Vindicator IPA
Wallace Brewing / Orehouse Tasting Room

Vindicator IPAVindicator IPA
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From:
Wallace Brewing / Orehouse Tasting Room
 
Idaho, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #3,198
ABV:
7%
Score:
83
Ranked #23,860
Avg:
3.63 | pDev: 14.88%
Reviews:
24
Ratings:
46
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sep 14, 2023
Added:
Jul 04, 2010
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  7
Named after the Vindicator mine in the Silver Valley, it is our biggest beer to date. A refreshingly mild flowery start with a nice rich, malty sweetness that balances the citrusy hop finish. Coming in at OG 1.079 and 80 IBU the Vindicator packs a wallop. We use the finest malted barley grown in Idaho along with pacific northwest hops.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by RJLarse:
Photo of RJLarse
Reviewed by RJLarse from Washington

4.3/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
I bought bomber of Vindicator IPA in a bottle shop. Poured into a pint glass.

Pours a rich gold color, hazy, with a thick bubble white head. Bubbles are slowly rising in the glass.

The smell is a sweet baked bread aroma. Candy scents like caramel are also in the aroma.

Taste is sweet bread and malt flavor up front, with a sweet citrus and pine flavor, more sweet than bitter, and a mildly biter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a wet and crisp feel.

Overall a good IPA. Tasty and drinkable, not overpowering in any way.
May 20, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.77 by WillieThreebiers from Connecticut

Sep 14, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by FLBeerGuy from Florida

Sep 07, 2019
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.68/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
i feel like more often than not basic as a descriptor of a beer means its lackluster or generic, uninspired or samey, but in this case, basic is kind of a good thing. its a well made, rather old fashioned, well balanced ipa, with a floral and spicy and piney hop profile, as plain bitter as it is dry hoppy at all, and the malt profile is pretty big on it, more than just a pale two row thing going on, some slightly sweeter, fuller crystal in there supporting and equalizing the hops to the best of its ability. in this case basic just means its not trying to be anything overly ambitious, content to be itself, and thats a good place to be coming from as far as i am concerned. the malt isnt all that sweet here which is nice, more of a toasted thing going on, like nutty and autumnal rather than sugary and rich, which in an ipa is definitely my personal preference. i like the hops having a spruce note at the end, a little bitter orange peel, and none of the tropical fruitiness that seems to dominate the style these days, way more old school than that. the fermentation is pretty clean, the body is full but never dense, and the finishing higher alpha hop profile keeps it in the ipa realm. nothing out of the ordinary, but that means no room to hide flaws and no excuses, and they have executed well here.
Jul 09, 2019
Photo of Spikester
Reviewed by Spikester from Oregon

3.75/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Clear gold slightly orange with one finger of white head. Rings of lace.
Smell is floral hops.
Taste is mildly bitter floral hops with bready malts.
Mouthfeel is light to medium with good carbonation. The finish is dry and lightly bitter.
Overall an easy drinking IPA. Not remarkable though.
Mar 27, 2018
Photo of BBThunderbolt
Reviewed by BBThunderbolt from Kiribati

3.21/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
12oz bottle poured into 12oz goblet. The beer poured a clean, clear golden amber color with just a thin cap of white head that that had retention or lacing.

The aroma was mostly pine and cirus hops, with a bit of malt sweetness backing up.

The flavor was pretty similar, and left a hop bite at he back end.

The body was pretty typical for the style, maybe a bit on the light side of medium.

Drinkability was fine, the beer was a pleasant companion. Overall, a solid, average-ish take on the classic American IPA. Worth a shot if you see it.
Mar 13, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by BlueSpader from Washington

May 16, 2017
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.52/5  rDev -3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Rerate on 4/14/20. 12 oz can from Hops & Bottles. Clear, bright golden pour, lasting foamy head, clumpy lacing. Aroma is light piney hops with some sweet caramel malts underneath, resinous. Taste is a toned down version of the aroma, offering some bittering, woody, resiny hops and a minor hit of sweetness. That bitterness remains on the palate, sticky, lingering in the background for quite some time.

