India Pale Ale
Big Rock Brewery

India Pale AleIndia Pale Ale
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From:
Big Rock Brewery
 
Alberta, Canada
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #3,516
ABV:
5%
Score:
70
Ranked #28,001
Avg:
2.94 | pDev: 17.01%
Reviews:
42
Ratings:
84
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 26, 2022
Added:
Jul 27, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  15
If hoppy makes you happy, this Pacific Northwest-style IPA is your beer. We brew it with two kinds of delicious Yakima Valley Cascade hops, in such a way as to deliver the maximum heavenly hoppiness to your tastebuds, with the minimum bitterness.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by canucklehead:
Photo of canucklehead
Reviewed by canucklehead from Canada (BC)

3.5/5  rDev +19%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
It is nice to see the Magpie and the IPA back in stores again but I agree with other reviewers that the craft market has evolved and Big Rock needs to step their game up if they want some respect in that consumer group. This is a weird beer because as an IPA it fails completely but as an amber ale it actually is not bad. The problem is lack of hops even for an English style IPA this is malt forward. It is very drinkable , nicely balanced and quite a full mouthfeel for a Big Rock beer but it tastes like an amber ale. No IPA but a decent beer from a brewery in need of a winner.
Jul 31, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.5 by ravger from Illinois

Jun 26, 2022
 
Rated: 2.68 by derdtheterd from Canada (AB)

Jan 24, 2017
 
Rated: 3.29 by yancot from Canada (ON)

Apr 04, 2016
Photo of Mlkluther
Reviewed by Mlkluther from Canada (AB)

2.88/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
a barely adequate IPA. In fact, no...it's not adequate. It's barely better than a macro. It's not worth the calories. There ar a million better IPAs out there.
Mar 31, 2016
Photo of MilkLeg
Reviewed by MilkLeg from Canada (AB)

3.33/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
For a while it was the only IPA I drank on the reg. Now I drink it and I'm like, "this is an IPA?", but it worked well as a transition to what would become my favorite style of brew.
Feb 19, 2016
Photo of Tommo
Reviewed by Tommo from Massachusetts

2.97/5  rDev +1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Hilariously mediocre, highly forgettable. A malt based beverage that was probably in the same room as some hops. This was on tap so there is no excuse for this IPA to not have more hop flavor. To call this west coast is an abomination
Feb 18, 2016
 
Rated: 3.01 by brp94 from Spain

Nov 06, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by Danielr26 from Michigan

May 24, 2015
Photo of mintjellie
Reviewed by mintjellie from Canada (ON)

2.18/5  rDev -25.9%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25
Pale copper. Beige head doesn't retain or lace well. Malty biscuit aroma with supporting grapefruit and floral notes. Doesn't seem hoppy enough for an American IPA, as the blurb on the can claims it. The flavour confirms it too. Malt forward and a little sweet. Gentle white grapefruit juice and citrus pith, and an overly shy bitterness for the style.

Medium-light body. Low carbonation. Feels a little too light. Not Bud Light watery, but just a little bit too insubstantial. Not a terrible beer. Just a mediocre one.
May 16, 2015
Photo of Sathanas
Rated by Sathanas from Canada (AB)

3.73/5  rDev +26.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
Usually not a fan of Big Rocks stuff, as they all have that certain taste. This though is nice. A good, session-able, dirty English IPA.
Feb 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by chainsofsilver from California

Feb 08, 2015
Photo of Bunman3
Reviewed by Bunman3 from Canada (AB)

2.94/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
The first impression from this beer is, well, there might be some potential here. Big Rock's IPA pours with a small amount of head, but a nice colour. The nose is where things start to go south - metallic is all I can get, despite multiple attempts to sniff out something else. The taste is a leafy, Wonder Bread toast, with much more malt than hops. It is very difficult to detect the hops until well into the after taste. Overall, this is a thin and less than satisfying IPA - I would choose it over a macro lager, but that's about it.
Jan 14, 2015
 
Rated: 2.7 by peensteen from Canada (ON)

Jan 13, 2015
Photo of biegaman
Reviewed by biegaman from Canada (ON)

3.28/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
This one looks like an old fashioned IPA - deep tone and caramel colour, blurred clarity and thin head, Big Rock IPA may hail from the 'New World' but it has the features of a quintessentially British India Pale. If appearances suggest anything, this one will be more malty than hoppy.

Big Rock claims this is a "Pacific Northwest-style IPA" that is dry-hopped with Cascades, but I don't get that at all. This aroma doesn't smell any more like flowers or grass or citrus than it does cardboard or biscuits or stale bread. The only hoppiness noted is of the earthy, slightly stinky, fall day-in-the-woods kind. It's very English - not even remotely American.

The hops failed to impress me and, unfortunately, the malts aren't any more likely to win me over. They have a very stale flavour (like cereal grain that was lost in the back of the cupboard) and impart notes of cheap caramel (the kind made with corn syrup) as well as honey and syrup, both the kinds that come in plastic bottles (which, I'll point out, are also diluted with corn syrup).

This IPA really doesn't give hops the attention they deserve. The mouthfeel finishes more sweet than bitter and nowhere along the way has any particularly citric, resiny, or herbal elements of note. It could hardly qualify for the "pale ale" realm - even novice hop-heads will want more.

Hoppy does make me happy but this, despite its slogan, is a sad attempt at an IPA. There's nothing honest about this beer - it's not hoppy, and it doesn't register as much of an IPA nor a true craft beer. I didn't expect much of Big Rock but this paid more mind to commercial appeal than even I anticipated. Too bad, because that's really not what this style is about.
Nov 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by speedonthis from Canada (AB)

Nov 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.2 by mjacquard from Canada (ON)

Oct 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by BigGruntyThirst from Canada (ON)

Sep 21, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Ericbeech_87 from Canada (BC)

Aug 31, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Corson from Canada (AB)

Aug 26, 2014
India Pale Ale from Big Rock Brewery
Beer rating: 70 out of 100 with 84 ratings