Widmer Brothers Broken Halo IPA

Brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Portland, Oregon USA

Cloudy amber colour. Lime, cherry, woody hop aroma. Moderate bitterness, fruity notes, some light tangerine. OK, middle of the road example, built for easy refreshment.

This brew has a very small head in the glass, almost flat, with a nice golden color. The smell is hoppy, bitter, like that of the inside part of a grapefruit peel. First taste is just like the aroma, and seems to have more body than it actually has. It tastes like an IPA but the taste is a thin and disappears quickly with a strange saltiness. There is also lingering, slightly sticky sweetness, with some warmth and bitterness. Overall, not bad at all, and fairly complex in taste. Not great, not my favorite IPA, but certainly a good introduction, as someone said earlier.

Soapy white head and clear amber-gold body. Aroma of citrus, tea like malt and light sulfurous notes. Medium sweet, lightly toasted caramel flavors with tame bitterness and mild cleansing acidity. Passable beer, but very subdued for an IPA. More like a standard pale ale.

Light head and lacing. Crisp gold colour. Sweet hop aroma. Beer is full bodied but a little too sweet. Some hops in the finish.

Small offwhite head, fair retention with a little spotty lace. Thinly hazy golden color, kinda ugly really. Nose of citrus, orange, a little honey and maybe a touch piney. Body is lightly medium with a light hop resin. Lightly coating on the palate. Citrus flavors up front, light grassiness, caramel malt shining through. Tangy metallic flavors arrive as it warms up. Notes of orange peel and just lightly fruity. Finish is fairly dry and uneventful. Thanks to that Texan fly for this one!

Bottle: Orange huded golden, translucent, light carbonation, moderate rocky white head, spotty lacing.   Soft hop aroma, much like steeped hops.   Somewhat grainy malt tinges as well.   Mild grainy cardboard immediately up front.   Light sweetness, subtle hop bitterness follows.   Moderate body and mouthfeel.   Cereal like finish, malty, but in the grainy sense.   Subtle notes of pine and hops.   Tiz okay, but another fairly average release in my opinion.   I’d take the NW Red over this any day.

Tap at Horsebrass. Medium golden colored and clear. Nice compact white head with good lacing. Aroma is a bit weak. Touches of floral hop fleet about, nothing definite. Light to medium bodied, feels a bit weak/watery. Balanced but hop bitterness and flavor is weak for a PNW IPA. Some stale (for lack of a better descriptor) notes in aroma when swirled. Fair, a bit disappointing. Bottled version is much the same and a touch undercarbonated.

This golden ale poured with a decent white head and a floral aroma. There is an adequate caramel malt base that is a bit sweet and some serious hop bitterness. This beer is drinkable, but the malt is too thin and the hops are out of balance.