Connector IPA
Switchback Brewing Company

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From:
Switchback Brewing Company
 
Vermont, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
6.4%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.05 | pDev: 8.89%
Reviews:
12
Ratings:
73
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 09, 2020
Added:
Apr 06, 2015
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  34
Connector IPA is Switchback’s first and long awaited IPA! Light in color and body, the beer is designed to showcase the hops delicious medley of citrus, tropical fruit, and pine characteristics. Following a huge late addition of Citra hops at the end of the brewing process, we dry hopped this beer with a massive amount of Mosaic and Centennial hops. The result is a lively, refreshingly hoppy IPA that finishes dry with a quick hit of bitterness that fades quickly and invites you back for another sip.

Our Connector IPA is named after “The Southern Connector” road that has been debated for over 52 years and would connect the south end of Burlington to Route 7. The world’s tallest filing cabinet created by local artist, Bren Alvarez is located a few hundred yards away from the brewery on Flynn Ave and was constructed to represent the bureaucracy of the project.

Named one of the best IPAs In America As Published by Draft Magazine, June 2017!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.25 by Velivolus1 from Vermont

Aug 09, 2020
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Rated by PugZeppelin from New York

4.89/5  rDev +20.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Top 5 IPA's I've ever had!!!
Dec 11, 2019
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Reviewed by gmcmillan67 from Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 22 oz bottle. Color is a deep golden but clean. Floral nose to begin with but a grapefruit smell prevails. Great showcase of the centennial hops here with a pleasant pine tastes. A bit dry and bitter finish but it adds a nice balance to the overall feel. 4’s across the board.
Sep 11, 2019
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Rated by BEERMILER12 from Maine

4/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at the brewery
Sep 03, 2019
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Rated by Newbeergeek1 from Maine

3.93/5  rDev -3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Very nice IPA and I would most certainly buy it and have it for friends.
Aug 06, 2019
 
Rated: 4.02 by M4CDO from Massachusetts

May 27, 2019
 
Rated: 3.94 by bluehende from Delaware

May 16, 2019
 
Rated: 4.04 by KMcGrath from Massachusetts

Nov 28, 2018
 
Rated: 3.25 by Mleblanc25 from Massachusetts

Oct 21, 2018
 
Rated: 4.07 by newcastlemike from Connecticut

Jun 23, 2018
 
Rated: 4.18 by lovindahops from New York

Jun 11, 2018
 
Rated: 3.98 by DCHritz from Pennsylvania

Apr 07, 2018
 
Rated: 3.65 by BubbleBobble from New York

Feb 18, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by Hendry from Vermont

Feb 06, 2018
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Reviewed by GratefulBeerGuy from New Hampshire

4.15/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
12 oz. "Stubby" bottle. Bottled on 11/17/17 opened on 1/20/18

I love to see " Naturally conditioned & unfiltered" on the lable.
A fully hazed out look if you pour in the unfiltered style yeastie bits....which I do. Golden color with white highlights. An all white foam cap, bubbly and rocky recedes slow with plenty of swirling foam left-overs.

The nosr has a very bold and pleasant, hop dominated style aroma. Plenty of earthy and hearty notes, corn husk and dry leaves, along with a dense, tropical fruit style sweetness, pine sap, evergreen and spruce tips and citrus .....in that order.

A fresh, clean but hearty mouthfeel, dry, earthy hop flavor's with wild field grains hit the palate first. The Unfiltered, left over yeast presence goes a long way, which I tend to really enjoy. Peppery citrus, tangy fruits and pine flavor's from a rich combo of hops. Citra late in the boil brings anout the pine, tropical edge, dry hopping with mosiac and Centennial brings more earthy, piney bitterness to the fold, and a seriously complex hoppy ride. A clean, light malt and heady yeastie effect brings this IPA into some intetesting and unique spaces flavorwise. The complexity is actually pretty high, each sip worth savoring, eventhough it's crazy crushable.

Eventhough you won't find this on any BA's "want list" I highly recommend giving this a run through. The extra yeast charecter and crispy body is highly enjoyable. I like me some Switchback.
Jan 20, 2018
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Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

4.09/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
On tap at Holiday Inn in South Burlington, VT.

This one pours a very slightly hazy orange, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells and tastes like like pine resin, slightly sweet malt, orange citrus, and slight dank.

This is very drinkable, and crisp, with a smooth finish.

This is a surprisingly decent IPA from a brewery I didn't figure could do this well.
Jan 16, 2018
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Reviewed by johnnnniee from New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle from Harvest Market. I went to open this yesterday but there were a ton of floaties in the bottle so I let it sit overnight to try to get them to the bottom. Hazy deep golden color without much of a head. Big citrus and resinous pine with a solid bready sweet malty backbone. Lingering lightly harsh bitterness. Better than I expected.
Jan 14, 2018
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Reviewed by ichorNet from Massachusetts

3.77/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Haven't had a new Switchback beer in quite a while, so I picked up a single of this to give it a shot. The stubby bottle, cool label (though it's a near dead-ringer for a Green Flash beer) and hop choice (Citra in the boil with a Mosaic + Centennial dry-hop) definitely drew me to this one, but what really convinced me to put it in my basket at Craft Beer Cellar was its hilariously unfiltered look when held up to light. This reminds me of old, old Heady Topper! The pour is incredibly chunky with unabashed sediment suspended and freely-floating around the attractive orange-leaning color of this brew. The lace here is spectacular, as is the long-lasting head which bears a bone-white appearance and which leaves behind chunky swaths of foam.

The nose is... surprisingly not at all what I expected. Now, granted, this bottle is about a month old and the unfiltered nature of a beer like this can certainly change how it smells and tastes over time, but this feels really musty and leafy. It has a dank, stiff and herbal character that I actually quite like. Some pine sap and light candied grapefruit come out as it comes to cellar temp from the fridge, but this certainly shows how Mosaic and Centennial play together in a dry-hopped IPA environment. If I think about it that way, it's actually not too weird, but still, this was quite interesting. It's not quite catty, but I also find it interesting that I pick up some of those elements from the Citra hops even though they claim to have used them late in the boil. Their Citra kellerbier had some similar aspects, so perhaps it's just a Switchback thing. Quite interesting.

The flavor is crisp and engaging, with a surprisingly strict and defined malt profile that highlights biscuity and bready grains against a backdrop of ripe ruby red grapefruit, tart guava and lemon with some support from the tannic and dank hop aspects I noticed in the nose. Glad I finally found some of the tropical fruit notes they were talking about on the label... it's likely that they were a bit more delicate and hidden behind the yeast presence. Spicy and resinous with strong pine and light green onion/scallion notes too. As with many Mosaic-focused beers, this can feel a little "all over the place," but its dry and stingingly-bitter finish anchors it firmly in the realm of drinkable. The carbonation here is quite well-balanced, and the body is supple and well within the desired stylistic realm of "medium" despite the hefty yeast presence in the appearance. I probably wouldn't revisit this one, but it's a good one-and-done in a session, and a solid IPA from a brewery that has mostly succeeded on the backs of its flagship beers for quite a while. Good on them for thinking out of the box a little bit. Hope to try more new stuff from them soon.
Dec 30, 2017
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Reviewed by edward_boumil from New York

4.2/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
This is a killer beer. Tons of fruit on the nose, tropical fruits, stone fruit, berries and pine. Clean and balanced flavors, bitter finish but smooth and easy to drink. Soft bitterness. Just a nice solid ipa with great flavors and great drink ability.
Dec 27, 2017
 
Rated: 4.25 by Velivolus from Vermont

Dec 24, 2017
Connector IPA from Switchback Brewing Company
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 73 ratings