ZIPA
Z Street Brewing Company

Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep gold color, with a short white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is sweet with caramel, honey and citrus along with a mild background of hops.

T: The taste is likewise quite sweet for an IPA, with flavors of caramel, honey, spices and some citrus. The hops presence is pretty subdued for the style, but it comes out a little bit in the after-taste. The malt character is hearty and about on-target with the style.

M: Smooth and crisp, light-to-medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean and dry.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, decent kick, not the best representation of the American IPA style but might better represent the English IPA style, it’s a decent beer but not one of the first ones I’d pick.

a- deep gold/almost amber with a fluffy two finger head of tan

s- there's some rich fruitiness, esters and citric hop aromas overylaying a rich base of malt. there's sweet notes of toast and caramel and a little twang of scotchy peatish-ness.. so far so good.

taste- it's just a full, rich and nuanced as it smells. this one lays just left of center with the hops, bright and floral, somewhat resinous. the malt holds firmly against the hops though. the richness of the caramel is very noticeable and it sitll tastes of the peat twang, though any toasty, nutty notes are pretty vague.

mouthfeel- a lush and creamy beer, no doubt, with a refreshing and supporting bitterness. lots of everything here...

overall, thoroughly drinkable. my favorite all night in a flight of 8 different ipas. so much complexity. not your traditional american ipa, in a good way!

An above average IPA with three hops: Cascade, Centennial, and Kent. Bitter and full bodied, a good palate cleaner. Golden peachy colour with moderate white head. Lemon Fresh and refreshing, but must go with food. Some leafy mintness in finish. Appropriately carbonated.

A light rosey amber color with a solid one finger foamy white head and great lace. The aroma is a mild flowery & carmel hops, very nice but not too strong. The taste is of creamy bready hops, very solid but not overpowering at all. A little grapefruit bite on the tongue and a likeable bitter finish. Not highly carbonated. This has a curious cracker background, sort of salty. Different. Very easy drinking yet reputably tasteful. Definitely gets your tongue's attention and stays with you for a little while. Recommended. I will have to try more offerings from Z Street.

12 fl oz brown bottle; served in a tumbler.

Hazy, deep camel in color. Half-inch high, creamy white head that settles to an intact sheet. Trails of thin lacing with decent strength.

Bright, burnt pine and floral hop aromas; musty wheat and grains with phenols. Sweat-like, burnt-toasted malts.

Pine, spruce, earthen-floral hops; burnt hops, almost muddy in flavor. Beneath a layer of astringent-mustiness is a grainy flavor profile. A moderate bitterness is followed by an earthen-citrus aftertaste.

Medium bodied; gritty, yet filmy on the palate.

Too earthen and waxy for my preference of an IPA. Not an IPA that I'll be going back to.

The beer pours a hazy gold color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a nice pale malt scent along with a piney hop aroma. It appears dry and bisquity. The taste is good. It has a solid malt bill that boasts of pale, Carapils, and Munich malts along with a bitter hop bit in the finish that is dry and piney. The mouthfeel is good. It is a full bodied beer with adequate/good carbonation. This is a good drinking IPA. It's bitter, but heavy enough in the malt department to balance it out.

I can't help but feel that the overall rating of this brew is a reflection of it's previous incarnation before the relaunch of Z Street. Pours a heady orange-amber color that seems to glow from the glass. Aroma of citrusy hops is spot on. Hops dominate the flavor as well, but there is a nice malt backbone to back them up. Chewy mouthfeel adds to the pleasure. This is a solid IPA, don't let the overall lower rating be a deterrent from trying it.

Z Street India Pale Ale
12 oz brown bottle
Served in a 20 oz tulip pint glass

Pours a hazy peach-orange color. Mini head on top.

Tropical fruit punch whiffs with an accent on citrus notes. Floral aroma in the background.

Sweet toasted malt base with a fruity hop punch on the finish with flavors of grapefruit, pine and lime. Super nice hop presence in this IPA that uses Cascade, Centennial and Kent Goldings.

Overall, a very enjoyable IPA.

Z Street's IPA pours an orange-yellow with some head. A decent hop bouquet with some grapefruit flavors, that covered a light sweet malt. The flavors is a bit powered with the citrusness, that gives it a bitter bite at the finish. All and all, this is a serviceable IPA but I would not trouble to seek it out.

12 ouncer sampled, now brewed by Mercury in Ipswich Ma., I found this one to be tasty and quite worthy of BA attention. Pours a moderate shade of almond amber, quite clear. With initially a long lasting creamy light tan head, then comes the telltale tiny bubble film, leaves fine, spotty lacing upon a moderate swirl. Nose of nice oily, and citric hops. This is a respectable IPA, more citric, grapefruit hop notes, moderatly full bodied, enough doughy, yeasty malts to add the requisite appearance of balance making this a worth trying IPA. Long ballsy finish of grapefruit, honey and overall IPA goodness. Nice

This beer pours a hazy orange/amber has a 1/2 finger head with very little retention and spotty lacing. The aroma is a strong citrus at first but as the beer warms there is a earthy bread odor. The taste is a spicy citrus with bitter grapefruit in the finish. This beer is smooth and very drinkable, I plan on having this one again.

