Felony IPA
Prism Brewing Company

Felony IPAFelony IPA
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From:
Prism Brewing Company
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
10%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.5 | pDev: 17.43%
Reviews:
27
Ratings:
141
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 16, 2017
Added:
Nov 11, 2011
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  36
Felony IPA is an English / American Hybrid double IPA that features more European hops than American. Brewed in an English style to maintain a malt backbone and coming in at 10% ABV, 100 IBU’s and using 10 hop varieties to give it that American attitude Unlike those traditional IPA’s that hit you in the face with citrus, we prefer to sneak up on you with an amazingly smooth 100 IBUs of piney, earth, and citrusy hops and high octane 10% ABV. This translates into an experience that should be illegal.

This beer is one of the few beers in the world whose base malt is Low-Lox, an anti-oxidation malt that provides superior shelf-life and flavor stability which we believe is of utmost importance when making IPA’s. Learn more about the Low-Lox malt that we use.

We decided that although we love our West Coast brethren, we wanted to make our double IPA a bit differently. Our anti-reinheitsgebot perspective made this ‘illegal’ in our books so we made it the first of our Prison series. Originally a limited release beer it quickly became such a hit that we decided to make it available year round.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BeerForHokie:
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Rated by BeerForHokie from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +14.3%

Oct 20, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.77 by HellsRanger from Pennsylvania

May 16, 2017
Photo of Bellerophon
Reviewed by Bellerophon from Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +35.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
From 12 oz bottle to pint glass.

This beer is incredible! My first two criteria for an IPA are hop bitterness and bitter/malty balance, and this beer has both turned up to 11! Outrageous excess in perfect balance! My only reason for giving this beer less than a 5 rating is that something better may conceivably come along.
Jan 14, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by rjvanston from Pennsylvania

Dec 31, 2016
 
Rated: 3.59 by Barleycorn from Pennsylvania

Nov 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.44 by Stofko1992 from Pennsylvania

Nov 18, 2016
 
Rated: 3.94 by zachthelaxer93 from South Carolina

Aug 13, 2016
Photo of rudiecantfail
Reviewed by rudiecantfail from Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
12 ounce bottle poured into a pint glass.

L---Hazy/cloudy amber/orange color. Ok head with good lacing.

S---Sweet & hoppy. Tropical fruits.

T---Alcohol is present. Juicy with tropical fruit & pine. Taste might be somewhat muddled by ten different hops varieties.

F---A bit of alcohol burn. Otherwise, a bit on the full side. Ok carbonation.

O---10% ABV is nothing to laugh at. This is strong and tastes and feels like it. I'd like to knock a few back, but I might not be able to get up afterwards.
Jun 29, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by calcnerd from Pennsylvania

Jun 03, 2016
 
Rated: 3.67 by rydev24 from Pennsylvania

May 19, 2016
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Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.57/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Prism Brewing Company "ParTea Pale Ale"
at the brewery on 9 April 2016

Notes: Hazy amber body with golden highlights beneath a creamy head of off-white. Aroma expresses mainly sweetish and caramel-tinged malt with floral, leafy/grassy, and citrusy hop notes. The flavor is fuller, delivering a solid toasty and nutty malt base along with some more hop character, mainly pine. There's a touch of yeasty fruit as well (apple), and a massive bitterness and slap of alcohol. Balance is not the strong point here, nor is focus. The maltiness might be good on its own, and the hoppiness might work as well, but together they just get muddy. It's very bitter and it lingers heavily, but more importantly, for a double IPA there aren't enough hops in either the flavor or the aroma - and I know where they're going with this, as a kind of English strong ale, but it comes off as sloppy and muddy. If they took this recipe down halfway to about 5% ABV it would probably work, but as it is it's anything but focused.
Apr 15, 2016
 
Rated: 2.96 by reizorc from Pennsylvania

Mar 31, 2016
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Reviewed by Mind4Mud from Pennsylvania

1/5  rDev -71.4%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Ordered this DIPA at a pub on draught. I'm not going to get into look,feel,head or lacing for the fact that this beer tasted like they brewed a sub par IPA and added grain alcohol to finish the batch. As I raised the glass all I could smell was alcohol & all I could taste was alcohol and with absolutely zero hop punch. This beer even gave me that warm chest burn from the alcohol. Next time I want to taste that much booze, I'll do a shot. I do not recommend this beer at all.
Dec 29, 2015
Photo of Myotus
Reviewed by Myotus from Texas

1.85/5  rDev -47.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 1.75
Poured from a 12oz bottle (best by date 20Nov15) into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
LOOK: Pours with a half finger's worth of off-white foam that halves itself after a minute and a half. Honey orange in color with a moderate amount of cloudiness. Rising bubbles are medium in size and moderate in quantity. Lacing is thin and subtle.
SMELL: This smells like straight lime Pinesol, grass, and a hint of alcohol.
TASTE: Mild flavors of bready malts initially enter and are instantaneously followed by mild flavors of lime Pinesol. Subtle floral hop and grass flavors come in last as malt flavors persist, but Pinesol flavors grow slightly stronger. At least I couldn't taste any alcohol.
FEEL: First of all, I feel like I'm drinking poison because of how bad it smells and tastes. But continuing... Light-bodied (let the disappointments stack up) and subtly carbonated. Goes down smooth. Finishes with the worst dryness I have ever experienced in a beer.
NOTE: The only felony about this beer was about how bad it was.
Oct 31, 2015
 
Rated: 3.53 by informaticsDoc from Pennsylvania

Oct 09, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by Vivs85 from New York

Sep 19, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by Ahop91 from Pennsylvania

Aug 30, 2015
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Reviewed by wunderbeer from Pennsylvania

1.66/5  rDev -52.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5
This beer is a disaster. While I like a good DIPA, this was a muddled mess, with a weak ester / methanol smell which permeates the taste. There is no focus to the hops, just an awful bitterness that that compliments the a doughy alcohol base.

It may not be a felony to sell a beer like this, but should require public service. To be clear, this beer just knocked Wild Blue off my worst 10 beers list. Don't buy it. You'll regret it all the way to the sink, where you'll pour it out.
Aug 03, 2015
 
Rated: 4.28 by George2744 from Pennsylvania

Jul 19, 2015
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Reviewed by BeerAdvocate from Finland

3.4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From BeerAdvocate Magazine #84 (Jan 2014):

10 hop varieties? OK, but it was impossible to pick any one hop out, as the flavors did not jibe well with the juicy, estery 10% ABV. Both the malt and hops seem muddled here, and with the moderate level of carbonation, none of the flavors are able to really follow through. Decent, but a bit of a hot mess.

STYLE: American Double IPA
ABV: 10.0%
AVAILABILITY: Year-round

LOOK: Hazed amber hue, thin lacing

SMELL: Juicy, taffy, tropical fruit, faintly buttery, cake batter, soft hop resin, orangey, alcohol

TASTE: Thick medium body, light carbonation, semi-sharp hop bitterness, thick hop resin, esters, juicy, slightly dank, pineapple, doughy malt, nutty yeast, warming alcohol, leafy hop aftertaste, finishes on the dry side
Jun 19, 2015
Felony IPA from Prism Brewing Company
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 141 ratings