Chug's Private Stash Big Bite IPA
Spanish Peaks Brewing Co.

Chug's Private Stash Big Bite IPAChug's Private Stash Big Bite IPA
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From:
Spanish Peaks Brewing Co.
 
Montana, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
7%
Score:
74
Avg:
3.06 | pDev: 24.84%
Reviews:
25
Ratings:
44
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 26, 2015
Added:
Oct 09, 2011
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  4
No description / notes.
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Ratings by boudreaux:
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Rated by boudreaux from Alabama

3.25/5  rDev +6.2%

Feb 20, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.03 by 6thstreetbrewpub from District of Columbia

Sep 26, 2015
 
Rated: 2.75 by ncstateplaya from North Carolina

Aug 27, 2014
Photo of Tone
Reviewed by Tone from Missouri

3.93/5  rDev +28.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Pours a cloudy, amber/maize color. 1/2 inch head of an off-white color. Great retention and good lacing. Smells of hops, floral, sweet malt, alcohol, hint of biscuit, and a hint of caramel malt. Fits the style of an American IPA. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of sweet malt, hint of caramel malt, hint of roasted malt, alcohol, hops, hint of floral, and pine. Overall, good appearance, aroma, complexity, and blend.
Dec 23, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by OKCNittany from Oklahoma

Oct 10, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by Beermaine from Maine

Oct 03, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by memphischas from Tennessee

Aug 13, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by TheMrFarnham from Oklahoma

Jul 15, 2013
 
Rated: 2.5 by williamjbauer from Colorado

Jul 15, 2013
Photo of silverking
Reviewed by silverking from Florida

2.71/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75
A- Cloudy amber with one finger of off-white head. Head retention is excellent, and there are defined rings of lacing.

S- Toasty, toffee, fig, light herbal hop. It smells sweet. Not what I expect from an IPA.

T- Mild toasty notes smashed together with unbalanced hop flavors. There are some fruit flavors as well. Like the aroma, a little on the sweet side. There aren't enough hops to balance this beer.

M- Medium bodied with a low amount of carbonation. It feels dry, but it tastes sweet.

O- Not my favorite. I hadn't seen this beer before so I picked it up... not recommended.
Jun 20, 2013
Photo of Zorro
Reviewed by Zorro from California

2.77/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
Chill hazed dark amber colored ale with a medium sized tan colored head. More or less this is red colored.

Smell is spicy and malty with a strong tea aroma. Little bit of grapefruit and pine but not much. Mostly this smells like sweet tea.

Starts out sweet with a strong tea flavor. Astringent for sure. Strong tea with a lot of sugar. And there are no subtle flavors, just alcoholic sweet tea.

Mouthfeel is good.

Overall the only word that comes to mind is "crap." This is not good avoid please.
Apr 02, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by ADTaber from South Carolina

Mar 12, 2013
Photo of GilGarp
Reviewed by GilGarp from Colorado

3.79/5  rDev +23.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Bomber served cold into a goblet.

Big Bite IPA is a redish amber color with a slight haze. It has thick white head and good lacing.

Aroma is definately old-school east coast IPA. It isn't the big citrusy hop bombs we're becoming accustomed to from California. It's definately more malt forward with minimal dry hopping.

Flavor is definately not what I was expecting from "big bite" on the label. This is a more balanced malty IPA with plenty of sweetness, maybe a bit too much if you ask me. It's got some hoppy bitter quality to it but I would lean towards calling it a hoppy red ale over IPA.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and nicely carbonated.

Overall a solid effort at a red ale and would probably be better received as such. As an IPA, it's a bit of an overly sweet letdown.
Mar 05, 2013
 
Rated: 1.5 by UnderPressure from South Carolina

Feb 26, 2013
Photo of Emberwake
Reviewed by Emberwake from California

1.7/5  rDev -44.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Another IPA sample from the distributor. Poured from a 22oz bomber into a tulip glass.

A - Pours a murky golden brown. Plenty of carbonation, but a small, fizzy head.

S - Sweet, with heavy notes of caramel and apple, and an indistinct hop aroma.

