Animal Law
Half Acre Beer Company

 

 

 

$8 pint on-draught @ Half Acre Balmoral.

Damn solid classic IPA. Terrific balance, fantastic hop pungency, great hop profile.

This would definitely be a regular rotator in my fridge if I had access to it. I can nitpick - it's overcarbonated, depth of flavour could be better, it could be more complex and/or expressive - but who cares? This is downright delicious.

What I want in an IPA.

High B / GOOD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tasted in a tulip glass from draft at The Art of Beer from draft on March 9, 2017. Tasted in a Spiegelau IPA glass from a 1 pint can on January 12, 2018. Look is cloudy orange gold with a thick white head and sticky lacing. Smell and taste is mango, pine and guava with cracker malts. Feel is medium in body.

 

 

 

Kind of a Half Acre take on the NE IPA style, although it still has that very pronounced "Half Acre taste" that comes with their house yeast. Not sure what hops are in this bad boy, but it tastes like mosaic is in the forefront of some sort of mix. The beer is relatively hazy/opaque, although not quite the "orange juice" style you get from some NE-style beers. Nice body on this one--Not too thick, not too thin; reminds me of an Alchemist beer in that way, and actually has kind of a similar gentle bitterness that balances out the beer.

Nothing ground-breaking here, but a very tasty, well made hazy IPA by HA. Glad to see them experimenting with more IPA styles.

 

Pours a hazy completely opaque orange color. Reminiscent of pulpless juice in appearance. Frothy white head dissipates straight away to a thin layer of white foam. Second pour has the head stick around much longer. Tons of sticky white lacing is left on the glass as the beer is consumed.

Smell has aromas of peach, mango, orange, citrus rind, grass and cracker malts. Aromatic but straightforward.

Taste has notes of orange, mango, and peach up front giving way to a grassy bitterness. There are some notes of oats and cracker malts. A much more bitter/less juicy flavor profile here than most NE-style IPAs, but its a very good tasting beer.

Feel is rather full-bodied, smooth and velvety. Medium carbonation. Grassy bitterness on the finish leaves a dry taste in the mouth.

Overall this is a really good beer - wonderful drinker. As a NE-style IPA its certainly a bit more on the bitter side than most. And that bitterness tends towards a traditional IPA bitterness rather than the rind-y bitterness you often see in the NE style. I think its a nice bridge between the two styles. I would LOVE to see this end up in cans. Would be a solid addition to the Half Acre lineup.