Tend
Half Acre Beer Company

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $3.49 if I recall correctly. Canned on 091224, so this beer is just over 6 1/2 months old.

Look: The beer has very nice clarity - it's a reddish amber color with a finger and half of fluffy khaki head. The head eventually dissipated but a thin layer remained. Looks very nice, like a throwback IPA. I love that these are becoming trendy again!

Smell: Nice orange rind notes along with pine and pepper. The finish is a bit woody. Smells nice. Overall, the nose is a bit subdued but that also could be due to the age of the beer.

Taste: Yup, this beer is pretty awesome. It reminds me of the type of beers that Sierra Nevada tends to make - piney, chewy, Cascade-hop laden, resinous beers that have a solid caramel malt backbone and chewiness. I think that this beer is great. Up front, it has the distinctive orange rind flavor and some chewiness along with nice caramel malt flavor. The finish is significantly bitter with nice resinous pine notes along with orange rind and pith. The finish is quite dry. Eventually, after the hop bitterness of the finish fades then the caramel malt notes return with a toasty almost crusty rye character.

Feel: It's medium plus bodied with the perfect amount of carbonation. Nice chewy mouthfeel.

Overall: I love the simplicity and complexity of this beer. It's so unpretentious and unapologetic yet so delicious. If a beer is marketed as a "Winter India Pale Ale," there's a good chance that I'm going to like it. Give me this, SN Celebration Ale, Forest & Main's Merriment, Industrial Arts' Selection Fresh Hop IPA (never saw this one locally), etc. and I'll be quite content. This is definitely my kind of beer. Well done, Half Acre! Please make more West Coast IPAs! You're so good at it!

This is a very serviceable Celebration competitor. Similar in some ways, yet different and noteworthy where it matters. Deep mahogany and ruby red grapefruit in color with a heavy malt back bone. The hops come in perfectly with grapefruit and berry notes with acceptable bitterness. This is a delicious, deep, and husky IPA in the old school fashion. My only knock is me having passed this over until now.

 

industrial

Poured into wide mouth grip shaped goblet: color is copper, head is very light tan with fine bubbles and presents over one finger thick, head remains nearly solid top with thick lacing on the glass sides.

Smell a little subdued - but light caramel, toast, light toffee, quickly transitions to hop notes of pine, herbal, tea like, light citrus.

Taste is more malt forward with dominant hoping - caramel, toast, hint of toffee, intermixed with bright, piney, herbal hops, lighter tea and earthy notes.

Mouthfeel is moderate carbonation, moderate sweetness, low/moderate bitterness; sweetness seems to tame the bitterness.

Overall a very good malty, traditional IPA in the winter styling with a sweeter maltiness.

 

16 oz can into a pint glass, another can into a dimple mug.
L: SRM 10 Pours clear medium-dark burnished rusty copper color with a 1/4" rounded off-white head, very good head retention, light steady carbonation bubbles, thick lacing with sheeting and loose lumps in the mug pour.
S: Hops, caramelized grains, mixed fruits & berries, lightly floral.
T: I taste Centennial hops, "Fruit Loops" cereal grains, gently herbal, caramelized malts, a hint of plum, pine, background citrus zest, a touch of brown sugar. It is a tiny bit pale and pine notes shine toward the end and create a resinous linger.
F: Gently brisk then smooth medium-bodied feel with a medium-length lightly drying finish.
O: A delectable and easy drinking seasonal beer. Very well balanced. Shaker pint or dimple mug work best to enjoy its delicate yet rich toastiness. Great for cold weather. It is excellent in its style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rich amber color and a three finger head that needed no coaxing that retracted but remained as a thin cap for the duration. A touch of lacing completed the look nicely. Toffee/caramel with hints of orange took some warming and agitation to release - very promising. Taste followed the aroma but in unrefined way - general sweetness and astringency getting in each other's way. Feel was medium-full which seemed about right. Started off promising but did not heed its own name.

Draft. Amber color with your typical amount of foam for an IPA. It is lightly citrus flavored but more malty sweet while bittering. ‘Old school’ IPA. Medium, slick feel.

Can poured into a Mountain Rambler Brewery pint glass

A: Pours rich copper amber with a frothy tan head that settles to a light layer and laces nicely.

S: It's all about the spicy pine and toasty bready malt, with a bit of caramel sweetness, and underlying fruity notes.

T: Spicy pine, citrus, grapefruit, lemon, and tangerine, subtle underlying tropical and stone fruit, apricot, passion fruit, and peach, toasty bready malt, and caramel sweetness.

M: A bit on the fuller side of medium body, moderate carbonation.

O: Really well designed beer. Great balance, flavor profile is perfect for a cold day.

 

 

16 fl oz. can, canning date is smeared to shit and unreadable. A new "Winter India Pale Ale" from Half Acre.

Poured to a Duvel tulip snifter.
Pours a coppery sienna orange body. Slightly dark in color, with a small finger of khaki-tan head that fades rather quick. Good scattered lacing. Looks pretty good.
A pleasant aroma: berryish sort of hop presence, lightly piney / resinous sort of smell, with a bit of dark malt / fruit, and some candi sugars. Slightly fumey, with a hint of alcohol presence.
Taste follows: smooth & crisp, berryish hop presence, slightly piney / bitter, good brown bready sort of presence, malty and rich, with a bit of candied sugary sweetness.
It's super easy-drinking stuff despite the medium-body and lowly sort of carb. The modest 6.8% abv is beginning to kick me as I near the end of my 16 ounces.
Overall, I found this to be a very nice Winter IPA option, not overly bitter or pungent like some others, and yet still crushable.

Half Acre Tend -----4/5.