The Juice
Madison River Brewing Company

pianoguy from Washington

4.1/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 OZ bottle . Bottled July 10th (a month old)

Pours an amber body with an off white head. Lots of tiny visible carbonation. Good retention. Lots of layers of lacing.

Scent is somewhat malt forward, I smelled pine immediately after the pour but that faded quickly and a malt scent quickly took. Fairly prominent scent overall.

Hops are more noticeable at the taste. Red grapefruit and some booze. A solid malt backbone with a nice bitter finish.

Medium to full feel(must be all the malt)

A solid beer and worth revisiting ! The name of this beer is a little confusing though, By today's standards juicy usually implies a juicy tropical fruit IPA. While I like this beer a lot, it would be a stretch to call this one Juicy.

Aug 13, 2019

dbl_delta from Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

On tap at the Montana Ale Works in Bozeman, MT. Pours a deep amber with a thin off-white head. Initial impression is juicy citrus: grapefruit, orange, and mango, nicely balanced by caramel malts. Mouthfeel is on the sticky side of medium; carbonation is perfect. Finish is sticky with a slight lingering bitterness. Overall, I would consider this an exceptional DIPA. Kudos to Madison River!

Jun 26, 2019

russpowell from Arkansas

3.8/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Pours an effervescent copper with 2+ fingers of fluffy sand colored head. Great head retention, pretty good lacing

S: Some maltyness, faint citrus, only real letdown with this beer

T: Grapefruit & breadyness, plus dryness up front, a little woody bitterness as well. Cakeyness, citrus bitterness, some dryness as this warms, a touch of orange juice as well. Finishes with a little woody dryness, grapefruit, OJ in moderate amounts & just a little breadyness

MF: Fairly chewy, restrained carbonation, nicely balanced. Body thins out just a scoosh as it warms

Drinks easy for the heft, not super juicy, but a solid DIPA that I would never say no to...

Jun 14, 2018

JayWhitson from Montana

3.89/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Now called 'The Juice'. Edit needed. Bottle dated 070816... yes thank goodness Madison River started dating bottles. Definitely an 'English style' malt driven double IPA with a pronounced bready sweetness. The 9% packs a whollup and is really disguised well. This is how Montana wants their beers, tasting like 'beer' with a hop/malt balance and smooth sweetness. Really a great brew but nothing special for the whale seekers... I could and have gotten destroyed quick on 90+ degree day backyard bbq's on this and will in the future also for under $10 a six pack.

Aug 06, 2016

TheSixthRing from California

3.22/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3

Had from the bottle 04/15/16 at Copper Horse in the Bozeman, MT airport. No bottling date found

Appearance - Poured into a pint, the brew is clear with a subdued golden orange color. Sandstone, half-finger width head that dissipates fairly quick, leaving a thin, mostly solid layer of suds across the top. Lacing consists mostly of spots found around the glass.

Smell - Soapy. Mild orange. Some bready sweetness.

Taste - Follows the nose. Soapy character with mild citrus bitterness. A touch of grapefruit pith in the finish.

Mouthfeel - Near full in body with moderate carbonation. Fairly smooth and drinkable, with a mostly dry finish.

Overall - Meh. I've found what I describe as a soapy character in a few select pales I've had, but never in a DIPA. Not a completely terrible beer, but I wouldn't want to drink it again.

Apr 24, 2016

porter_collie from Minnesota

3.96/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Despite the American style hops, I would describe this as a double English IPA. The maltiness body has some nice caramel and nut notes. The hops are citrusy. Nice mouthfeel.

Aug 13, 2015

Tone from Missouri

4.24/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Pours a hazy, copper color. 1/4 inch head of an off-white color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of floral hops, pine, citrus hops, sweet malt, slight caramel malt, and alcohol. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with a low carbonation level. Tastes of citrus hops, floral hops, pine, sweet malt, alcohol, slight earthy malt, and a hint of grass. Overall, great blend and feel, good appearance, aroma, and body.

Jul 16, 2015

Darkmagus82 from Texas

4.12/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle into a snifter

Appearance – The beer pours a clear red tinted orange amber color with a one finger head of foam. The head fades over a moderate level of time to leave a decent level of streaky lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell- The aroma of the brew is heaviest of a sweeter fruity aroma being mainly of a melon and tangerine smell. Along with these smells comes some hoppy aromas being mostly a mix of grapefruit and an earthy smell, but also containing a faint floral hop aroma as well. With a bit of a musty smell and a bit of bread, a rather sweet and intriguing aroma is overall produced.

Taste – The taste starts with a bready and sweeter fruit flavor with a nice tangerine sweetness upfront. Other sweeter flavors of caramel are upfront as well, being mixed with a good showing of a grapefruit hop. The grapefruit grows stronger in nature as the taste moves on to the end, being accompanied by some herbal and initially lighter pine hop tastes. While the grapefruit is the strongest at the end, the pine does get to a more moderate strength overall. Some slightly musty and a moderately melon taste comes more toward the end of the taste. With a loss of the caramel sweetness and a bit of a dwindling of the tangerine, one is left with a decently hopped, and still smooth and still rather fruity sweet flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the rather more syrupy side with a carbonation level that is on the slightly lower side. For the melon fruity flavors and the hoppy tastes the syrupy body is actually quite nice accentuating the hop and creating a sorta chewy feel for the melon. The thickness coupled with the lower carbonation level of the brew, makes of a nice slow sipping style overall.

