Northern Lights IPA
Starr Hill Brewery

L: Frothy, foamy head, dark gold body
S: Sweet juicy citrus, though not explosively so. Mango, orange juice, and a few medicinal notes.
T: The malt is upfront, roasty flavors, mingling with hoppy syrupy pine. Nothing especially distinct fruit wise, maybe some citrus peel that adds bitterness. A few medicinal, grassy notes on the finish, which is fairly quick.
F: Smooth, foamy, moderate carb.
O: I mean, who makes bad IPAs these days? Not many, probably because of beers like this. It’s a bit thin on the finish, otherwise no complaints.

Straight from the can; nice and cold.

This is not my favorite IPA, but is one of my favorites from Starr Hill. It is a pretty traditional IPA, favoring a strong pine flavor over the fruit-ier takes that seem to have become popular lately. Hoppy. I do prefer Get Bent IPA from Parkway Brewing, but this is a pretty strong beer.

Can't believe I haven't rated this - on of my first local beer loves from the 2000s. It comes to me as a classic old school malty bitter IPA that has a toasted malt profile to counter a considerable hop bitterness. The malts run a little on the sweet side for me these days, but the transition from malt opening to piney hops counter that leads to a sticky bitter finish is well done.

Dry the opening out a little bit and I am back in love. As it sits, the sweetened grain tea opening has me underwhelmed each sip until the middle. The beer from that point until the end makes me pretty happy. In the end, the price of early trepidation yields an overall enjoyable experience for me, so I'll definitely be re-considering this as an occasional treat.

A can poured into a pint glass. Look has a 1/2" white foam head with a brilliant clear amber golden body. Scent has prototypical hoppy notes -- pine, grassy spiciness -- with notes of maltiness in the backdrop. Taste follows with a more traditional IPA flavor profile (less tropical fruit, more pine/grassy bitterness) where the malts play a role in subduing the hoppiness. Feel is on the medium bodied side with a bitterness the lingers in the aftertaste. Overall a solid IPA.

Northern Lights has a thick, off-white head, and a somewhat bubbly, orange appearance, with minimal lacing. The aroma is of white bread and tropical fruit. The flavor is of strong bitterness, white bread crust, fruit, and sweetness. Northern Lights has a high-medium body and a mostly-dry finish.

RJT

 

 

 

 

 

From the neck of the bottle in blue ink: "PKG ON 12/19/19B"

Appearance: The body of the beer is a medium shade of copper. There is a slight haze to the beer. The head is medium-sized, white, and fluffy. It has very good head retention. Very good lacing.

Aroma: There is a light bit of pine aroma to the beer. There is a hint of biscuit. The aromas are nice but they are not very strong.

Taste: There is a nice pine flavor to the beer.

Mouthfeel: It is on the low end of medium-bodied with just a light slickness on the tongue. It has very good bitterness and carbonation feels right.

Overall: It is a nice IPA with a good pine-like flavor and excellent bitterness. It isn't the most robust or complex IPA but it is enjoyable. I could drink it again, especially if it's available at a restaurant. The beer would pair well with anything from tacos to a roast beef sandwich. I would recommend it if you're looking for a solid IPA for a party or get-together.

 

Love this one. Good balance of citrus and bitterness.

 

From the bottle, it pours a slightly hazy amber with a modest head that soon diminishes and leaves a bit of lacing. In the nose, it is a bit of citrus and malt. In the mouth, it is pineapple and some malt. Nice!

 

I thought this was an aromatic but easy drinking IPA. However, I would have liked a little bit more flavor.

Look: semi-clear golden with a finger thick white head

Aroma: caramel, grapefruit, and pine. Fairly aromatic.

Taste: It is malty grains some caramel, citrus particularly grapefruit, maybe some pine at least in the aroma. However. For an IPA it is mild, good but mild.

Body/Overall: light to medium body, easy drinking