Sprecher India Pale Ale

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Slightly hazy amber color with very low carbonation. Bubbly off-white head. Nose of floral/fruity hops; pine/grapefruit. Soft, dry mouthfeel. Mild flavor of caramel malt with citrus bitterness. Uneven and unremarkable; not one of Sprecher's best.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

A vigorous pour produces an almost two-finger thick, tan colored head. The beer is a clear amber color that shows a slight haze and a mix of orange, red and copper hues when held up to the light. The aroma is hop focused (though quite low for a double IPA), with notes of orange zest, grapefruit, lychee and tangelo. There is quite a bit of malt noticeable as well, in fact it seems quite heavy handed with the crystal malt. It seems to almost have a stale, caramelized malt character to it, though it might just be the particular mix of malt used here. As the beer sits in my glass for a bit, the hop character seems to get a bit wan and flabby. This really is missing a ton of hop character for a double IPA.

The beer has a surprising perceived sweetness to it; In a double IPA I would have expected much of this sweetness to have been drowned out by a hop onslaught (hell even for an IPA). Along with the sweetness is a fairly full body. The malt character is quite evident, and is in fact distracting in this beer. The finish has some astringent hop bitterness to it, but also has a ton of toasty, caramelized grain notes to it that really linger on in the mouth. The malt, in combination with some light hop influence makes this have a bit of flavor akin to brown sugar soaked berries. This is hoppy as well, I just wish there was more; flavors of grapefruit, pine and menthol (in the finish) are all noticed. This is certainly not a bad beer, the flavors are all quite nice and this is even nicely drinkable. This is much more of an IPA, or perhaps a supped up Pale Ale.

Except for the lack of hop character this has all the makings of a great IPA; ample malt base & body to carry a ton of hop character. It would be nice if they double or tripled the hop bill on this one.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

I had this one yesterday on draught. While the aroma was halfway decent- soft floral and pine notes- the most appealing thing about this brew was the colour. Clear copper with a small white head. A little unbalanced with overly hoppy character and a firm bitter finish.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 7

Pours with a nce lighter copper coloring. Has a medium head and lots of carbonation in the body. Smells of orange peels, fresh bread and a little bit of honey. Nice rich mouthfeel with a greasy finish. It has a little too much carbonation for me. The taste is understated wth some grapefruit and a little bit of raisin. It also has a lively black pepper finish. this would be a great session IPA.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

Clear, funky reddish color without many bubbles but yet a smallish head. Any-who, Decent English hop aroma with some caramel malts. Taste is dry with sweet malts and a light hop bite. For an Ebglish Style IPA it’s not bad, but I’m not into it. Too sweet. Thanks Adam.