Overall – This was a very enjoyable double IPA overall. Not the standard citrus bomb that you often get; this one has nice blends of other fruity flavors and a nice blend of hops. Quite enjoyable overall.

Nov 16, 2014

StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.6/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

first beer from madison river, thanks to ratman for hooking this up for me. its a cool beer, lots of simcoe in it, but still real easy drinking for its strength. i love its color, so clear and golden and light, but with a lot of hop intensity on the nose. almost extract hop oil, or certainly real resinous, fresh and gnarly in that way. tons of hops which of course it has to have for the style, and enjoyably not overly complex with it. a few varietals in good balance. no yeast or grain character out of the ordinary, a bit malty and old school as they go, ale yeast does nothing for flavor, while medium crystal malt is just big enough to balance the pungency of the hops. not as bitter as i expected, more of a chewy vegetal thing, but all the carbonation keeps it somewhat light for the style, and i find it more refreshing than i should in such hot weather as we had here today in denver. dangerous as an afternoon drink, but a fun brew from a brewery i had never heard of before this one. fuller bodied but it works with the sappy hops. well made, not real different from the crowd, but nice.

edit: i found this far more malty the second time around, almost heavy as it warms up, and with as much residual sugar at the end as there is hops, which is a lot! still well made and balanced, but maybe not as drinkable as it seemed to me before for some reason, and definitely cut from the old school cloth in terms of how this is built.

Jun 02, 2014

Siriusfisherman from Vermont

2.72/5  rDev -28.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

Appearance: A very clear, dark gold with a slight amber tint. Good lacing and a thin soapy head on top.

Smell: Fairly light but very citrus hop forward with a slight earthiness. There is a noticeable vienna and caramel malt presence, and some noticeable booze.

Taste: Bitterness right up front, and a full bodied sweetness to follow as well as a moderate piney/citrus hop presence. The alcohol can be tasted off the back, a little boozy and syrupy.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, a little thick for the style, but that is subjective.

Overall: A pretty poor attempt at an American-Style IIPA. Sweet, unbalanced and a big lack of hop character

Oct 22, 2013

jake65 from Idaho

3.34/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Bottle to shaker: Pours a pale copper color with a thin beige head. Lots of sticky lacing. Nose is mostly florals, and strong florals at that, light citrus and caramel. Good transition into the flavor, the citrus is bright and the florals are light. The maltiness is sturdy and more than adequate to style; certainly not a detriment. Lingering finish of citrus and light pine. I’ve had this a few times, but continue to pick it up when available fresh. As a DIPA this doesn’t impress, but to me fits the bill as refreshing and it fits the bill more as an IPA. The brewers call it a ‘hoppy American style ESB’ if that makes a difference.

Sep 15, 2013

akmt76 from Montana

4.9/5  rDev +28.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

This is a perfect double ipa, the lace is nice, the golden amber color is good, but not too dark. Nice citrus taste without being over hoppy, at 9% this is my perfect, smooth, easy drinking IPA, that balances potency with flavor which is exactly what I look for in a quality beer. The fact that these are good people marketing and making this beer only adds to the overall experience of drinking the "Hop Juice" or as its now called "The Juice" goddamn Californians...

Sep 03, 2013

argock from Virginia

3.83/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Served in a short tulip glass at Montana Ale Works.

A: SLightly hazy gold with short cap of off-white creamy head with decent retention and a crusty line of lace.

S: Intense hoppiness with grapefruit, pine, and resiny aromas, very raw. The maltiness is light without much aroma.

T: The flavor is also very hoppy and also raw and a little overly harsh. I think the bitterness is right where should be, maybe a tad high. but the hoppiness is not as cohesive as it could be with hard pine, grapefruit, lemon, and resin flavors, all battling it out. Maltiness lends support but not much flavor.

M: Pretty slick and not astringent with medium body and good level of dryness. No sweetness.

O: A pretty good DIPA but I wish the hops profile worked together a little better. Taking the bitterness down a few IBU might help but I think it is more a matter of the hops profile not working cohesively as they could. GOod job on most other aspects such as feel and aroma.

Sep 02, 2013

Bockrules from New Mexico

3.82/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

poured from the bottle into a pint glass

A - Pours a hazy coppery-orange with tons of carbonation streaming to the two-finger, creamy, off-white head. Head stays intact all the way down to the bottom of the glass. Leaves behind a massive wall of lacing.

S - Lots of sweet caramel malt with just a hint of northwest hops upon opening the bottle. Doesn't seem like too much of a DIPA. Hops thankfully pickup once in the class with moderate citrus notes and a punch of resin.

