Anchorhead IPA
Great Waters Brewing

Served on cask at the brewpub at the appropriate 52 degrees, this pours a pleasing orange-amber hue. The hops are readily apparent in the smell, as is a fruity apricot/peach tang. This is what I like in an IPA-a balance of flavors. Yes it has a rich hop presence, but it is balanced by the fruity flavors hinted at by the smell. As always, the cask presentation smooths out any rough edges and this brew slides down effortlessly. Nice.

A non-transparant orange tone. Not much of a head. Some bubbly light brown collaring. Lace is negligible. Aroma is pretty nice. Soft caramel malts in the background with raw, resiny PacNW hops upfront. But I would still prefer an even bigger "dry hop" aroma for an American IPA. The taste is quite smooth. Sweet caramel/crystal malt tones form a nice little backbone. The hop flavors are delicate, but nice. A little pungent. A little piney and citric in nature. There's a bitterness present, but I wish it were bigger. The mouthfeel has a nice creamy texture to it. Just the slightest little prick of CO2. This is a pretty good IPA. I just hope a WHOLE growler of this stuff doesn't leave me sleeping next to the toilet in a puddle of my own puke and piss :>)

I did a little run on rating IPAs the other night and was quite disappointed. 3 out of 4 were barely even average. This beer is easily better than those 3. It's not that fucking hard to make a good IPA!! Sorry for the rant. The other night just pissed me off. I had a big ol woody for those 4 IPAs and was seriously let down.

Very appealing peachy color in this IPA, with a lush white head, a flurry of cascading, cask-driven activity.
Nose is very inviting, hoppy, redolent with fruity notes, pineapple, citrus, and pine. Lively and attractive.
Much less bitterness appears on the palate, as well as less flavor than I'd anticipated, but this is still tasty. Lacks the kind of bite I prefer in an IPA, and is ultimately all about smoothness. Cask-conditioning makes for a very creamy mouthfeel, and while it easily slips past the lips, it's not a very memorable representative of the style.
(Although I've had 3 pints in the past week, what can I say, I'm just an IPA kind of guy!)

On cask at the brewpub...a new brewer and a new IPA (name subject to change as he settles in)...

Hazy apricot appearance, very creamy milky 1/2 inch head. Plenty of copious clinging lace. Aroma is mildly hoppy on cask, infused with candied orange notes. Well-balanced in approach, broadly toffee-ish with good citrus hop back up and lingering on into the aftertaste. Very pithy and American in style and on further sips, hops are so grapefruit like that there's almost a slightly sulfury burned match quality. Not perfectly executed but there is a sense that the new Great Waters brewer may be shaking up their offerings, the Scotch Ale and improvements to the St. Peter Pale are also evidence.

stained coppery amber color with a dusty whitish firm crown about a finger high, amazing staying power. It lurks on top ever present and soupy with a creamed look leaving lacing in lots of webby stickings. Aroma is pretty nice, good hop nose of dryish leafy hops that nudges some lemon citrus but grapefruit zest and touches of peach really seem to dominate over a light toasty malt backing. Good tasting IPA here, complexing hop profile with grasses, resin, grapefruit, peach, solid Cascade bittering with a nice piney twinge. Kinda zippy, has a good mouthfeel and punch with a clean, full, and sorta fluffyness to its body. Solid hop bittering and a toasted malt backing keeping a decent balance for some good warm weather drinking. Another nice "new" brew from Great Waters. I'll be looking forward to more cask offerings from this new brewer. Keep em coming!

Umm..revisit June 9th, not as impressed as first time through. Dry and boring, the hop bite disappeared entirely. No grapefruit or peach this time; weird was hoping to get that same effect from earlier this year but nah. Tweeked the numbers to coincide with the newer session. Seemed to have more melon and orange juices. The hops have mellowed out alot since the first time I had it.