December 17

 December 17 - Heavy Seas Loose Cannon

 

Skipping the Christmas theme for the evening to get my IPA fix for the next couple of days...sorry if you're disappointed.  I also decided to use my fancy Dogfish Head/Sierra Nevada collaboration IPA glass for the occasion (a nice gift for any hophead out there, by the way!).

 

Tonight we'll take a look at an American IPA from Heavy Seas (Clipper Brewing Company), out of Baltimore, MD.  With IPAs, for me, they're either really aromatically hoppy, really bitter hoppy, or a tender balance of the two.  Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very balanced IPA on our hands here.

 

It's definitely an IPA, but the aroma threw me for a loop, so I had to cheat a little tonight to figure out what the heck I was smelling.  It was a little different than I was used to for an IPA.  I decided to fire up my Rate Beer app, and see what others were saying about this.  As I read some of the reviews, some of them are way off and I completely disagree, but one review unlocked the aroma, at least for my nose.  The aroma was definitely hop-filled (not overpowering), but there was a sweet, apple-like aroma here too.

 

The body of the beer was very smooth with some caramel maltiness throughout.  The hop flavor lingered on the palate for a while, but it wasn't a hop bitterness.  There is almost a fruity finish with this beer too.  A smooth drinking IPA through and through.  At 7.25% ABV, I'm really liking this beer.  It's not your normal run of the mill IPA for sure.  I'd venture to say that if you're not an IPA fan, this may be something to try because you're possibly going to be surprised.  Maybe, just maybe, you'll venture into the world of flowery goodness...probably not, but it's worth a shot anyway!

 

 

There's your Christmas theme for this evening!