Gearshifter
Stoudts Brewing Co.

 

 

Poured from a can into pint glass in February 2020. There is a canned date of 10/11/2019 on the can. I drank this less than 1 week after purchase.

Appearance: Deep gold color with thick white head. Deeper color than many other IPAs I have drank. It is very hazy, like other American IPAs. Head is very thick and it lasts a long time. There is nice lacing on the glass.

Smell: Strong aroma of pine, citrus, and hops, as well as some sweetness like pineapple. Overall the pine and citrus aromas dominates the other aromas.

Taste: Sweet taste with a bitter hops edge. There is a typical hops and citrus flavor but with some sweetness as well. This is not as bitter as most other IPAs. Has a very nice after taste. Overall a nice balance and very drinkable.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, which makes this very drinkable. Medium alcohol which matches the 6.8% listed.

This is a good and interesting American IPA. It has a nice mix of grapefruit, hops, and other flavors, which makes it enjoyable. I like the overall balance, and that the citrus flavors are pronounced but do not dominate the flavor. This would be a great IPA to drink often. I would buy this again, but unfortunately am not sure how much longer it will be available.

 

Nothing exceptional about this PA IPA out of Stoudts. Decent pour, simple nose of berry and tropical fruit which follow into the palate. Add a bit of basic piney resin and you have this beer summed up.

 

Pours a light copper color with a finger of head. The nose is citrusy. The flavor profile is plenty juicy but the complimentary bitter finish is just not there.

Poured into a globe style tulip from bottle.

A: slight light copper haze. Decent two finger head settles down to a few floating disjoint disks and a ring at edge of glass. Haziness prevents accurate carbonation estimate. Lacing is spotty and unpredictable.

S: gentle floral and herbal hops with light cracker note. Not overpowering nor overwhelming but classic.

T: building bitterness with each quaff buries malts quickly. Bitter, underripe peach undercurrent, light baby aspirin, mango then piney, slightly resinous finish.

M: wells up into medium-light fullness then dryness takes over. Disappears quickly and leaves a light slickness and then a bitter dry tongue effect.

O: It is a classic IPA profile and surprisingly good. This ain't no juice bomb NEIPA, but more akin to a classic IPA with modern hops. It presents well balanced traits of hops used in modern IPA without being too unapproachable.

Draft at Lancaster Barnstormers baseball game. Pours a hazy dark amber with a nice off-white head. Initial impression is citrus, with notes of pine and a dank undertone thatsets the other flavors up nicely. Mouthfeel is medium, as is carbonation. Finish is more of the same - nice and clean, with very little residual bitterness.

Cask at Bull's Head in Lititz. Disclaimer: After many trips to England and with the general availability of cask beers in Lancaster County PA, I am biased towards "warm" English beers.
Look - slightly worn copper penny. That's a positive.
Smell - citrus with grapefruit the overall winner.
Taste - first, the taste is a bit overwhelmed by the aroma. I still get the citrus but subdued. Again, not a bad thing. Second, there is more than just pure citrus in the taste. Alas, I am not able to pin the additional flavors down. On the other hand, I am happy that this beer can not be confused with grapefruit juice.
Feel - Ummmmm. Velvety smooth. I've heard of milk baths. Are there such a thing as beer baths?
Overall - I would add to my summer IPA list. Your milage may vary.

 

 

The lightly hazed golden orange beer pours out into a Duvel glass with a 1” ivory white head that leaves lots of lacing (sheets, rings, patches, and legs) on the sides of the glass as it recedes to a cap and then a thin irregular island of foam. Sipping creates arches of foam and multiple small patches and legs of lacing, most of which cling to the sides of the glass.

The aromas include a melange of tropical fruits and some floral character backed up by some bready malt.

The flavors are different than what is expected from the nose. There’s tropical fruit and floral character but there’s also citric zest and pine resin. The sweetness from the bready malt remains in the background, allowing the bitterness from the zest and resin to show but not dominate the flavors.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and slightly prickly from the light but persistent finely bubbled carbonation. The medium length finish begins as the fruit, floral character and beady sweetness begin to recede and the citrus and pine move forward a bit before they too begin to fade to a long ending in the back of the palate that is mostly about the dry resinous bitterness.

Overall this is both a drinkable and an enjoyable IPA. The “gearshift” idea works well and creates a fairly complex combination of hop flavors and aromas. I expect I’ll be looking to have this one again.