National IPA
The Shed Restaurant & Brewery

 

Pre-filled, screw-top growler purchased at Winooski Beverage, VT.

First imperial pint pours with a 1/4" off-white head, over the slightly cloudy coppery amber brew. Head promptly recedes to the rim, skim left everywhere else, with very sticky lacing. Aroma is lightly of citrus, but mostly quiet. Taste is sweet to start, bitterness comes on the in the middle and continues to close, with lingering bitter close as well. Mouthfeel is pretty smooth, although bitterness is more bitterface than flavor, and drinkability is reasonably easy. I wouldn't throw it out of bed for eating crackers...

From 08/27/10 notes. Had on tap at the Shed in VT.

a - Pours a nice amber-golden color with light carbonation.

s - Smells of floral hops, citrus, grapefruit, and hints of pine hops.

t - Tastes of citrus hops, pine, and floral hops, as well as fruity malts. Huge bitterness to the taste.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation.

d - A pretty good IPA. Out of the beers I tried at The Shed, this one was my favorite. Would try again.

Alewife and I had done some touring around northwest VT on 11APR10, having hit up Boyden Valley Winery, and we were in need of a light lunch and more drinks. So, The Shed was in the area, so it shall be done. IPA for me, bitte!

My shaker pint was filled with a medium-deep copper colored libation. There was a touch of haze present, and the head was white and thin. The fine bubbles left decent lacing in its wake. Body was medium, feel on the tongue was also middle of the road. No probs, Bro... Grapefruity hops hit the nostrils, with some rindy qualities as well. Not bad, so far...

Lightly bready malt caresses the palate first off, with solid hops some beckoning. They are a tad puckery and rindy and last well, though they are neither overpowering nor complex. A decent IPA, good for 1 or 2 pops overall... Prosit!!

4.05
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 3.5

1241

Pours a hazy amber body with a thin cream colored head.

Scents of citrus hops, caramel back notes, and touch of herbal/ floral notes.

Lightly toasted semi sweet malts, juicy citrus hops, and a touch of herbal bitterness.

A touch light in body for an ipa with medium high carbonation.

Overall a different but tasty ipa a good amount of hops but remains crisp and refreshing.

Buddy brought a growler back to my place after hiking up north. I've probably had this there before, it's one of their staples along with the Mountain Ale.

A: After a vigorous pour out of the growler, the beer had a small, neat head and was a slightly foggy dark copper.

S: Slight citrus.

T: Very fruity. Grapefruit by the buckets but it still has that odd Shed yeast taste that all their beers share.

M: Light on the tongue but rounds out, coating the throat and tongue in the end.

D: This is a better beer than I remember, but they need to work on that yeast taste. Having a single flaw echo through the entire line of beer (like Madison Brewing) is unfortunate.

Sampled this one on tap at the brewery with my now ex-girlfriend. Arrived at out table a copper/amber color with lots of visible rising carbonation. Off white head, good lacing and retention. The aromas were appropriately hoppy, pine and resin. The flavors were similar, a hop bite at first, citric and piney. Then the more floral elements began to shine through followed by the malt balance. The mouthfeel was a little thin and the finish a little oily which is to be expected with the hops. Carbonation a little high too but it's hard not to like this beer as a good IPA.

this beer pours a bright clear golden amber with a white head that fades to lace. the aroma is a little light, but the piney, floral notes of the hops still come through. the malt that was barely noticeable in the nose is quite well balanced on the tounge. with a medium body and low co2 this was a nice beer.

A-Copper with a very thin and quickly vanishing off-white head.

S-Good fragrant dry hopped aroma up front. Sweet biscuity malt underneath backs this up well.

T-Good initial hop bite smoothed out by the supporting semi-sweet biscuity malt.

M-Medium-light body...lacking somewhat. Crisp and smooth though.

D-Good, straight forward nothing crazy IPA. I would prefer a bit more body and hop kick but for a simple quaffable IPA this has some merit.

I had this as part of the Shed sampler. It was my second favorite beer offered after their Mountain ale. The IPA is available in growlers to go.

The beer was quite ambery, plenty of head, and lacing. The aroma was quite nice, in that you'll find a hoppy estery, slightly pine smell. The beer was a touch on the creamy side, nice bittering hops with enough oily and estery presence to make it interesting. The beer had this nice orangey and floral burst of hop bitterness that was quite refreshing and enjoyable.

The beer was fairly chewy with a tartish mouth puckering finish. This was light to medium bodied and worth seeking out.

Re-review 2009: I had this again on tap at the brewpub and I believe that it was the best beer they had. The Mountain Ale is better in the bottle or growler, while the NIPA had the Mountain Ale beat on tap at the brewpub.

On tap always these days at the brewpub, but mediocre IPA. A bit of golden colour. No aroma. A pale in terms of hop and an odd bitterness. Some draping of lace, and thin head. On the thin side of mouthfeel. On the above average carbonation.It gets better.

Picked this up as I have never had their IPA.

