Mango Milkshake IPA
Northway Brewing Co.

The short-lived, pancake batter head starts at one and a half inches and ends in a thin blanket. Patches of lace line the Pretentious Glass Company American Lager pint glass. The IPA glows with mango/orange to gold and has a translucent haze. The lace returns to patches about half way down the glass.

The aroma has very faint mango, with a sweetness that might be marshmallow. There is a suggestion of cinnamon in the background.

Mild bitterness is balanced by sweetness. While there are no clear flaws and nothing offensive, nor is it bland, it's just that the flavors are all muddy. Maybe there is some tangerine as it warms. The finish is long and mild with a bit of astringency.

The alcohol is well below expectations. Light carbonation is soft. The texture is similar to scratchy nylon and it has a medium body.

While this is beer, and it is easy to finish, I see no reason to repeat the experience. That said, it is a decent beer for a mild, late summer afternoon.

 

A: The beer is hazy yellow in color and has a light to moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a half finger high white head that died down but never completely faded away, leaving a quarter finger high head covering the surface and lots of lacy rings of bubbles down the sides of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of mango are present in the nose along with notes of lime and lychee.
T: The taste follows the smell, except that the flavors of lime are a bit stronger and more on par with those of the mango. Little to no bitterness is perceptible.
M: It feels medium-bodied and somewhat juicy on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: I thought that the taste of this beer has a nice balance between the flavors of the mango puree and the citrusy and tropical fruit hops.

Serving type: can

This one pours a somewhat hazy golden orange color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like piney hops, sweet malt, and mango.

This isn’t awful, but I’m not entirely sure that I’d be able to tell this was a milkshake IPA if I tasted this blind. Mango is a common flavor derived from actual hops, and there really isn’t much in the way of vanilla or lactose. As much as I kind of roll my eyes at the over-lactose-ization of many beers out there, I’d at least expect a little bit in a milkshake IPA. I’d at least expect some vanilla too. I would just assume (blindly) that this was an average to mediocre NE-style IPA.

This is light bodied, a little bit astringent, and not creamy enough. It’s decently drinkable enough.

Northway isn’t the best brewery in the world, but I do tend to enjoy their beers more than this one.

Not a NE IPA in my opinion, not hazy, juicy, or milky. Just a bland pale ale.