IPA Lot #1
John Harvard's Brewery & Ale House

Presentation: Cask

Appearance: Thick, rocky, tan colored head, slightly cloudy orange-mahogany color.

Smell: HOPS! Dangerously hoppy aroma, more pronounced from the beer engine than the tap.

Taste: Hops forward, but lot’s of malt to balance. Thick, heavy mouthfeel, hops stick to your tongue. Alcohol warms the finish more pronounced from the beer engine than the tap.

Notes: Still wouldn’t pick this as >10%. Definitely high-octane, more pronounced alcohol warming probably due to cask serving temp vice tap temp, still wouldn’t guess higher than 8%.

appears a dark chestnut brown .. hoppy smell with citrus and burnt sugars. sticky lacing and foreboding posture, visually depicting 10.7% accurately. big malts lead to a dry and bitter hop finish. addition of massive hops remind me more of a barleywine in the way they mingle with the hot alcohol sting. chocolate toasty notes prevail and allow drinkability to increase as the ABV becomes infused with your taste buds. heavy but drinkable, very reminiscent of the Thomas Hooker 05 Old Marley.. especially the way that an oily, waxy bitterness washes over the tongue.

had two of these.. have a feeling that 3 would have brought on a wicked sugary beer headache.

Served on cask at the John Harvard’s in Manchester. Described on the menu as the “Mother of all IPA’s”, hopped with Chinook, Amarillo, and Cascade, and dry Hopped with 9lb of Cascade. With a description like that, it had a lot to live up to, and I’d say it did pretty well. This is one of the bolder and tastier beers I’ve had at the Manchester JH’s. Our “Lot 1” arrived to us at the bar a fairly clear hardwood color, garnet highlights flashing amongst a polished darkness. Two fingers worth of sudsy, frothy tan head grace the top of this beer, much of which sticks around to the last sip, impressive. Body is quite full; that and the 10.7% ABV certainly earn it a solid double IPA assignment.

Aroma is of caramelized orange and grapefruit peels, sweet and tantalizing. Taste is very candied sweet at first but is quickly burgeoning with hop flavor, the citrus kicking in and gradually transitioning to unrelenting IPA bitterness. Malt profile is well represented here, with good caramel and toffee flavors in through the middle. Plenty of hops to distinguish it as an IPA, but it remains fairly balanced. Finish is spicy hot and deliciously bitter. Dangerously drinkable for a big ass IPA. Congrats to Chris Jacques, this is a great brew!