Color: Copper/amber color with ample carbonation and a very thin head. Barely any head at all (likely the pour).

Aroma: Hoppy upfront. Fragrant. Biscuity malt underneath the hoppiness. Subtle. Not overpowering by a long shot.

Taste: A decent hop bitterness greets the tongue, followed by hints of biscuity malt underneath. Smooth. Inoffensive. Refreshing.

Mouthfeel: Hop bitterness lingers in the finish along with biscuity malt. I like the bitterness level of this beer.

Verdict: A smooth and inoffensive IPA for those who've never had an IPA or prefer a step up from the other basic Shed brews. This is probably the best of their basic brew lineup though (excluding the seasonals, which are mostly stouts/porters). When making a good beer, consistency is the key. However, they do not skimp on flavor in this case.

Thanks to weeare138 for sharing his growler.

This beer poured a slightly foggy pale gold with a wide collar of white.

Smelled of leather, watermelon, strawberries and a bit of pine and juniper.

Tasted of a slightly woody oat base with some light prickles of carbonation that lay down an easy sappy pine.

The mouthfeel was light to medium bodied with a tiny carbonation that was very easy to tip back.

This one’s a tasty, easy sipper for sure and included some different but very welcome elements for the style.

Many thanks to weeare138 for sharing this beer with us.

Appearance: Served a cloudy peach gold color.

Smell: WOW! What a fantastic aroma. this perfumey fruity pine aroma is fantastic. This beer is big and enticingly grassy in the nose.

Taste: Hmm? For as bigs as it is in the nose IO would have expected a more harsh flavor. To my surprise it is extremely approachable with a soft pine flavor that is tasty and not burning the palate. Simple put, this IPA remains approachable.

Mouthfeel: The body is solid across the palate with a bit of thinning in the finish but the light dry bitter around the edge helps to cover. The carbonation was low, due to the transport or the beer? dunno?

Drinkability: Fantastic. For someone who really like to taste the hops in their beer this is a tasty hoppy beer (from Vermont who'd a thought) but as much as the hop character is respectable it is also gentle so those how don't like being burned by the huge IBU bitter beers can also appreciate this one.

Hope this is helpful.
Cheers!

Sample provided by weeare138 (via a trade with the Brewer). Thanks!

Poured a medium amber color with a small sized white head. Light lacing left on the glass.

Aromas of pine, some citrus, and fruity. Tastes of pine, citrus with light caramel. Has a lighter bitterness to it with a medium sweet balance.

Poured a hazy amber color with a small, white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of piney resin, grassy, and floral hops, with some citrus fruits as well. Taste of more grass, with some citrus fruits, toffee, pine, and a medium bitterness. Thanks to grassrootsvt for the sample!

Much thanks to grassrootsvt for this...
This is a tweaked and slightly reformulated house IPA...so if you've had it before and weren't crazy about it, try it now and see what you think.
Appears a transparent light gold with a small, two finger, fluffy white head that slowly fades out. Little spots of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is similar to Spawn only toned down a notch. Perhaps Spawn, Jr.? Lots of citrusy, piney, wood-like hops, along with a sugary orange and caramel backing that plays second fiddle to the lively, aromatic hops.
Taste is of the same aromas. Plenty of hoppy goodness with orangy pine flavors standing out.
Mouthfeel is orangy sweet up front with a decent balanced bitter attack. Perhaps just a tad of thinness in the swallow that ends up slightly dry and bitter with some hops coming back to the front of the tongue for a bitter linger.
Overall, not a bad beer. This is a well done IPA that would make any brewer proud. Shaun has put together some really hoppy brews for the New England states...in fact most of them would be worthy of the California hop challenge anyday, where too much hops isn't a bad thing. That's the only thing that's keeping this beer down...comparing it to his other brews that are hard to top. In essence, he's his own rival. Is that a bad thing? I think not. New England's finest plugging away one brew at a time.

Another good beer put out by the shed. The IPA pours a dark amber with a white fluffy head. The smell is citrus and some peach. Next to no smell of the hops, though take a taste. It is there. Not strong but it adds a nice bite to the mild malty finish. I could drink a lot of this. Very smooth and goes down quite easy.

Served a pale amber with a big fluffy head. Nice and hoppy. Well balanced, yet quite mellow. The hops allow the smoothness to flow from the glass, but this beer shouldn't have to rely on the hops like it does. Certainly a decent New England IPA, but not a super special one.

Named for one of the famous (or infamous) Front Four double black diamond ski trails atop Mount Mansfield that look down upon the town of Stowe and the Shed brewery. The ski trail is steep and aggressive. This beer is not, but it is one of the better of the Shed's offerings. Pours a golden honey color with a low beige head that runs away quickly. As with so many Shed beers, there is absolutely no aroma. The flavor is bright and fresh with sweet, flowery hops. Hints of orange peel come through and sweet pine arises out of the finish. Mouthfeel is a bit watery, and tingles in the finish. I could have a few more of these.