Sea Hag IPA
New England Brewing Co.

Sea Hag IPASea Hag IPA
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From:
New England Brewing Co.
 
Connecticut, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #1,589
ABV:
6.2%
Score:
88
Ranked #13,960
Avg:
3.93 | pDev: 10.43%
Reviews:
497
Ratings:
1,805
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 12, 2024
Added:
Feb 24, 2006
Wants:
  77
Gots:
  411
An American style IPA brewed with a blend of hops from the pacific northwest that produce an aroma of citrus and fruit with a balanced malt character finishing with a crisp floral finish

IBU’s - 65
Kettle Hops - Columbus, Centennial, Amarillo & Citra Dry Hops - Amarillo, Centennial, Citra, Simcoe & Columbus

Malt - Pilsner, Munich, Crystal Malt

Yeast - American Ale OG - 14.2
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BuckeyeNation:
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Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

4.15/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Beautifully bronzed dark kumquat that explodes with bold, rich color when backlit with bright sunshine. The pale caramel cap is thickly creamy with a rumpled surface that gives it a great deal of character. I love the way Sea Hag looks, but the color makes me wonder if caramel malt will be too prominent for my tastes.

The nose is wonderful and is easily more hoppy than malty. That said, this isn't a hop bomb because of the underlying... yes, caramel... malt. Those who like to taste toasted malt in their (somewhat balanced, I'm guessing) IPAs will be in seventh heaven. For the pure hopheads among us, the aroma falls short of great.

Sea Hag tastes exactly like it looks like it'll taste and exactly like it smells like it'll taste. And it tastes damn good. If I'm going to drink a caramel malt dominant (as opposed to a pale malt dominant) IPA, then this is just the sort of thing that I want. What I'm trying to say is that there's a few cargo holds worth of hops in this can. Shiver me timbers, this stuff is good!

Resinous pine sap is especially prominent and is easily the equal of sugared white grapefruit pith. While the early portions of each mouthful are balanced, the later portions favor the good guys with a puckeringly bitter, impressively drying back end. A little yeasty sourness tries to intrude, but is rebuffed by all the alpha acid.

The mouthfeel is top-notch as well. It needed to be on the medium-full side in order to work... and it is. What good is a frail Sea Hag anyway? Only the really buff, muscular Sea Hags are truly scary. A modest slickness on the finish provides some much-appreciated flavor linger.

Sea Hag is my first offering from New England B.C. and I'm impressed by what they've done with this IPA. I imagine that these cans fly off the shelves; or at least they would if I had easy access. Like the label says, "Drink It. It's good".
Nov 05, 2006
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.75 by mamaraza from Texas

Mar 12, 2024
 
Rated: 3.92 by ctbeerman1 from Connecticut

Sep 01, 2023
Photo of Specialmick
Reviewed by Specialmick from Connecticut

3.83/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Look....deep copper more like an amber classic style IPA from the olden days. slight haze with ample carbonation
Smell...Light hint of the usual northwest style hops. Light hint of citrus
Taste...A tangible fruity sluipping farther and farther away to truly bitter drying finish. a balance of malt and a pervasive bitter make this beer tasty
Feel...undeniably full considering the ABV and really hype this beer to me Abundant lacing and formidable stickiness
Overall... I waited a very long time to revisit this. When I had this a very long time ago I was not that impressed but my tastes have definitely been sharpened in the last 10 years of good beer drinkin" haha. I could see how many could latch on to this approach to IPAs . Worth a look for sure!!!
Jul 24, 2023
 
Rated: 3.6 by BeerWasp from Germany

May 29, 2023
 
Rated: 3.59 by crobinso from Colorado

May 17, 2023
 
Rated: 4.14 by Tom_Hartlett from California

Apr 22, 2023
 
Rated: 3.93 by wisegreensoul from Idaho

Mar 03, 2023
Photo of Captain69
Rated by Captain69 from Illinois

3.69/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
light hoppy ipa good drinking but nothing special
Jan 06, 2023
 
Rated: 4.06 by hozersr from Pennsylvania

Sep 23, 2022
Photo of seakayak
Reviewed by seakayak from Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
New England Brewing Sea Hag IPA, 6.2% - delicious old school IPA, grapefruit and pine, very dry with a smooth bitterness - dolphin smooth. Malts are tasty in the background. Solid classic! Cheers!
Sep 20, 2022
 
Rated: 3.96 by McSeal from Connecticut

Aug 26, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by PaleAleWalt from New York

Jun 30, 2022
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

3.99/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: The beer is hazy amber yellow in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high off white head that gradually died down, leaving a thin collar around the edge and some specks of bubbles clinging to the sides of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of citrusy hops are present in the nose - orange and grapefruit seem to stand out in particular.
T: The taste follows the smell, but has additional notes of floral and herbal hops along with underlying caramel malts. There is a moderate amount of bitterness.
M: It feels medium-bodied and crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This is a classic IPA and the taste has a nice balance between the malts and hops.

Serving type: can
Jun 19, 2022
Photo of BEERMILER12
Reviewed by BEERMILER12 from Maine

4.02/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: Pours a golden orange color with 2 fingers of head that fades down to a nice cap that leaves good lacing

S: A mix of citrus, pine, and lighter floral and grassy tones

T: Follows the nose. Starts off with the citrus and pine and then picks up some grassy and floral undertones along with some caramel maltiness. Moderate bitterness. Finishes with lingering citrus and pine

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation

O: A solid IPA that is super easy to drink. Very well balanced. Worth checking out
Jun 05, 2022
 
Rated: 4.43 by Shantzak from Pennsylvania

Apr 26, 2022
 
Rated: 5 by doctorgary from New York

Apr 04, 2022
 
Rated: 4.23 by NRMeadmore from Connecticut

Feb 23, 2022
Photo of dms
Reviewed by dms from Connecticut

5/5  rDev +27.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Look, every great brewery has its flagship beer. Treehouse has Julius, NEBCo has Sea Hag. Alchemist -> Heady . . . the list goes on. If we are being honest, everything else from these aforementioned breweries is sort of a derivative thereof (I know ... I know ... I'm not talking about stouts). If you made a time capsule and wanted to include some Northeast region IPAs you would certainly include a Sea Hag. It's simply a modern classic at this point. Not too much of anything. I wander outward all the time trying this and that from here or there - more juice, more hazy, more thick, more citrus, more piney, more more. But then I stroll back home, like to an old friend. Sea Hag pretty much captures the style of a West Coast IPA evolved a bit and made here in Connecticut. Beers don't get better than this. They get different. My fridge is full of all kinds of stuff right now. But there is always a 6 of Sea Hag in there. Always.
Jan 20, 2022
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Rated by WlSH_YOU_WERE_BEER from Georgia

4.21/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
The first truly great ipa I tried, and from 15 minutes away from where I lived. My go to at the tapas restaurant that never carded me with my dad.
Jan 19, 2022
Sea Hag IPA from New England Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 1805 ratings