Josiah Miller IPA
Free State Brewing Co.

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From:
Free State Brewing Co.
 
Kansas, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
6.3%
Score:
89
Avg:
4.04 | pDev: 16.34%
Reviews:
17
Ratings:
24
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 31, 2014
Added:
Feb 12, 2010
Wants:
  12
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.75 by 22Blue from Kansas

May 31, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by acsprouse from South Carolina

Feb 15, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by t0rin0 from California

Oct 01, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by theminutemen from Missouri

Jun 26, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by sammo from Kansas

Jun 25, 2012
 
Rated: 4.75 by Jayschool from Colorado

Apr 06, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by jrenn from Kansas

Feb 18, 2012
Photo of yeahnatenelson
Reviewed by yeahnatenelson from Illinois

2.63/5  rDev -34.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
One of the gift growlers from JeepCop, true advocate.

Appearance -- Pours a brassy amber hue with a slim sudsy beige head. Awful dark for the style.

Smell -- Abundance of grassy hops, toasted amber malt and mild fruity malt sweetness. Again, not much of an IPA.

Taste -- Again, a disproportionate amount of amber roast malt flavor, gentle malt sweetness, fruity/floral hop overtones, and low resounding grassy bitterness.

Mouthfeel -- Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation. It works.

Overall -- Let me start by saying that this is not a bad beer. However, it shouldn't be classified as an IPA. Too much of Josiah Miller's flavor profile shouts Amber/Red and not IPA: The toasted malt and grassy hop flavors really put it out of the style it claims intended to be.

Josiah Miller: B/B+ Amber Ale, C-/C IPA
Oct 04, 2011
Photo of brokensail
Reviewed by brokensail from California

3.16/5  rDev -21.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Growler sent by Dale for the local group of drunks to sample. Thanks!

A: The beer pours amber in color with an off-white head.

S: Not the greatest nose on this one. A fair amount of toasted malt(?!) and just a very malty nose overall. There are some floral and grass hop notes with a rather mild fruit and citrus aroma.

T: The flavor opens up with a fair amount of grass and straw followed by some tea notes. Sweet malt in the form of toffee with a strange popcorn note. On the finish, mild pine flavor and bitterness.

M: Medium in body with medium carbonation.

O: I wanted to like this if for no other reason than the generous gesture made by JeepCop, but it just didn't happen.
Sep 28, 2011
Photo of weatherdog
Reviewed by weatherdog from Illinois

2.78/5  rDev -31.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Drank from the 'free growler for reviewing purposes' shared by yeahnatenelson. Big thanks to JeepCop for being an awesome BA and sending it to our tasting group. Here's your honest review...sorry but it won't be totally glowing.

Pour is medium amber, off white low head. Medium retention no lacing.

Aroma is a bit of dank weediness and grassiness. A fair bit of out of place sweetness and weird cinnamon spice. I'm pretty particular about my IPAs and this aroma does not do it for me, no citrus or tropical notes to speak of.

The taste just loses for me. Harsh bitterness, not a lot of hop flavor except some grass. Its just so sweet in the middle. The aftertaste is so resiny. Some may like this but I hate a resin finish.

Carb is fine for a growler, body is decent but once again with the lasting lingering aftertaste.

Just not very enjoyable for me at all. Really average at best for an American ipa
Sep 24, 2011
Photo of drabmuh
Reviewed by drabmuh from Maryland

3.8/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I had high hopes but prides always cometh before a fall. Growler shared at a post Zwanze day tasting at my place. Poured into a snifter.

Beer is copper and mostly clear wtih a thin white head of small bubbles, low retention, moderate carbonation, some lacing. Looks fine.

Aroma is sweet with hints of earthy hops but some caramel as well, interesting, not as pronouced as I was expecting.

I'm thinking this is more of a hoppy amber than an IPA, the beer is bitter and has hopes throughout but fails to activate the "IPA IPA IPA" alarm in my brain. This is close to the 200th IPA i've had from American breweries and I'd say there's nothing bad about it but nothing special either. I'd have it on tap if I kenw it were fresh to be sure, otherwise not.
Sep 19, 2011
Photo of Thorpe429
Reviewed by Thorpe429 from Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to drabmuh for sharing this growler the other night. Served in a Free Tail pint glass.

Poured a medium peach-copper color with a good single-finger white head and some streaky lacing on the way down. The nose carried hints of light tropical fruit plus a bit of citrus, though everything was quite tame. The flavor suffered from the same fault, though it was generally hoppy. Nothing really stood out, though I did like what was there. The mouthfeel really stole the show, as there was a nice bitterness running through the palate and into a prolonged finish. Well made, but probably more toward the flavor and aroma hop bill of an APA.
Sep 19, 2011
Photo of yourefragile
Reviewed by yourefragile from District of Columbia

3.8/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
Growler shared by Matt. Thanks bro! Hit this growler for 3 or 4 samples and I don't remember trying to like a beer as much as I did this in a very long time. Unfortunately I never quite got over the hump of thinking of this as more than just a nice "local IPA".

I'll start by saying this beer tastes like it looked (at least to me). Pours a dark, clear copper/amber with a thick off white head with moderate retention and light lacing.

Aroma was mediocre, earthy and malty with faint citrus hops.

Flavor had a strong malt body and light tropical, pineapple hops resulting in a sweet and bitter finish. Very nice body, smooth and thick, with chewy carbonation.

