Savage IPA
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

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From:
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
 
United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
6.7%
Score:
89
Avg:
4 | pDev: 6.5%
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
14
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 16, 2014
Added:
Dec 11, 2010
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
An American IPA fermented entirely with the wild yeast strain Brettanomyces and aged for six months.
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Ratings by Durandal_777:
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Rated by Durandal_777 from Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -12.5%

May 16, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by Sammy from Canada (ON)

Aug 11, 2013
Photo of Mora2000
Reviewed by Mora2000 from Texas

4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to Exiled for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a hazy yellow color with white head. The aroma has a lot of tropical fruit, including papayas and pineapple, as well as a hint of grass and some brett funk. The flavor is more of the same. The orange and tropical fruit notes come through at first, with some nice funk from the brett and some other yeast and biscuit malt notes. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.
Jun 03, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Jan 01, 2012
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Reviewed by akorsak from Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A corked and caged 750 mL bottle from Iron Hill Lancaster. Served in a tumbler.

A: The IPA is a light copper color, clear with just a bit of haze running through it. The first two pours generate huge heads over 3 fingers each. For all that head, lacing wasn't as thick.

S: Dusty brettanomyces has worked wonders on the IPA, transforming it into an aromatic horseblanket. Light citrusy lemons appear where hops used to dominate. And that is very fresh lemon peel.

T: Citrusy hops are still present; I pick them on my first sip. Things quickly turn bretty after that, lemon picking up the citrus flavors and taking them in a different direction. After the brett, though, there isn't much to speak off. The hops have slipped off, no longer on their A game and the brett lacks the oomph to explode with funkiness. That makes the first half of each sip good and the second half lackluster. Just enough citrus remains, lemon zest in particular, to remind me that the this is partially savage.

M: The citrusy lemon is pleasant but far too fleeting. Come for the first half of each sip.
Dec 26, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by Exiled from Texas

Nov 25, 2011
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Reviewed by ShanePB from Pennsylvania

3.96/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
750 ml bottle, one of about 225 bottles I believe. An American IPA fermented with brett, sounds awesome! No label on the bottle, expect for a hanging tag. This was from the Iron Hill Lancaster's Night of the Funk. Poured into a tulip glass.

A: Cork comes off with a loud pop and a bit of gun smoke from the neck. In the glass, it has a beautiful soft golden orange colored body with a big and foamy slightly off-white head. Some minor lace is left behind though small tight bubbles keep a nice retention cap.

S: Smarties, floral hops, spice, barnyard funk, hay and a soft dairy like quality...almost a milkiness. Towards the end of the aroma is ripened green apple. Most of the IPA qualities seem to be overwhelmed by the byproducts of the brett.

T: Citrus, lemons, orange oils, lavender and floral hops are first to hit the palate. Pineapple, a touch of peach and a bright funky flavor is mid-palate and back. It's not necessarily tart or sour, just funky through and through. A bit of hay and chalk is in the finish and linger.

M: Very bubbly, prickly yet quite soft of the palate. It's medium-bodied but drinks extremely light, unlike any traditional IPA would. However, being fermented with brett the characteristics certainly put the traditional IPA feel in the backseat.

It's an incredibly interesting beer and quite a quirky experimental thing for the brewers to do; very well done. I enjoyed the elements of the IPA although I think any initial hop bite is certainly fading at this point, or just overwhelmed by the brett funkiness. Interestingly enough I could see this one being able to age and mellow out the IPA qualities even more.
Sep 19, 2011
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Reviewed by Deuane from Pennsylvania

4.32/5  rDev +8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A-Turbid golden kissed orange-copper with a thin white head that reduced to a thin cap and left spotty lace.

S-Dominating citrus/floral hops up front with musty Brett accenting. Sharp zing of lemon zest in the background.

T-Brett punch quickly gives way to a lovely dose of citrus/floral hops. Subtle biscuit malt sweetness attempts to offer balance.

M-Medium-Light bodied, impressively sharp and crisp with a building dry finish as it warms. Nice lingering hop bite and Brett mustiness.

D-Delicious! My favorite brew of the five brews offered at the "Make it Funky"--IH--Lancaster event. A playful mix of Brett and hops making for a VERY enjoyable beer.
Jun 14, 2011
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.12/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Transcribed from notes dtd T, 21 Dec 2010.

It was served to me in a tulip glass with a finger of bone white head that slowly fell to wisps, leaving behind some nice sticky lacing in its wake. Nose was an interesting mix of grapefruit citrus and the tart funk of Brett. This was Mr. Rutherford's first foray into Brett and he showed unusual restraint. Color was a deep amber with NE-quality clarity. Mouthfeel was medium with a one-two punch of flavor, beginning with the hops but quickly giving 'way to the Brett. Finish was as dry as gypsum board with a smattering of Zephyr winds blowing across the Sahara Desert. This would be a good introductory beer for anyone that might be curious about Brett but were too afraid to ask or try. For me, it was just right, short of going all in with some Gueuze.
Jun 13, 2011
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Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to wishuwerebeer for sharing this with me. 750ml bottle poured into a pub glass. This brew appears a very hazed to clouded golden orange color. 3 fingers worth of fluffy off-white head swell up and slowly fade leaving patches of lace sticking to the glass. Before long, the cap appears as a cratored, uneven surface across the top.

The smell of this brew is fruity with a fresh scent of orange zest, pulp, rinds and some funky notes that are mildly reminescent of more of a saison with barnyard qualities. The funk hits the nose and creates more citrus character that is somewhat like lemon mixed with plastic.