T - Smooth caramel malt upfront. The body is really more malt driven by what seems like a truckload of caramel malt with supporting orange and passion fruit notes coming from the hops. More passion fruit and orange as the beer passes over the back of the tongue followed by a smooth caramel and hop finish.

M - Full bodied and exceptionally creamy. Almost more of what I would expect from the stout, but does a nice job of working with the heavy malt load.

The double load of malt and high alcohol content are really what makes this a double IPA. Die hard hop heads will want to look elsewhere or maybe use this as a break from more hop heavy brews. Otherwise, it is exceptionally well balanced, creamy and full, without much trace of the high ABV. I would get this again if I were in the area as I prefer to drink local, but I won't loose any sleep about not being able to find it here in NM.

Apr 23, 2013

jmarsh123 from Indiana

4.22/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

I think I got this as an extra from someone, but can't remember who. Thanks to whichever BA it was!

Pours a deep clear orange with a bit of a red hue and a one finger light tan head. Pretty good lacing down the glass.

Aroma is full of fresh citrus hoppiness with just a touch of malt backbone.

Starts off with a good citrus kick. A bit of sweet caramel malt peaks in and it finishes with some piney bitterness. Notes of pineapple and mango also throughout.

Mouthfeel is a bit thin and lowish carbonation doesn't help it much. It's a shame because the flavors are awesome.

This drinks way easier than 9% with some interesting and complex flavors. The mouthfeel is the only thing keeping this from a home run. Dangerously tasty and would probably have again if I lived in Montana.

Nov 23, 2011

zhanson88 from California

3.41/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours an almost clear orangish-copper color with high carbonation. About 3/4" of eggshell white head forms, which has excellent retention and lacing. Very nice.

Smell: Smells very citrusy with a touch of florals. A bit of caramel malt in there as well...and a good dose of alcohol.

Taste: Bit of caramel malt up front, but not much. A bunch of citrus following. Not a lot after that, besides a decent kick of alcohol which is not surprising considering the ABV. Flavor profile is one dimensional...seems kind of artificial somehow. Not bad though.

Mouthfeel/Overall: Body is medium or just under medium with high carbonation; very nice here. Overall, a decent DIPA, but again, one dimensional flavors and just doesn't quite click for me if I'm judging critically. But it's certainly not bad and probably something I would pick up again in the future.

Sep 30, 2011

websherpa from Montana

4.41/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pretty standard. Modest off white head. Fairly clear. Golden almost brownish color in the glass.

Smell: This is where like many DIPAs the beer shines. There is the grapefruit a little pineapple scents. The typical west coast citric hops. There is something different and special. I don't think it's for everyone but to me it gives this tons of character. It's got the scent of BO. This isn't some fat dude's asscrack at the gym. This is the smell of your lover after a good lay. It's not the smell of sex, but the familiar and a familiar and sensuous BO.

Taste: More or less the smell but as with most DIPAs it doesn't transfer as big to the taste. Delicious anyways.

Mouthfeel: A pinch thin, an pinch try but overall nothing to really complain about.

Drinkability: If it wasn't 9% this could easily be a session beer for me. At 9% I can still have 2-3 in an evening and enjoy myself.

Feb 18, 2011

birchstick from Colorado

3.5/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The scene on the label makes me instantly want to visit Montana and enjoy this beer in its natural settings.

A - pours a nice amberish orange with a froathy head

S - smells like the name implies, big juicy grapefruity hops with a little bit of bubblegum. Very sweet caramel malt rounds it out to make this a very sweet smelling DIPA.

T - starts off with the sweet caramel malt that I picked up in the nose. This quickly fades to some bitter pine and grapefruit hops. It also feels like there is a bit of foamy water taste to it (could be the water used?). Leaves very bitter. For some reason this kind of lacks a pop for a DIPA, I can't but my finger on it, but something seems to be missing.

M - might be the smoothest, fullest beer I have tried. I didn't think that could ever be a bad thing, but it was sort of foamy. Still good though.

D - Big thanks to websherpa for sending this extra my way! This was a really cool opportunity to try something from what appears to be a very local brewery out there. Recommended!

Feb 13, 2011

JohnGalt1 from Idaho

3.26/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Picked up a 6'er of this this morning at the Bozeman COOP... pretty cool as this was the only thing that looked interesting enough to get an entire 6-pack. Poured into a red wine globe.

Nice looking foamy white head... good retention and lacing... the brew is a deep golden/lite amber.

The nose shows plenty of grapefruit zest... some oily pine... a touch too much caramel for my liking, but not enough to complain about a lot.

Flavor begins with an okay bitterness, but quickly gives way to a sorta muted toasty malt essence that is spiked with the above citrus. Hops really drop off quickly.

Body and carbonation seem about right.

I really.... REALLY wanted to like this one more... but oh well. The guy stocking beer at the COOP says this was just received recently and I saw it no where else in town. I don't believe this is an old bottle, rather a less than impressive take on a style that takes a lot of cajones to pull off.

4.5/3.5/3/3.5/3

Dec 13, 2010