Z Street has been relaunched and is now being contract brewed by Mercury, who also brews Ipswich and Endurance.

Once poured, noted that the color of the beer matches the color of the stripe on the front label indicating the style.

Really enjoyed the citrus-ey, kinda tartness this beer had to offer. It mixed nicely with the standard Hop quality I've come to expect in an IPA without being overly hoppy. Poured clean, had a decent head. Drank it down real easy, was pleasantly surprised by the smoothness. Certainly worth another sixer.

Never saw this before until I was at Marty's in Newton. Picked up a six pack and was intrigued that it was brewed by Mercury, brewers of Ipswich and others.

Pours golden with a hint of orange, small head, that leaves some lace. Smells hoppy with a fruity or floral background. Tastes a bit fruity, distinctly hoppy and a tad bitter. Mouthfeel is pretty good making this beer very drinkable. Goes down smooth, but I'm not suprised coming from Ipswich...

Pours a hazy, golden orange color with a thick white head and nice lacing. Aroma is a nice blend of citrus hops and a sweet molasses aroma, an enticing IPA. Taste begins with a big hop wallop, with a big citrusy smack from the centennial and cascade hops and a nice spicy bite from the Goldings. The malt flavors are mostly bready and lightly sweet caramel flavors, not very balanced but still very drinkable. Mouthfeel is creamy with moderate carbonation and a crisp, bitter finish.

Had this one at a tasting at Yankee Spirits in Sturbridge. Hosted by Dan, who was very well-versed in the history of the brewery and knowledgeable about the beers he was sampling.

This beer was a deep yellow color, with a low but lacy head. Attractive for an IPA.

The aroma was of grapefruit hops, and was very strong. Nice.

The taste was of sharp grapefruit hops, with a persistent bitterness on the center of the tongue.

A pretty sturdy beer... gave it a little lower on drinkability, though, because the bitter aftertaste seemed to be just that... bitter, not a lot of hop flavor to accompany it.

A clean orange/amber beer. Has a big creamy off white head with some chunky lace. A nice citrusy hop aroma is the first thing you notice with a warm malt background. The taste starts with a light touch of malt sweetness on the tip of your tongue. Followed by a nice sharp, but yet floral, hop bite which blends into the nice dry finish.

This is from the newly relaunched Z street brewery.
Pours a dark gold, topped with a two finger creamy off white head, leaves bands of lacing.
Floral, spicy, fruity aroma, citrus (orange) notes.
Citrus, toast and pine in the taste, spicy with caramel and grapefruit.
Medium bodied, session beer drinkability.

12ozer bottle bought as a single from Yankee Spirits, Sturbridge, MA. Back as a contract brew at Concord, from what I understand.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1/2" white head above the slightly cloudy dark golden/light amber brew. Head fades but still there, with average lacing. Aroma is piney hops with a light pale malt presence. Taste is pale malts in the front, and then the piney hpos character comes on, big time. What I expect from an American IPA. Mouthfeel is very nice for the style, and drinkabilty is great as well. My favorite so far of the new old Z Street offerings.

The beer pours a hazy golden amber, with a touch of orange. A fat, foamy white head tops the brew, dissipating into a ring of head very quickly. Some sticky cobwebbed lace.
Aroma is almost all hops. A very light maltiness weakly tries to break through the foliage, but fails. Strong citrus/pine aroma, very tangy, suggesting that this beer is going to be pretty bitter. I better get my bitter beer face on.
Flavor is less hoppy than i expected, with a bready maltiness prevailing initially. It's quickly swept over by a powerful citric/piney hopping, which carries the beer all the way into the finish. A bit ham fisted hoppiness, surprising for such a light bodied IPA. Some grapefruity hop flavor, with a light hint of pineapple. Lingering hop bitterness in the aftertaste. I could definitely stand for a bit more balance. Slightly oily, with a buttery feel in your mouth. Moderate carbonation, with a fairly light body.
Not a bad brew, particularly if you desire some hops. Malts are all but overrun by the agressive hopping. I didn't think it was particularly balanced, probably my least favorite from Z Street.

I wasn't impressed at first when I poured this product from the bottle - looked kind of weak and fizzy with a less than creamy head. I can't really describe the smell except to say it didn't smell like a typical IPA. Therefore, I was very pleasantly surprised when I tasted it - nice full bodied mouthfeel with plenty of hop tang but not to an excessive degree. I've subsequently purchased several more 6-packs when traveling through the Fitchburg area and have found the results to be the same. Not my favorite IPA but nonetheless a very satisfying brew.