Homefront India Pale Ale
Rochester Mills Beer Co.

 

16 ounce can into tulip glass, best before 11/13/2019. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy medium orange/copper/amber color with a 1-2 finger dense, creamy, and rocky cream colored head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, peppercorn, pine, maple wood, herbal, floral, grass, honey, caramel, and toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of vanilla, toffee, and nuttiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/earthy hops, maple wood, and dark/bready malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, peppercorn, pine, maple wood, herbal, floral, grass, honey, caramel, and toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of vanilla, toffee, and nuttiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness; and wood tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, peppercorn, pine, maple wood, herbal, floral, grass, honey, caramel, and toasted biscuit on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops, maple wood, and dark/bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and wood tannin spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready/grainy/sticky, and fairly resinous/rindy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 6.7%. Overall this is a delicious wood aged IPA. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops, maple wood, and dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly bitter/resinous/tannic/drying finish; not overly aggressive. Great Cascade/Chinook profile as expected. Very juicy, vibrant, dank, and earthy balanced hop complexity with maple wood; and a nice sized dark/bready malt backbone. Mild residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and impressive Midwest style example.