Plank Walker's India Pale Ale
Swashbuckler Brewing Company

 

 

Pours kind of a clouded gold touched amber. Pretty decent IPA. Pleasant floral and slightly sweet tone to it all. Mild hop spiced tone. Nice bitterness that stays constant through everything. A pretty easy drinking IPA. Well made, though nothing overly showy.

 

 

had on tap today at the PA Renaissance Faire.

appearance was hard to gauge, as was served in a "renFaire" plastic cup. (Albeit with the excellent advice slogan, "Live Free, Eat Well, Drink Good Ale) Seemed to be an apricot amber color, head was thick and white, and retained throughout.

Smell was good and hoppy, not much else that I could detect.

Taste was pretty good, nice hop feeling in the mouth, a little sweetness, did leave a slight sour, though not unpleasant, taste in the very back of the mouth.

Mouth was fuller than expected, nice and thick.

Overall, a pretty good beer on a warm sunny day.

Huzzah!

 

 

 

 

 

Reviewed from notes:

appearance: yellow orange with a 1 finger head

smell: citrus, hops, caramel, malts,

taste: hop presence with a malty backbone

mouthfeel: mild carbonation, medium body,

overall: basic IPA. I enjoyed the trip and had a great time sampling there beers.

Cheers,
The CPJ

On-tap at the Celtic Fling this past weekend on the PA Renn Faire grounds. Poured into a 16 ounce pint glass.

A: Golden / copper body with a luscious, creamy white head. Clarity is very nice and a steady stream of moderate carbonation bubbles are lifting to the surface. The retention is great, leaving a nice cap and some sticky lacing.

S: Toasted malts and bitter earthy hop notes come first. A distinct spice note carries through long into the back end of the aroma with some citrusy hop notes this time. Overall this seems to be a nice display of both piney and citrusy hops. Not overly floral, either.

T: A rush of bitterness washes over the palate although it's quickly balanced by a really wonderful caramel malt backbone. It's just enough to take the edge off yet still allows the beer to showcase the hop varieties. The malt sticks through into the finish and linger with a caramel note and also leaves a certain spicy quality on the palate.

M: Good carbonation, medium-bodied & a bit sticky and dry in the finish.

I actually really enjoy this IPA and it might be one of my favorites from Swashbuckler. It's well balanced with enough hops and bitterness to know you're drinking an IPA. If you're ever visiting, this should be a definite go-to for their beers.

This arrived with a finger of ecru head with excellent retention. Nose was nicely hoppy, definitely a West Coast-style American IPA. In fact, Mark Braunwirth the brewer, said that based on a current macro-beer promotion, he would begin marketing it as "Triple-hopped", but with Simcoe and Amarillo hops. Color was a deep amber with NE-quality clarity. Mouthfeel was smooth with a more English IPA flavor than I would have expected from the hops used. Mark smiled wanly and explained that this was due to an attenuation problem. No problem on my end as I do not mind differentiation in small-batch beers. The finish was still more malty than I had expected.

On tap at the Swashbuckler brewpub on 12/6/09.

A - Hazy, rusty orange with light copper hues and a finger of fluffy, off-white head that transformed into a sticky latticework of lace around the glass. Head retained well and swelled up with each swirl of the glass.

S - Subtle hop nose with a spicy kick and some citrus fruit attributes. Amarillo hops, perhaps? There is also a slight catbox aspect, but it remains very subdued at best. There is a hint of pine and orange peel in the backend.

T - Sweet and hoppy with a citrus oil or peel quality and a hint of sappy pine. Malt is sweet and caramely (as to be expected) and even a bit sugary. Hop character remains dominant though, resulting in a well-balanced IPA.

M - Medium bodied with a light syrupy, somewhat oily texture and moderate carbonation. While not overly dry in the finish, it is pretty sweet on the palate.

D - Solid IPA and my favorite from the sampler tray we ordered. Swashbuckler is only about fifteen minutes from my house, so I am surprised they've eluded me for so long. I was pleasantly surprised with this offering, and it certainly exceeded my expectations.

Has this on tap at the Quentin Tavern off 72 as I was coming home from the Hershey AACA meet.

The beer poured a cloudy yellow with little to no carbonation. There was a decent one finger head.

The nose had moderate hops, with a grassy yeast component on the back nose. On first taste I got a lot of hops on the front taste buds. Subsequent tastes gave me the hops with slight malt and some citrus/banana.

All and all a decent beer. The mouthfeel was good for the style and rather refreshing. This is an inviting beer that is easily drinkable.

orange, grapefruit, lime & lemon is all my non beer drinking wife said. A gentle mix of cascade and cluster hops danced on my pallate! My, I do enjoy fresh beers probably only brewed 4 days ago. Sandy copper color the only turnoff due to the fact it isn't filtered but still very delecious leaving you wanting more. So I enjoyed each drop of the 64oz. growler. Will return for more of this fully hopped IPA!

The board simply said IPA, but I am assuming this is the same beer. Serve cold in a taster

A - A deep gold w/ slight white head w/ very good clarity

s - Very fruity IPA w/ a floral and citrus hop aroma

M - Mild bitterness w/ lightly acidic hoppiness and a mild sweetness from malt w/ a dry finish

T - Very nice orangey amarillo cascade type citrus and floral taste w/ malt sweetness in check

D - A very good tasting IPA, fits the American style well w/ a very drinkable quality and plenty of hop flavor easy to quaff.

For years Swashbuckler had a Plank Walker's Pale Ale that was not very exciting. They "Retired" it! This is BRAND NEW! this is Plank Walker's India Pale Ale and it is good.

Appearance: Pours a rusty copper color with a large off white head with good retention and very nice lacing down the entire side of my pint glass.

Smell: The beer really needs to warm to get the all out of the aroma. However even in the beginning you can smell the hops and a hint of caramel, but any other delicate aromas that might be there are overpowered by the pine hop that dominates the beer. As it warms a toffee and husky grain aroma are present as well.

Taste: Big hop flavor slaps me right up front. The citric bite grows as I swirl the beer in my mouth then on the swallow the aftertaste is WOW hops! The flavor does have a bit of a metallic note to it. (Was that just the growler?) Regaless I adjusted to it quickly and it didn’t bother me anymore. There is a tad bit of sweet and balancing malt charectoristic, if you look for it but this beer has become a pretty much one sided hop lover's dream. I really like this *new* direction for the Plank Walker's India Pale Ale.

Mouthfeel: This medium body beer is smooth with and slick through the center but very tingly dry and hoppy bitey on the cheeks and tongue.

Drinkability: Exceptional. I like the acidic pine hop flavor and the bite in the aftertaste. To me it says drink more and more but it is not for everyone.

Hope this is helpful.
Cheers!