Full Broadside
Great Waters Brewing

Dark amber colored with a low, drooping ivory curtain.
Nose is largely hollow, and what presents most is malt, full of caramel-bathed stawberries, and even traces of plum. A wet grassiness appears as the hop only aroma contribution, with, perhaps, a twist of citrus rind.
Doughy up front, in the mouth. It's loose and malty, with unrisen bread and cornmeal muffins. Turns sweeter with stray berry notions, and a conmixture of candy bar filling: sugar, caramel, and vanilla paste. Hops begin to add traces of wintergreen bitterness and heavily dilute grapefruit juice, but flicker out as this rides away continually sweet.
A stern medium body and carbonation keeps this drinkable, but considering the fact that it is an IPA, it is significantly out-of-whack.

On tap at the brewpub. Color is a pleasing dark amber. Good white head and good lacing on the glass. Smell is balanced between the piney resiny citrussy hops and a sweet malty aroma. The taste is also balanced between hops and malt. More of a British than American interpretation of the style. The important thing is that this beer is damn tasty and easy to drink. It's not a beer for the purist hophead, but if you like a complex balance of flavors, this one's for you.

Dulled copper/bronze. Moderate cap of vanilla white foam. Good retention. Good lace. Decent aroma, but really not full of hops. Lots of caramel and toffee. A little grapefruit rind. This beer tastes good enough, but not really like an IPA. Malts overpower the hops. Great caramel/toffee/vanilla nougat type of stuff going on. But the hops are lacking. As an IPA, if I were looking for an IPA, I would not return to this. Lacks the bitterness and hoppiness of a true IPA.

On-tap at the brewpub: Blurry dark coppery color with a starchy whirish head of foam just under a half inch tall. Keeps an adequate skimming and collar and the lacing is very nice in bountiful broken sheeting.

Aroma is deceptively dark and foreboding with pine sap and toffee. Slight buttery toasty factions add some extra depth along with a very low key floral grapefruit hop note.

Taste is about the same. Deceptively dark in the piney hops, bits of greasy, buttery, toasty, broad breads and toffee beef it out. Very tiny amounts of bitterness within a grapefruity squeezed melon ball malted sweetness. Borderline pale ale like with a toasty malty lean. Hops are evident with a brief grapefruity bitterness, but is whiped clean by the buttery toasted malts.

Feel is clean and creamy with a good portion of malty butteryness and sweetening. Seems a little light on the body where it finishes but its pretty beefy from front to middle with a malt sided balance throughout.

A pretty drinkable brew; had two full pints without any problem and was itching for another as it goes down well and keeps you interested enough to keep with it. This reminded me alot of the Galena at Town Hall. Good stuff. Not a true hop monster by any means, just hoppy enough with a bit of bitterness to its caption. Greasy, dark, yet clean, sweet and hoppy.

I had a few of these at the brewpub, sitting outside and watching the passers-by.
The brew is a reddish-brown color, fairly clear, and served with a frothy tan head. It’s a pretty attractive beer. Fruit aroma, with a notable grapefruit hop smell. A good dose of malt comes forth in the taste, which is nicely balanced. There’s a little caramel, and I think it’s sweeter than a lot of brewpub IPA’s. It seemed maybe a little too carbonated. Finish is suitably bitter. This is a thoroughly acceptable session brew.

On tap at the brewpub...

Clear medium anber with an attractive white head of medium bubbles and leaving nice sticky laces around the pint glass. Smell is fairly reserved. mostly of fruit with some elements of lime and grapefruit. Nice medium mouthfeel, carbonation lies in that realm as well and is spot on for a brewpub offering. The flavor is well-balanced, nice combination of a caramel malt sense with a good hop that definitely lies in the floral range with hints of pine resin but little citrus rind. Perhaps what is best in this one is the very good melding of sweet and bitter at the finish, neither is too obtrusive and yet the beer fits the style pretty well. All in all, I would say this is a nice entry, though Great Waters could use less IPA styles right now and maybe some other things going on.

Clear, with near-crimson coloration, slim head.

Aroma, dark fruits, berries and cherries, grapes, juicy, but none too bitter, not so hoppy...interesting, though...

Hop bitterness appears, finally at the end of the first gulp, but it's very minor...plays lightly on the palate, runs through the finish, but doesn't provide enough of a spark. The flavor is nice, fruity, sweet, but doesn't do what an American IPA ought to, like stand up and smack your tongue around a bit. Their cask IPA, Tartar control, does that in small doses...more like an English-style...or do I say that because I can't taste any West Coast-y, Cascade, Centennial, Amarillo-type hops?

An okey-dokey ale from a getting-better brewpub. I'll keep checking back to chart their progress.