T - Overpoweringly sweet. This beer has tons of unfermented malt, and if it really had the 7% ABV advertised on the bottle I would be shocked. Some sour funk yeast character, with the hops making an appearance in the aftertaste.

M - Syrupy, but nicely carbonated.

O/D - Its hard to rate the overall beer, since I'm confident that the result is the fault of underfermentation above all else. I definitely can't recommend it, but I would certainly give Spanish Peaks a second chance down the road. This tastes like a home-brewer's first kit beer, made with love, but not with skill.
Feb 11, 2013
Photo of katan
Reviewed by katan from Colorado

3.41/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
22oz into a pint

A - Pours a dark golden color, somewhat amber. Pearly white head formation that sticks to the glass. Fairly opaque.

S - Fruity and citrusy, with a few hints of a deeper malt flavor. Just a bit deep to be hops only. Somewhat nutty in fact.

T - Starts off malty, lightly sweet, but then turns to a pretty strong hoppy flavor. Bitterness comes in full bore, but then I get some oxidation. It seems fruity and citrus like, but then it turns very acidic. Finishes with a nutty and somewhat harsh biting flavor.

M - Moderate carbonation, heavier to thick mouthfeel. somewhat sticky. Feels sticky and sweet in the finish.

O/D - Just not that great of a beer. Just isn't much of an american IPA in most characteristics. Not enough hops, and what is theere just doesn't seem to belong. A little bit filling, but the abv doesn't seem to beat me up too bad.
Feb 03, 2013
 
Rated: 1.25 by GuyIncognito from Maine

Jan 28, 2013
Photo of chinchill
Reviewed by chinchill from South Carolina

3.48/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Undated 22 oz bottle, brewed in Saratoga Springs, NY, served in a snifter.
Pours hazy amber with a tan head of modest size and durability.
The aroma is a little tame, in terms of hops, and sweet for style, but has some complexity and fruitiness plus a nice nutty character.
No "big bite" from this IPA which has been tamed by a good load of caramel and other malts. Still plenty of flavor and a moderate bitterness, with herbal and spicy hops dominating the flavor.

O: A decent IPA, especially for the price. The relatively high ABV is well hidden but shows up in the aroma after warming, and in the mouthfeel. Has the character of an IPA that has aged a bit.
Jan 15, 2013
Photo of welldigger888
Reviewed by welldigger888 from South Carolina

2.25/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
poured a honey orange hue with a huge rocky head that laced down glass world class.

oxidized hops dominate, if had fresh I am sure a good aroma would be. otherwise a toiugh brew to smell.

Again oxidized hops dominate with a slight hit of alcohol.

Seems to be a medium full bodied brew that was prolly good a year ago.

@ $3 a bomber I was ripped off.
Dec 29, 2012
Photo of BeerKangaroo
Reviewed by BeerKangaroo from Alaska

3.18/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Purchased on a whim as I was checking out at Bootlegger's (Topsham, ME), this was $1.99:

Into a pint glass:

A: fairly hazy golden orange colored body leaving a nice foamy two finger white head that lasts for most of the brew, but settles a bit to a half finger after a minute. Some nice spotty yet ringy lacing appears around the sides of the pint glass.

S: hops in the front, like a normal American IPA, nice malts follow to back up a pleasant aroma. Some citrusy pine comes in but subtle, no bite to me.

T: exactly the same, nothing special, nothing bad.

M: medium with nothing harsh on the tongue, in fact a very gentle creaminess makes this especially smooth. I would say this is extremely drinkable, just wondering how fresh is this, while I'm looking at the ABV, rhetorical???

O: different for an American IPA, though its called "Big Bite IPA," right now I'm wondering where's the bite. I know this might be my first one by Spanish Peaks, so if they want me to have this fresh with the "so-called bite" its supposed to have by its name, maybe they should put a freshness date on it. Still a decent beer, probably only have again on tap or depending what else was served. Oh, and I almost forgot, the malts come out really strong all over, is this closer to an English IPA? Just wondering.
Dec 13, 2012
Chug's Private Stash Big Bite IPA from Spanish Peaks Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 74 out of 100 with 44 ratings