Independence Pass Ale I.P.A.
Aspen Brewing Co.

Independence Pass Ale I.P.A.Independence Pass Ale I.P.A.
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From:
Aspen Brewing Co.
 
Colorado, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #2,342
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
86
Ranked #18,157
Avg:
3.84 | pDev: 9.64%
Reviews:
36
Ratings:
152
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 06, 2023
Added:
Aug 24, 2008
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  31
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Yetiman420:
Photo of Yetiman420
Reviewed by Yetiman420 from Ohio

4.03/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On draft at La Cantina - a tasty coastal Mexican joint a couple of blocks from the brewery in Aspen.

Served in a Hoegaarden style tumbler glass. It was St. Patricks day and I had to insist they skip the green food coloring for my beer. I know, Debbie downer.

Hazy peach color with an extremely thin head with a crater-like surface of different bubbles.

Very strong, piny and citrus aroma. A distinct variety of hops is used in liberal quantities late boil in this beer. Perhaps Simcoe or Amarillo.

Thick hoppy flavor. This IPA has the hops covered on flavor and aroma. It's unbalanced to the hop side (less malt profile) which is fine by me for an American IPA.

Very well done and I look forward to drinking more of these while in town on vacation.
Mar 18, 2009
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.35 by VashonGuy from Washington

Oct 06, 2023
 
Rated: 3.76 by Pfishin28 from South Dakota

Oct 06, 2023
 
Rated: 3.56 by funku2 from Colorado

Jul 03, 2021
 
Rated: 3.88 by HighwayChile from Kansas

Jun 22, 2021
 
Rated: 3.17 by deereless from Colorado

Jun 03, 2021
 
Rated: 3.68 by Brushkanna from New Jersey

Apr 22, 2020
 
Rated: 3.71 by btbcolo from Colorado

Aug 26, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by robebo44 from Virginia

Aug 13, 2019
Photo of jacobdunne
Rated by jacobdunne from Colorado

4.37/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Surprisingly malty and very refreshing!
Jun 07, 2019
Photo of wmscottsimpsonjr
Reviewed by wmscottsimpsonjr from Missouri

4.02/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Almost clear orange-gold to amber with cloudy two finger head. Soft aromas of tropical fruit and pine with some floral character and caramel. Just a bit of citrus. The flavor is similar, the hops melding really nicely with the crystal and light malt. I also get a little banana, which surprisingly doesn't ruin it. Hint of booze. Bitterness is low for the style. Smooth.
Jun 03, 2019
Photo of jadpsu
Reviewed by jadpsu from Georgia

4.04/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Part of the bounty of beer that I bought back from Colorado. ;
LOOK: Pours amber in color with a slight haze and a fluffy full three finger beige head that slowly recede
AROMA: Floral hops, pine nuts, light citrus and caramel.
TASTE: Strong caramel flavor,, but just short of over the top. Bread malts are there for a good balance. Pretty tasty!
Semi dry, smooth and creamy.
Jun 03, 2019
Photo of Parmesan
Reviewed by Parmesan from Colorado

3.06/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
L:. Pours a brilliant copper orange with a medium white head and several rings of lacing.

S:. Caramel and pine, earthiness and some tropical fruit, nothing stands out in the aroma.

T:. Caramel, some fresh tropical fruit, a medium-ish bitterness. Nothing really stands out.

F:. Carbonation seems a little high on this one, it hits the back of the throat in an odd way.

O:. This is a very meh beer, nothing stands out about it.
Jan 22, 2019
 
Rated: 3.45 by white_pony21 from Colorado

Oct 17, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by COBEERHUNTER from Colorado

Jul 15, 2018
 
Rated: 3.6 by WTKappler from Colorado

Jul 10, 2018
Photo of schoolboy
Reviewed by schoolboy from Ohio

4/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
January 18, 2018
This IPA starts big but can't keep up the huge pace. It's pretty and yellow, loads of fizz. My sample needs to warm a tad.

It tastes fresh and not too bitter. It finishes with a clean wimper.

Recommended.

January 25, 2023
I find myself in Colorado again, and drinking this. I like it. It's a clean American IPA.
Jan 18, 2018
 
Rated: 3.99 by Rilesmiles from Wisconsin

Sep 29, 2017
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.81/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Aspen Brewing Co. "Independence Pass Ale"
12 fl. oz. can without production coding or freshness dating
$2 @ Weis, Conshohocken, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: Nice looking label. Shame they don't date their cans. Wow, 7% ABV! Ahh, I see, underneath the name it states that it's a "... classic IPA". So, it's poured a nice, finger-plus thick head of bubbly off-white over a hazy and "chunky" amber body with lots of sediment in it. As the head has dropped, which it's done while I've been writing this, it's left some limited but thick and sticky lacing behind. On to the aroma - caramelish and bready malt with some earthy and softly citrusy and piney hops. Not too much to get excited about there. The flavor is fuller all around. It's more fruity, with some more citrusy hops, and lots of apple. The caramelish malt comes on strong, a bit too strong in my opinion, and once the fruitiness has faded it sticks around, lingering in the finish. A stiff bitterness balances it, and there's some bitterness in the finish, but it remains semi-dry with the sugary malt slowly eroding. In the meantime the hops remain mostly the same but a little bit wider: leafy, earthy, citrusy but not really distinct (mainly orange-like), somewhat herbal, and slightly piney. I feel like there's some more citrus in there as well but it's just not coming out clearly. I can't tell if this is just old or not, which would amplify the caramel, but I'm not finding cardboardy notes so I think it's just a very malt forward and caramelish beer. Would I call it an IPA? No, not really with all of that malt, perhaps "strong pale" or just "strong ale" would be better, but whatever, at least they didn't put IPA right out there. Medium-bodied with a clear dextrinous edge, and a moderate, mildly bristling carbonation.
Aug 28, 2017
Photo of mvanaskie13
Reviewed by mvanaskie13 from Pennsylvania

3.36/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured into a narrow pint glass: color is copper, hazy presence, head is brighter white with fine to small bubbles, head then laces the glass sides.

Smell is different, i can't pin point it but amongst the hops with slight citrus bent with earthy backing there is an odd off note.

Taste has a similar off note, again hard to figure out but could be a carry over an unfiltered ale being shipped from CO to PA. Flavors are hoppy with muted citrus and pine, more malt backing in the taste with a bit of cara like flavor.

Mouthfeel is crisp, carbonated, a bit sharper on the tongue.

Overall: a beer that has varied greatly from can to can in taste with the main factors seeming to fall in the potential yeast byproducts.
May 22, 2017
Independence Pass Ale I.P.A. from Aspen Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 152 ratings