The IPA
Building 8 Brewing (BLDG8)

The IPAThe IPA
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From:
Building 8 Brewing (BLDG8)
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #200
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
93
Ranked #4,224
Avg:
4.16 | pDev: 7.69%
Reviews:
69
Ratings:
263
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 27, 2024
Added:
Jun 17, 2015
Wants:
  23
Gots:
  75
A well balanced West Coast IPA utilizing a generous blend of six hops;
featuring Simcoe, Citra & Mosaic varieties.
Very tropical and citrusy up front, with a piney, dank baseline & a dry, clean finish.
70 IBUs
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by nut:
Photo of nut
Rated by nut from Illinois

4.46/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Jan 07, 2016
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.05 by Jsalz21 from New Jersey

Feb 27, 2024
 
Rated: 4.43 by lakewy17 from New Hampshire

Jan 06, 2024
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.21/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Appearance: Pours clear and golden colored with a one finger head that fades to a film; speckles of lacing

Smell: Somewhat dank and piney with a hint of citrus and tropical elements supporting

Taste: A bit of biscuit malt underpins, along with tropical papaya and orange tones, but the piney hops quickly overtake; moderate to high bitterness, through the middle, with a dank finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: A nice, easy-drinking West Coast IPA
Jan 18, 2023
 
Rated: 4.15 by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

Mar 26, 2022
Photo of snaotheus
Reviewed by snaotheus from Washington

3.79/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
2021-11-12
16oz can served in a tulip. No date on the can. Received as retaliation from @WunderLlama in NBS BIF #14.

Pours a clear light gold/amber with a smallish head and medium active carbonation. Smell is lime, pine resin, some grass and hay, maybe a slight orange sweetness.

Taste is pretty similar. Less of the hay, less of an orangey sweetness.

Mouthfeel is light, smooth, very dry. Overall, it's a pretty good west coast IPA.
Nov 13, 2021
Photo of Todd
Reviewed by Todd from Finland

4.12/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
16oz can. No date. Sample from the brewery. Thanks, O'Brian!

Slightly hazy (we'll talk later) golden-orange hued beer with a creamy lace. Citrus and pine in the nose. Very crisp, lively, and creamy on the palate. Kind of juicy too with a solid dose of tropical fruitiness (pineapple, mango, papaya) that collides with more pine, some grapefruit, citrus rind, and good old-fashioned dankness with resiny and ashy notes. Quite bitter, and a bit spicy too, but the fruitiness keeps it in check. Some honey and melon sweetness, bready malt backbone, and a biscuity, dry, herbal, finish.

For a West Coast IPA brewed on the East Coast, this is damn good. A bit too hazy, because WCIPAs are meant to be as clear as the SoCal skies, but still damn good. Wish I had another one.
Feb 11, 2021
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.71/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a golden/orange color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of citrus, light pine. Taste is tropical fruits, citrus, a touch of pine, moderate bitterness. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is an enjoyable beer.
May 15, 2020
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.84/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Having returned from a successful (CANcer-free) visit to HER Medical Center & a long nap following a VERY early start to the day, I am ready for a beer! A CANQuest (tm) beer, to be exact. I picked this one up during Saturday's visit to Rieker Brew Works & I am giving it head-of-the line privileges since it has an approved pic already in place.

From the CAN: "Hop to It & Drink It Fresh"; "A small and independently-owned brewery, Building 8 is housed in a 19-th century factory nestled in a bend on the Mill River of scenic Western Massachusetts. While our home might be old, our outlook is firmly progressive."; "We're located in the vibrant arts town of Northampton, and our blend of Simcoe, Citra, and Mosaic hops is anything but old-fashioned. Even the can you're holding right now is a symbol of our commitment to making world-class, locally-brewed beer in a manner that shows equal respect for the beer and the environment. Aluminum cans are lighter, more recyclable, and protect the beer better. As an added bonus, you can take them anywhere from a boat, to the beach, to your favorite music festival. Cheers!"; "70 IBUs".

I was NOT surprised, nay, I was SHOCKED during the Crack! of the vent when the beer shot out as if from a CANnon! Jeebzus. Once things settled, it revealed itself to be a brimful + CAN that I CANnot see how they even got the lid on for seaming! 8=O I then beCAN a slow, gentle C-Line Glug since a) the hour was late & b) the potential for a mess was extremely high. This resulted in the formation of just over a finger of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with great retention, leaving behind some nice, sticky lacing as it fell. Color was a slightly-hazy Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 - 5). Nose smelled mostly tropical with a tad of orange/tangerine citrus thrown in for good measure. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was hoppy, but less bitter than I had hoped for. It had a tropical fruitiness that was prevalent, underlain/undercut by an orange/tangerine citrusiness and a light pine mintiness. Finish was dry, but not gasping. It tasted, to me, like it had potential that was not being achieved. It was a decent run at the style, but the recipe needs tweaking. I would especially look at the hops bill & make some ChANges from that direction. Good, but not great. YMMV.
Feb 05, 2020
 
Rated: 4.21 by hopley from Massachusetts

Jan 16, 2020
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
my first beer from these guys and very much a west coast style ipa, lots of pine notes and bitterness, some sap and oily texture from all the hops, and enough crystal malt in here for this to be balanced. it smells and tastes just a touch off from fully fresh, but i didnt see a date on the can if there was one. either way, its still got a lot of enjoyable features, including a really robust and full spectrum hop complexion that hits on christmas tree, bitter orange peel and grapefruit zest, mango and papaya, and gin botanicals. there isnt much sweetness to the grain, but there is enough to balance the intense hops and make this more than one dimensional. it also adds some considerable body to this, and as such this is a pretty hearty and intense ipa as they go. some weed dankness to the hops on the finish and a little bit of a resinous feel, some greenness but its not overdone, and a good lingering bitterness on the swallow, like ipa used to taste. i appreciate the effort here, and think they did a nice job packing a ton of hop character into it without making it undrinkable. fresher would be better though, hopefully next time!
Aug 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.92 by jlmontague from Connecticut

Jul 19, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by Griffith from Connecticut

Jun 30, 2019
 
Rated: 4.24 by dsm45 from Massachusetts

Jun 29, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by Shenk87 from Pennsylvania

Jun 10, 2019
 
Rated: 4.1 by Apellonious from North Carolina

May 10, 2019
 
Rated: 3.77 by PaleAleWalt from New York

Apr 28, 2019
 
Rated: 4.21 by Hurl4bru from Massachusetts

Apr 16, 2019
 
Rated: 3.23 by mdzhang from Massachusetts

Feb 19, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by aqua32wx from Massachusetts

Dec 31, 2018
The IPA from Building 8 Brewing (BLDG8)
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 263 ratings