India Pale Ale
Chatham Brewing, LLC

 

Call me a 'Homer' bit I thought this was a pretty decent IPA. Given time I think Chatham can be a great brewery.

 

 

 

 

 

Had on tap at the brewery, but didn't quite take extensive notes. Of the range of IPAs that they do, I found this one, the actual IPA, to be the weakest. Had an odd, woody aftertaste. Looked fine enough, had a solid IPA taste and smell profile at first, but the aftertaste and odd mouthfeel killed it for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes from a couple of weeks back. The keg was just freshly tapped.

Pours a deep cloudy orange with a one-finger white head. The smell is citrus, floral, and mineral. The taste is highly mineral, with some tangelo or grapefruit bitterness, not too much malt -- good and simple, but not balanced. It's medium-bodied and well carbonated. It's a bit rough to drink on account of the unbalanced bitterness, but it's enjoyable anyway. Needs a little fine-tuning but is pretty good.

On-tap at Clark's Ale House. Where'd this come from? Chatham? Anyways, it's great to see a fresh EIPA. Aside from Brooklyn's, I don't see many. There's great bouquet of British hops with grassy orange and spicy herbs. The only thing missing is a decent malt background. I get a hint of biscuit malt in the background of the aroma, but otherwise, this beer is all about the hops. I guess that's not bad, as the hops are pretty rocking, but it lacks the balance I'd look for in this style.

A: Hazy copper color with white head and some lacing.

S:Nice crisp hop smell. Reminded me of homebrew.

T: Nice hop bitterness. Wonder what the IBUs are on this one. Very sharp. Almost too bitter.

M: Medium body with low carbonation. I like my IPAs a little bit more carbonated.

D: Bitterness cuts down on the drinkability for me a little bit. The beer was served a little bit too warm as well. It was super hot that day.

I was able to give this brew a try this past weekend while at a restaurant in Philmont. It has a nice copper color to it, with a slight haze. Good sized frothy head that has good retention and left nice chunky lacing at the top of the glass and rings down the side. Had a strong hop smell which was quite enjoyable. To me the aroma and eventual taste of the hops was not as dominant as some of the IPA's that seem to have become the norm, it was adequate and IMO well done. Also with the aroma your able to pick up malt, mostly caramel but has a nice mix with the resin like hap smell. The taste was very smooth. The hop flavor does not come out strongly at first but catches up quickly giving more of a floral flavor, at least to me. The malt flavor is quite adequate and a welcome start to the beer. Slight dryness in the finish. Overall this is a good brew, would like to get my hands on it more often. Visit their website and it gives a breakdown of places where it is currently being served.