Tampa Bay Mad Hopper A.P.A.

Brewed by Tampa Bay Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Tampa, Florida USA

Draft... This beer rocks!... Lots of grapefruit and a touch of apricot in the nose. Malty flavor, but also citrusy and bitter. The stuff I sampled was a special batch of Impy IPA, weighing in at 8% ABV. An accident, but a wonderful one. World class stuff!

Draft at TBBC. Poured clear copper color with a moderate creamy white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Heavy sour citrus hop aroma. Medium body with slick texture. Heavy bittersweet flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of moderate duration. Good drinkable brew.

Draft at TBBC. Pours clear deep gold to copper with full light tan head. The light aroma is hoppy with mild floral, spice and pine hops. Behind that is an under lying malt sweetness and mild caramelization. The taste begins mild with some sweetness from the malts and the beginning of the hop bill. Quickly the mild floral hops combined with mild spice hops take hold and are joined by some pine hop bitterness. I’m having a tough time picking apart the hop profile. It isn’t that searing pine hop bitterness or other bold hoppiness. It is however subtle levels of several mild hop notes that morph into a soft hop presence. This beer has a nice malty component that seems to join in force about midway with mild roasted malts and sweet caramelization. As the finish approaches the pine hop bitterness grows with some faint floral hops right into the after taste. Enjoyable IPA that is serve bitterly cold. I want to taste my beer man! Too cold, too cold.

Draft at the brewpub as Mad Hopper Claus. Pours a clear, dark reddish-amber color with a foamy, cream colored head. Wet, droopy lines of lacing mark the glass. Aromas of toasted caramel malt are met with faint hints of dark fruit, while floral, peppery hops lend balance. Flavors continue the theme, sweet toasted caramel laying the baseline for substantially peppery, fresh, floral hop bitterness. Medium bodied and semi-dry, the finish is relatively short and well balanced. Nice brew.

Hop is big in the aroma followed by some citrusy sweetness. More hops in the initial sip. More of a malt profile than the Two red Eyes Ale I had before it. Bitter grapefruit and malt sweetness with a buncha hops int he finish. Not a bad sipping beer.

Draft - this version was an 8% I-IPA. Dark copper, thin white head (I think - it was kinda dark in there) Loads of bitter white grapefruit, some caramel, and a hint of fuzzy fruit. Bitter up front with a decent sweet malt backing throughout. Medium to full bodied, light carbonation, drying bitter finish. Thanks for the special hook ups Dave. Great brew.....

Tap at TBBC. Pours amber with frothy beige head. Aroma of floral hops. Taste is thick, light caramel and malts. Smooth mouthfeel of floral hops with notes of citrus. Good and easy to drink. A less bitter version of their other IPA.

On tap @ TBBC. Clear light copper-orange color with a nice dense white head that stays for the duration. Aroma of grassy/pineapple hoppiness. Taste is pretty moderate hop-wise, but what’s there is nice and clean. Nice pineapple taste with some mild peppery qualities on the finish.