Prairie Madness
Hailstorm Brewing Co.

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by GuyFawkes from Illinois

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

4.56/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by defunksta from North Dakota

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

5/5  rDev +24.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
by chicagocraft from Illinois

World Class!

Sep 21, 2018

4.21/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
by GrumpyGas from Illinois

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

4.46/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by michaelsmith11 from Illinois

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

3.96/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by ksimons from Illinois

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

4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by emerge077 from Illinois

Canned 1/10/18, consumed 1/11/18.

Jan 12, 2018

4.3/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by Tucquan from Pennsylvania

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