A very nice IPA, but not very distinguishable from any other local IPA. I really wanted to like this more than I did.
Sep 18, 2011
Photo of Huhzubendah
Reviewed by Huhzubendah from District of Columbia

4.08/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Growler shared by drabmuh. Thanks Matt!

The beer appears clear and copper oranges hued, with a half inch of white head that leaves a fair amount of lacing on the glass. The aroma is sweet, earthy, and brings scents of dank hops. The flavor is balanced, with some sweetness from the malts blending with tropical citrus fruits. The beer is slightly sticky, stubbornly clinging to the palate between sips. This goes down very easily. I could put away my fair share of this. A good IPA, I would have this again.
Sep 18, 2011
Photo of tr4nc3d
Reviewed by tr4nc3d from Kansas

4.77/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
The apearance is a medium amber color with a one and a half inch slightly off white head. Good head retention with bits of lacing clinging to my glass.

The aroma is just plain mesmerizing. Huge citrus aroma of mango, pineapple, ruby grapefruit, and tangerine. Smells of pink bubblegum shine through with just the slighest bit of crystal malts.

The taste starts off like a citrus burst with pineapple and ruby grapefruit, leading way into tangerine. Midway some hop bitterness shows up with a bit of caramel malt. The citrus taste is the main show here.

Medium bodied with average carbonation. Resiny sweet aftertaste.

This is a very dangerous beer. I drank a whole growler by myself and had to stop myself from opening another one. I had high expectations and they were definitely met. This is a top 3 IPA for sure and probably my favorite.
Mar 01, 2011
Photo of paco1029384756
Reviewed by paco1029384756 from Illinois

4.39/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Growler thanks to bigdonniebrasco.

Pours a clear orange color with a tiny white head and an even ring of lacing.

Scent of sweet, fruity hops, citrus, pineapple, mango, orange peel, sugar and mild caramel. This beer has the hop profile that most Imperial IPAs stride for.

Taste of resin, mango, orange peel, pineapple, citrus, and the same mild caramel that is present in the scent. Finishes dry with more fruit and resin. I can see why this is compared to Hopslam; it is sweet and fruity and goes down way too easily.

Mouthfeel is lightly dry and bitter with a low amount of carbonation.
Dec 26, 2010
Photo of bfields4
Reviewed by bfields4 from Colorado

4.82/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Nice copper body very lacey head.

Smells like a jolly rancher citrus blasts off the beer. With a nice resiny pine

Honey maltiness. Grapefruit with a hint of floral hops. I am impressed. There's a nice complexity with the malts as well. An earthy oat backing complements the taste.

Silky smooth. Amazing mouthfeel. One helluva beer. Hits all the right spots. This ipa ranks right up there with the best of them.
Dec 04, 2010
Photo of COBeerBuff
Reviewed by COBeerBuff from Kansas

4.14/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Poured from a growler filled on Nov. 30 into a Portsmouth pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a strikingly clear orange-amber color with about a finger of white head that dissipates quickly to a light film. Decent lacing, but nothing to write home about. Very average at first glance.

Smell: Huge citrus hop scent starts things off. I can't believe how fresh the C-hops smell and how fruity the scent is. Pineapple, guava and mango dominate. There a little pine, but this is a very fruit centered nose. A small amount of malts and a bit of oatmeal rounds out the brew.

Taste: This beer is a bit maltier than the nose would suggest, but the tropical fruits present up front are also present on the tongue. Slightly bitter, the fruitiness of the hops helps balance it out, and the oat flavors help provide a nice malt backbone to the American IPA.

Mouthfeel: This beer should be crisp, but it's amazing full-bodied for the style. While not cloying, it still manages to fill the palate, while maintaining a bit of freshness thanks to the hop varieties used. The overall effect is very pleasing.

Drinkability: At 6.3%, this is on the upper end of the style, but the fullness of the brew helps hide some of this punch. The fruitiness provides an interesting counterbalance to the oats and 5 malts used to provide the meat of this beer. I love the outcome, but it's almost too heavy for a second glass in the same sitting.
Dec 04, 2010
Photo of Patchmaster
Reviewed by Patchmaster from Indiana

4.67/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
First and foremost a big thanks goes to my Kansas connection bigdonniebrasco. I'm originally from the other side of the Mighty Mo and would frequent Free State brewery. Needless to say this is hands down the best brewery in Kansas and I am optimistic that they choose to expand their distribution to allow others the opportunity to try the experimental beers that are made.

A - Pours a slightly cloudy amber color.

S - Strong floral scents immediately knock you back. I smell grapefruit, pine and citrus.

T - A pleasant fresh hop sensation with the malts refusing to take a back seat. This beer has it all!

M - Perfect carbonation.

D - My only negative is that this isn't bottled.

This beer brought me back. Man how I miss Free State.
Sep 12, 2010
Photo of ratedz
Reviewed by ratedz from Kansas

4.65/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Pours a clear amber color from a growler into a tulip glass. Smell is of bread and grapefruit and mango. Taste is maltier than I was expecting, but I guess that is to be expected considering it is made with five different malts. The same citrus notes that were present in the nose are also present in the taste. The light carbonation and smooth mouthfeel make this easy to enjoy multiple glasses.

From what I have seen and heard, Josiah Miller is not the easiest to find. The last time I had dinner at Free State, they were out of it. HUGE thanks to bigdonniebrasco for picking up a growler of it for me!
Sep 02, 2010
Josiah Miller IPA from Free State Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 24 ratings