Prior Review: 3.3 Bottle from Brewers haven. Deep golden body, small, soft silky head, streaky lacing. Piney, hoppy aroma. hop forward in the taste, soapy and bitter. Some nice malts float around in the background, but this is a fairly hoppy IPA.
Dec 14, 2016
Photo of Libeertarian
Reviewed by Libeertarian from Montana

3.53/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
From notes taken 12/01/16:

Dull orange-amber, mostly clear. Light tan to biscuity head of creamy fluff, well-retaining, chunky, quite lacey. Resin and caramel aromas, little else. Pleasant enough, but could stand more complexity. Resin nearly turns to pine and leather and leaf matter on palate, this is good. Caramel present still but more subdued by hops here than on nose. Bit of lemon-flavored tea in here as well. Tolerably bitter finish. Medium in body, somewhat syrupy, with abundant fine and prickly carbonation, a little too astringent.
Dec 02, 2016
Photo of BeerReviewersAreGay
Reviewed by BeerReviewersAreGay from Idaho

4.7/5  rDev +29.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 5
Much better than many overpriced and overhyped IPAs, would buy again. Wallgreens

Smell: one of the best, cleanest hop smells ive ever sniffed.

Look; like any other IPA

Taste; Very tolerable for 70IBUs, also very much of a kick for a small 7%ABV.
Darkish taste to the hops, followed by a very caramely undertone, very unique, reminds me of Hop Stoopid but more IPAish.

Feel; Feels great in my mouth no home bro.

Overall; buy this over the torpedo or rampant that doesnt bite like the abv describes it should, Its always better when a lower abv bites harder than its bark, rather than a boasting 8% that doesnt do anything to you 8 down the road.
Nov 10, 2016
 
Rated: 3.51 by drned from Virginia

Jun 15, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by juicebox from Kentucky

May 27, 2016
Photo of flagmantho
Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington

3.63/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Poured from 12oz bottle into a dimpled mug.

Appearance: medium golden hue with no haze and a very light effervescence. Head is a thin finger of frothy light-tan foam.

Smell: sweet, slightly bready malt aroma with an earthy hop character that also has a dash of citrus to it. Nicely balanced.

Taste: toasty malt base with an earthy hop character. There's also a bit of biscuit in the mix, which is not my favorite, but otherwise a nice earthy IPA.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a big carbonation and a nice creaminess for the style.

Overall: objectively not a bad IPA but I'm not a huge fan of the biscuity malt character.
Apr 21, 2016
 
Rated: 3.36 by Sound_Explorer from Washington

Mar 23, 2016
 
Rated: 3.77 by GeorgeAKeim from Oregon

Mar 21, 2016
Photo of Rogerlb
Reviewed by Rogerlb from California

3.58/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a nice golden, with a thin head that shows bubbles. Carbonation is fairly obvious in the clear liquid.

Nose is hoppy with some citrus and sour rind coming in. Also a slight breadiness. Fruity promise. Taste is typical IPA, less sweet at the beginning and a bitter pine before citrus comes on nicely and then a thin caramel malty finish. It feels creamy has no real hop resin, doesn't come in with big bitter aftertaste although presumably an 80 IBU. Slight basil or mint as one other user said makes the end of the sip very interesting.

My first impression is it's quite well balanced, doesn't overpower in any department. Hides the apparent 7% ABV very well. My second impression is there's nothing here that knocks me out, it's just a solid beer I almost feel I had to pay more attention to to appreciate it.
Feb 23, 2016
 
Rated: 3.54 by rarigney from Washington

Feb 22, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by johnnyminor from Washington

Jan 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.77 by snohojimbo from Washington

Aug 23, 2015
Photo of hreb
Reviewed by hreb from Washington

3.77/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22oz bottle served in pint glass. Truly pale in color, on the yellow side of amber. Moderate white foam. C-hop aroma balanced between pine and floral. More pine and resin on the tongue. But, surprisingly, it's matched with an ample richness. Not quite sweet, but there's evidence of residual sugar here. I did not expect that based on the color, which, combined with the 7% ABV, lead me to assume this would be a bomb of ethanol and IBUs. I find the result to be pretty well balanced. Purists will find the volume is turned up too high for a "single" IPA, and will no doubt find other defects. And it's insufficiently dry-hopped to be remarkable as a double IPA. Still I think this is underrated.
Aug 22, 2015
Vindicator IPA from Wallace Brewing / Orehouse Tasting Room
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 46 ratings