Face-off
Moon Hill Brewing Co. / Gardner Ale House
- From:
- Moon Hill Brewing Co. / Gardner Ale House
- Massachusetts, United States
- Style:
- Imperial IPA
- ABV:
- 9.5%
- Score:
- 88
- Avg:
- 3.93 | pDev: 15.52%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 3
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jun 04, 2015
- Added:
- Nov 15, 2009
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 2
SCORE
88
Very Good
88
Very Good
No description / notes.
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Reviewed by BeerdedEric from New Jersey
4/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I would say a murky brown body color. Off white head almost tan. Looks nice in the snifter.
Sweet malt upfront with some grapefruit floral and pine. Nice aroma.
Citrus and sweet malt with a pine resin coming in. Alcohol taste is hidden well for a 9.2% but present with the feel. Quite tasty but is certainly made to sip.
Medium body, light carbonation but is noticeable. Feels nice in the mouth. Doesn't leave the mouth feeling too dry for a double IPA.
Nice tasting and the abv. is hidden well from the taste but a little hot while going down. It literally tastes like a stronger version of their Facelift IPA with a grapefruit taste.
Jul 11, 2011Sweet malt upfront with some grapefruit floral and pine. Nice aroma.
Citrus and sweet malt with a pine resin coming in. Alcohol taste is hidden well for a 9.2% but present with the feel. Quite tasty but is certainly made to sip.
Medium body, light carbonation but is noticeable. Feels nice in the mouth. Doesn't leave the mouth feeling too dry for a double IPA.
Nice tasting and the abv. is hidden well from the taste but a little hot while going down. It literally tastes like a stronger version of their Facelift IPA with a grapefruit taste.
Reviewed by ddean from Massachusetts
4.42/5 rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4
4.42/5 rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4
Had on tap at Gardner Ale House in a snifter glass and was very pleased with the result.
Pours with a hefty foam head. Lacing sticks around for a while. Hazy, but a pretty red-amber color.
For the smell, I get a really nice, sweet malt and alcohol with some hops at the end. Even better, the malt scent gets a lot stronger as the brew warms. Hops are subtle compared to other hoppy IPAs.
Taste was very good: a combination of that brown sugary, sweet malt I smelled and medium-strong hops that stayed with you throughout the tasting experience. That was the unusual part, the fact that both flavors keep their same relative strength throughout the taste. I didn't get the citrus and pepper described by the other review. Would have liked that, but otherwise very well done. It is not unlike the Lagunitas Maximus, my personal favorite, in that it is a nice combination of sweet malt and hops, but the Face Off is a little weaker on hops.
Mouthfeel is great. Like many good IPAs, it has that coating feel that stays in your mouth, without the sharp bitterness that some IPAs leave, and its flavor lingers a very long time.
High alcohol (10.3%), so this is a beer to savor and enjoy slowly with food. Loved it though. Cheers.
Nov 28, 2010Pours with a hefty foam head. Lacing sticks around for a while. Hazy, but a pretty red-amber color.
For the smell, I get a really nice, sweet malt and alcohol with some hops at the end. Even better, the malt scent gets a lot stronger as the brew warms. Hops are subtle compared to other hoppy IPAs.
Taste was very good: a combination of that brown sugary, sweet malt I smelled and medium-strong hops that stayed with you throughout the tasting experience. That was the unusual part, the fact that both flavors keep their same relative strength throughout the taste. I didn't get the citrus and pepper described by the other review. Would have liked that, but otherwise very well done. It is not unlike the Lagunitas Maximus, my personal favorite, in that it is a nice combination of sweet malt and hops, but the Face Off is a little weaker on hops.
Mouthfeel is great. Like many good IPAs, it has that coating feel that stays in your mouth, without the sharp bitterness that some IPAs leave, and its flavor lingers a very long time.
High alcohol (10.3%), so this is a beer to savor and enjoy slowly with food. Loved it though. Cheers.
Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts
4.23/5 rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.23/5 rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Like all of the Gardner beers, this beer had a very nice head. The lace was impressive, leaving a blanket on the glass. Beautiful light amber color and suitably hazy.
Spicy hop smell (like pepper); no notable hop.
I can detect some warming alcohol, but it is not over-the-top. Solid body with an appropriate level of carbonation. Great pine and grapefruit/citrus hop flavors. This is not an extreme DIPA, but it fulfills all of the expectations for the style. Worth seeking out.
Nov 15, 2009Spicy hop smell (like pepper); no notable hop.
I can detect some warming alcohol, but it is not over-the-top. Solid body with an appropriate level of carbonation. Great pine and grapefruit/citrus hop flavors. This is not an extreme DIPA, but it fulfills all of the expectations for the style. Worth seeking out.
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