No. 2 IPA
The Freehouse

 

 

A clear, golden hue with orange highlights. It had a small, white head of foam. It smelled of citrus, resinous pine and burnt toast maltiness. Nice burnt toast malt flavor with some sweet caramel. It had a strong bitter, piney hop bite to match the sweetness. It was crisp and sharp with a very dry finish.

An average IPA clear dark yellow with a spicy floral smell, taste had more spice than hops and had a this mouth feel, easy to drink but not a good rendition of the style.

 

 

 

 

The IPA was solid. It poured a clear copper color with white head that left some lace. The scent and the taste had hop bitterness with floral and citrus being present. The mouthfeel was medium in body with good carbonation. Overall....quite nice.

Had on tap at the Longfellow Grill. L: It’s a full, clear light amber pour with a thin cream colored foam film on top. S: Melon and malt with some light spice. T: Fruit and malt palate with an assertive bitterness. Balanced towards the hops. F: Medium carbonation and body. O: A good, flavorful, easy to drink IPA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

nothing special here unfortunately, as its my first beer from the freehouse and i was hoping for a little more. its a generic ipa, no visible flaws aside from a rather thin body than makes the whole thing go by too swiftly. its got a cascade hop type profile, higher alpha but lower dosed, overbalanced by sweet malt, possibly underfermented. i just need some more meat for the style, too light to hold onto, maybe in the spring and summer, but not this time of year. hops turn quite bitter in the finish, and hang around awhile. i see this as good ipa for those still on the fence about the style, or new to craft from yellow beer. its light enough to appeal to those folks, but flavorful enough to show what hops can do in a beer. thats about it though, as it doesnt really pass muster with a mature ipa palate.

edit: on tap at the brewery some time later than the original review, i now find this to be an easy drinking maltier ipa, real low impact, but super approachable and easy going. better than i remember it, just freakishly mild overall. drinkable by the pitcher, but not super original...