Prairie Madness
Hailstorm Brewing Co.

GuyFawkes from Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Canned 8/20/16; drank 9/9/16 @ the Yarchives.

See-through dark orange appearance; champagne bubbles throughout.

A rough pour yielded a big white head; strong, frothy tree-rung lace.

Grapefruit, fresh flowers & mild caramel notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Grapefruit & smooth caramel flavors up front; dry pine needle notes on the finish.

This is not my IPA profile, to be sure, but it's well-made & drinkable.

Jul 23, 2019

defunksta from North Dakota

4.56/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 1pt can into a tulip at 45 degrees,

Look: Pours a beautiful dark, clear amber color with a prominent, foamy and sticky head.
Smell: Strong dank earthy aromas. Heavy hop flavors of pine and tropical fruit. Orange, melon, and candied fruit.
Taste: Dark and earthy notes. Flavor or orange, pineapple, canteloupe and honeydew. But quickly eaten up by dank earthy pine flavor finished with a drop hop bitterness.
Feel: Medium to heavy bodied. Well carbonated. Slightly oily. Resiny but leaves a clean, dry, bitter finish on the tongue.

Compared side by side to 4-Handed Incarnation's IPA: This one has less of a black tea flavor. Slightly more tropical fruit, orange and melon. It is more oily and resinous. Heavier and lasts on the tongue longer. Maybe slightly sweeter too.

Overall: This is an excellent IPA. The mosaic and simcoe hops beautifully characterize this beer. It is dark, dank, and resinous, which is a rare treasure in IPAs. Not to mention it is so well-balanced with dry-hopped fruity melon flavors and a piney, spicy, bitter, clean finish. It has all the characteristics I'm looking for in an IPA. I don't give many beers more than a 4.5 on here... Going on my top 10 list. No wonder it is the GABF IPA winner of 2017!

Mar 18, 2019

GrumpyGas from Illinois

4.21/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

16oz draft poured into a pint glass shows a partly cloudy orangish amber body and floats a good inch of fluffy white head that disippates to a thin, but persistent cap, and leaves erratic spidery lacing.

Aroma is piney resin, tropical fruit, mostly pineapple, with some citrus hops, and just a hint of a biscuit malt.

Flavors match with more emphasis on the pine resin, especially on the finish.

Mouthfeel is medium, leaning full, and a sticky finish.

Overall, a fine example of the style.

Mar 23, 2018

michaelsmith11 from Illinois

4.46/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Had this fresh, canned two days ago. The look is copper colored with a nice head. The smell is very fruity, lots of citrus, tropical. The taste is citrusy and tropical up front but with a nice bitter finish that cuts through the fruit. It's has a medium mouthfeel with a dry finish. I really enjoyed this beer. The fact that it was fresh and only two days old had a lot to do with it but it was very good.

Mar 16, 2018

ksimons from Illinois

3.96/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A-dark amber in color with a thin layer of cream colored head

S-aroma is of tropical fruits and citrus

T-taste starts out somewhat sweet with tropical fruits but then ends in a very bitter pine and citrus

M-medium body and crisp carbonation

Overall a nice IPA, maybe a little too bitter in the finish, but glad to get to try it considering it won gold at GABF

Feb 08, 2018

Tucquan from Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Had this on 2017-10-28 in Warrenville, IL from a 16oz canned on 2017-08-22 and again on 2017-12-06 from a 16oz canned the day before on 2017-12-05. I changed my ratings and comments to reflect this delicious fresh batch. This won gold at 2017 GABF.

A - Gold-bronze with a 1.5 finger off-white head and very good lace.

S - Melon, tropical, mint, pineapple, light dank, biscuit, light caramel, pine. Very nice. I can smell it easily from 18" away.

T - Toasted rye bread, pineapple, pine, melon, light caramel, mint, pepper. Gooey hop bud goodness. Nicely bitter but balanced with residual sweetness.

M - Medium body and light-medium carbonation. Resinous and a bit prickly with some residual stickiness.

O - Delicious. My kind of IPA. West Coast style with a big dollop of tropical fruit and melon. Impressive. I understand why it one gold.

Below are my original overall comments from the first time I tried the beer On 2017-10-28 when it was about 10 weeks old. Fresh makes a significant difference. My original overall rating was 4.06.

O - I need to try this fresh at the brewery as soon as my travel and availability permits. I would have gone there today but this isn't on tap. I'm sure it's due to winning gold for IPA at 2017 GABF. Everyone wants to give it a try. At least I was able to find this canned example at Binny's.

Dec 29, 2017

ZebulonXZogg from Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

L: Pours a foggy orange with an off white head that fades quickly, nice lacing.
A: Pine and citrus.
T: A nice citrus flavor. Bitter finish.
F: Nice medium bodied beer, good carbonation. Sticky.
O: No date on the can. Pretty decent beer.

May 11, 2017

Alieniloquium from Florida

3.22/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

16 oz. can. Mosaic and Simcoe. Amber body with a medium white head. Smells of spicy malts, garlic, floral hops. Tastes of bready malts, garlic hops. Oniony back end. Mild bitterness with a spicy malt finish and just a bit of sweetness. Medium body. Not bad. Strong garlic and onion flavor from the mosaic and Simcoe, though.

Apr 10, 2017

WoodBrew from Ohio

4/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I bought a 4pck of this from Binny's...has two of my fav hops...mosaic and semcoe. It poured a clear copper with white head that is leaving a spotty lace. The scent had hints of citrus and pine. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with a bitter finish. There is bitter citrus base and smooth sweeter malt. The mouthfeel was medium in body with good carbonation. Overall it's a solid offering.

Apr 06, 2017

jzlyo from Iowa

4.04/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Aroma is citrus, biscuit/slightly sweet malts and a hint of tea. The flavor is citrus, fruit/candy, malts, hops, grapefruit/tropical fruit and a bitter/slightly sweet finish.

Nov 18, 2016

NolaHopHead from Louisiana

4.03/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

16 oz can. Hazy amber color with off-white head, good retention and lots of scattered lace. Sweet caramel malt aroma. Taste is malt forward, bready at first, sweet. Piney hops come in to even things out, lasting bitterness, dry finish. Overall solid balanced IPA.

Sep 09, 2016

emgong from Massachusetts

3.86/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Hazy golden orange with delicately persistent lacing. Nose is papaya and earthy, with mild floral overtones. Taste of tropical fruit, but hops are not balanced by the malt. This is quite the hop bomb. Mouth feel is thin, with minimal finish. This beer does not leave me with a great impression.

Jul 13, 2016

Hopheadjeffery from Illinois

3.6/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Tasted in a Spiegelau IPA glass from a 1 pint can on April 29, 2016. 100 ibu. Look is gold with a white head and spotty lacing. Smell is citrus, earthy and floral with complex malt aromas. Taste is grapefruit, earthy and floral with an interesting blend of malt flavors. Feel is medium in body with a clean crisp finish.

Apr 30, 2016

TMoney2591 from Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served in a tumbler at Mundelein Brewfest 2014.

Still hanging around the Hailstorm table to try out their pale ale. It pours a clear brass topped by a finger or so of lightly off-white foam. The nose comprises grapefruit zest, pine needles, mild biscuit, light honey, and a touch of orange zest. The taste brings in more of the same, the pine taking a stronger position than before, though its dominance is not secured. The body is a rather light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a drying finish. Overall, a decent pale ale, one that doesn't overdo the hops and maintains a solid malty backbone that also doesn't overstep its bounds.

Jun 19, 2014