is of musty hops with a little citrus. The taste is a bit of stale hops, cardboard, hay, and an astringant metallic finish. Body is medium. I did not enjoy this very much which is a shame since i normally love Simcoe/Amarillo hops together.......maybe i will try a fresher bottle sometime as I really think the age may be the problem with this one..

Picked up a single 12-oz bottle at Main Street Market in Egg Harbor, WI. Pours a clear golden amber brew witha thick, bubbly whit head that slowly dissolves to a creamy head with excellent lacing. Aroma of citrus zest roasted caramel malt with a perfumey soap scent. Taste is lightly carbonated medium bodied with a dry and bitter grapefruit flavor that really sticks. Finish is dry hoppy, citrus zest with a lingering above average bitterness after the finish. A good West Coast IPA for a New England brew.

Sampled at City Beer Store in S.F. I’m not the biggest IPA fan, but this was nice, and not smack you in the face bitter, like I’d think it’d be after reading the description. Had a really great floral fruity hop smell. Nice bitterness that rides the line between too bitter, creamy, and slight sweetness. Light to medium strength medium lasting bitter hoppy finish.

Bottle pours a hazy light yellow witha creamy white head. Big time citrusy hop aroma. Moderate light malts over shadowed by huge bittering hops. A bit light on the flavor but lots of IBUs. Soapy and papery at the end. Soft carbonation and long lingering bitter aftertaste.