The taste is fruity with orange flavors of pulp and rind. Almost floral tasting, slightly bitter with a pleasant caramel malt backing. Some funk and plastic come through the backend. It finishes with a modest oily bitterness typical of an IPA but flavored much differently. Lots of complex floral notes I attribute to some strains of Brett mixes well with the fruity rind flavors of the hops. This developes quite an array of flavors to sift through. As it warms, more of the funk becomes pronounced with plastic flavoring.

This is a medium bodied brew with modest carbonation. It is clingy and oily but very well balanced and enjoyable. The alcohol is at a perfect level to accent flavors and not distract. In a time where this new hybrid style seems to be getting an increased amount of attention, I enjoy what I am having here. I'm sure some age would develope this into a completely different beast bit as-is the hops are enjoyable and it would be sadening to have them fade.
Jun 07, 2011
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Reviewed by orangesol from Pennsylvania

4.17/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served on-tap at the Iron Hill Lancaster Sour event. This was the first beer I had at the event and I am glad I started with this one...

A – Pours murky orange with a small white head leaving light lacing down the glass.

S – Smells of ripe floral hops with a strong brett backbone. The brett offers its usual horse blanket aroma but the bright hops help to balance it out. Pretty good stuff.

T - Nice dose of brett right off the bat quickly giving way to a mix of floral citric hops, horse blanket funk, and dulled citric fruit becoming brighter as it warms to room temp. The finish is a mix of dry funk and hop bitterness, lingering for a short time. I really liked this one, it was the perfect beer to start things off with.

M - Medium-Light body and flavor with moderate carbonation. Not as much brett as I was expecting but still plenty of it mixing with the hops to form a lush feel.

O - I really enjoyed this one. The flavors worked well together and it was very easy to drink. I hope they continue to make this one as it is an interesting mix of two of my favorite styles.
Jun 01, 2011
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Reviewed by Slatetank from Pennsylvania

4.37/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
I had this at the 'Make it Funky' event at Lancaster Iron Hill -served chilled on tap.

A golden color w/ hazed clarity and thick creamy white cap and lace clings in an even film. The smell is very tropical with lots of fruit aroma and tangy lemony citrus with some grapefruit for good measure. The brettanomyces gives the impression of some pineapple and floral notes from the hops are there too with a nice citra influence overall. I like the way the wild yeast adds a gentle acidity and dry feel, but I am sure this was not overly sweet prior to fermentation there is gentle astringency and mild spice w/ no alcohol influence.

The taste has great hop flavor with a moderately high citrus and tropical taste w/ light astringent and tangy w/ lemon-lime combo that leans more toward the lime with the brettanomyces weaving through the hops and giving a different dimension than your average ipa, the combination brings some golden grapefruit and light pineapple elements while the main taste is slightly funky lemony citrus. An overall decent beer, not your normal IPA as the name Savage indicates, but an excellent example of how brett and hops can come together to produce something very tasty with brett neither helping or hurting the ipa, just simply giving a different angle of what an IPA can taste like.
May 01, 2011
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Reviewed by weeare138 from Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to sydpanz for supplying this growler...

Appears a semi transparent orange toned gold with a fluffy, off white head that slowly fades out. Scattered streaks of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is of vanilla, brett, subdued citrus and hops, earth notes, and floral notes.
Taste is of the aromas with obvious brett funk that doesn't overtake the beer but certainly brings out a citrus rind flavor of pumelo, and pineapple. The sweet malt is there but the brett is there to keep it in check, along with the citrusy hops.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, slick, and semi-dry in the finish.
Dec 29, 2010
Photo of Kegatron
Reviewed by Kegatron from Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap @ Iron Hill Lancaster on 12/10/10. Served in an oversized mug. This is an American IPA fermented with Brettanomyces.

Pours a hazy golden orange with a thin frothy covering of bright-white head. This keeps some creamy richness on the edges, as well some thin wisps that skim the middle, leaving back a foamy cascade of lacing that quickly slides down the sides of the mug. Fresh Bretty character jumps right out of the aroma, with a tart lemony feel and rugged earthy tones. Some floral notes, grapefruit, spice, and light pine from the hops make themselves known but are somewhat masked. What does show itself the most however is some sweeter tropical flavors that push up from underneath and gather on the edges of the nose. This mixes with the malt in the background to impart a sticky tang that helps balance out some of the sharper aspects of this out.

Similar to the aroma, the Brett is biting with a sharp tartness and earthy bitterness that runs the whole way through the profile and finishes with a smack of lemon zest. It does seem a little more assertive than it was in the nose. Citric tropical fruits are present but definitely take a back seat to the Brett at times. Malts seem a little more stiff and grainy, so those tropical notes are providing the bulk of the balancing sweetness here. This finishes bitter, lightly spicy and resinous, with a dry earthy kick on the backend. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with quite the sharp and lively carbonation to it. Some oily slickness keeps this moving underneath and this feels about right on strength for a 6-7% IPA.

I believe that this is their first foray into using wild yeast here and I think that this turned out pretty darn great! I will say that you should give this some time to warm up, because as it did, all of those citric tropical fruit and more bitter grapefruit flavors gained in power and really helped the character from the Brett (which is pretty assertive from the get go) meld with the bitterness of the hops beautifully. This ended up being much more drinkable at the end than I thought it was going to be at the beginning. This was a really nice and let's hope that this is the start of some future experimentation here.
Dec 11, 2010
Savage IPA from Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 14 ratings