Ceremony Tatanka IPA
Thunderhead Brewing Company - Kearney

Amber appearance, the color of a penny when a little faded by the sun, hit the 1/2" head range and showed decent retention. Nice hop aromas, grassy, fresh cut c hops.

Plenty of bitterness, that leads heavier than the flavor of the hops. Crystal malt. Carbonation could be higher to keep this from weighing down back palate. Serviceable, but hardly novel or excellent.

 

Pours a copper color with a rich white head that sticks around and leaves beautful lacing.

The aroma is of pine and citrus with a biscut and toast background.

The taste follows the nose with resiny pine and orange, toast and crusty bread. Simple but nicely balanced. A bit bitter on the aftertaste.

Overall, drinkable and average IPA.

Good retention on a medium range ipa. Seen darker, seen lighter. Light amber, dark yellow, great hop aroma. Not grassy, but something.

Taste, oily yet bitter, unique for that, usually they aren't the first two things you taste. Something weird, was expecting more hop instead of bitterness on the tongue, based on the aroma. Doesn't remain as crisp as I would like, but it went beyond my expectations. More dry hopping would make this a beer to tell people to check out. Something enjoyable off I-80.

Pours to a golden color and very clear. Has a thin white head that leaves a little lacing.

Smells very hoppy with a touch of citrus and grains.

Tastes slighty sweet at the start and then the citrus and bitter hops kicks in to take you all the way home. Slighty tarts and tangy.

Has a fairly light-medium body, but a little to much carbonation in my opinion.

I could drink these all night and day!

Serving Type Sampled: On tap and nitro tap at Thunderhead Brewing in Kearney NE.

Appearance: Golden amber in color, clear. Frothy white head that smudges its way down the glass.

Smell: Hoppy of coarse, citrus hop dominate the nose. Slightly grainy.

Taste: Starts clean with a semi sweet malt base then the balance is turn to that of the big citrus hops. Very nice grapefruit/ citrus flavors. Some what of an oily finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium in body, slightly tart with medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Good, This is a very drinkable IPA.

This is a very good IPA. I have been very impressed with Thunderhead so far, and I'm actually kind of pissed that we didn't stop by again on the way back from Colorado. As it turned out, however, we all ended up getting our asses kicked by the altitude, so drinking three growlers was out of the question, and subsequently we only had one that we could have refilled on the way back. I was just hoping that this beer would stand up to a week's time until I could get it back home to the comfortable altitude of Iowa. It in fact held up great!

The beer pours to a nice golden amber color. Great clarity and carbonation. The head is a bit on the thin side, but it retains to a centimeter film and leaves a great lacing all the way down the glass. Looks good.

The smell is great. Lots of hops. Seems like Centennial and/or Simcoe and Amarillo. Huge floral and pine resin aroma with an underlying juicy grapefruit citrus. A bit spicy. Hints of caramel malt, but mostly just hops.

The taste follows over quite faithfully from the nose. Slightly sweet caramel and biscuity maltiness up front with a great balance of bitter (though maybe the balance is a little heavy on the bitter, which isn't really a bad thing at all). A hint of dirty malt flavor in the finish. I'm not sure if it is from oxidization in the growler or cheap malt, but the hops cover up the flavor well enough that I don't mind.

The body is light to medium with a fairly crisp carbonation. Good bitterness with a low alcohol burn. Very good and very easy to drink. If it weren't for that little bit of off-flavor I would say it's one of the best IPA's I've had. The West Coast can keep their overly grassy bullshit, I'll take a Mid-West IPA anyday. I can't wait to try it again fresh off the tap so I can maybe tell if the growler oxidized. I can't stress this enough... if you are driving down I-80 in Nebraska, make a stop in Kearney to check the Thunderhead out. You won't be sorry.

No issue with the sample size here, as I am finishing the dregs of a growler. Thanks to Matt Dinges for giving this to me. I hope you enjoy your Fantome Chocolat my friend. Clear golden color with a lofty white head. Subtle, medicinal and herbaceous hop nose, with a hint of toffee underneath. Flavor is full of oily cascade hops (Assuming my assumption is correct, as I really don’t know much about hops.) It’s a lot like Anchor Liberty. Modest malt body, somewhat juicy hops. I’d like to see a little more hop diversity here.

Sampled on location in Kearny NE. Thunderhead IPA poured a lighter then normal golden amber color with a hazy glow. The head retention is a powdery white shade that remained through the whole tasting. The lacing was good as well and stuck around to the end.

The smell is hoppy as an IPA should be. A strong citrus note that you can smell just sitting on the table. Impressive. This is one of the biggest IPA smells that I have ever had.

The taste is not as hopped overkill as I would have expected per the smell. Instead it is decently balanced for a IPA. A sticky hop flavor of more grassy notes, especially on the top but some shots of grapefruit bring a nice twinge at the end. Big aroma taste and not much bitter at the end. There is a very slight oily taste, but really isn’t noticeable unless you really look for it. The malt backing is sweet and caramel with noticeable Munich and a hint of crystal.

The body was light to med. Carbonation was good. I am impressed with this IPA. Really it is as good as any of the top IPA out there.

Reviewed from a growler...

Pours a crystal clear pale copper with the slightest hint of orange. Quite lighter in color than most IPAs... It's light tan head starts out well enough, and slowly fades to a thin cap surrounded by a thick collar of bubbles. The aroma is a bit faint, but still manages to pack a hefty shot of piney, grapefruity hops. Underneath the sticky hop aroma is a solid backbone of toasted Munich malt. The flavor balance is quite lopsided towards the hops, with much more flavor than bitterness. Mind you, there's a fair amount of bitterness, but not enough to completely smash out the malt, which has a distinct Munich malt flavor. Medium in body, with a firm dryness that adds length to the finish, which is coated in pine resin and acidic grapefruit. A very solid IPA!

Thanks to Brent (bditty187) for the growler via Growler It Forward!

Rearticulated many times…

Semi-translucent orangey hue with vague coppery influences, the off-white head was served with a finger in height or so, the retention is excellent, damn near perfect really and the subsequent lacing is superior. The color is not as deep as many IPAs but it is still pleasant looking, especially if the head retention and lacing is factored in. Huge hoppy-citrus nose, not unlike alcoholic grapefruit juice, the bouquet lacks the depth of lets say Hop Wallop but the grace that the nose displaces really tickles my hop bone. The palate is perfectly bitter for an IPA in my estimation, not to raw, not to weak... it is just right. On the tongue there is a combination of hoppy, acidic, non-puckering-citrus, grapefruit flesh, rinds, and a trace of pine needles. The malt character is discernable; a tickle of clean, ordinary caramely-toasty malts provides just enough secondary flavors. I realize that is not the biggest, hoppiest IPA in the world but I absolutely love it. I think if I could have only one beer for the rest of my life Thunderhead IPA and Duvel would be the two finalists. The immensely flavorful palate strikes just the right cords with me. Medium-full body, the carbonation is typically low, which helps create a smooth appetizing, easily maneuverable mouthfeel. This is not for the weak-of-heart beer drinkers of Central Nebraska yet it is brewed out there, go figure. I love this little beer. Please try one if you see it on-tap, it goes great with a big, fat juicy hamburger or steak.