Cowboy Mike
Five Dollar Ranch Brewing Company

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium to dark coppery amber with a three finger white head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of pale and biscuit malt, citrus and light piney hops, orange, grapefruit, and pine with a touch of dankness. Flavor is pale and lightly biscuit malt, citrus and piney hops, pine, orange, grapefruit, catty dankness. Nice bitterness in the finish with some dankness and lingering pine resin. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A fine looking IPA in the West Coast style with plenty of pine and citrus although the latter was somewhat neutral in herbal flavor. I like some biscuit malt in my IPAs, so this one appealed to me, it's a minor flavor component, but adds to the malt flavor depth. A nicely brewed West Coaster that hits all the flavor points I like. This can is 6.7, so a bit less ABV than the original report. Solid

a balanced, mid bitterness ipa here, fresh and clean, well restrained in some ways, not over hopped, not all new wave and dry hoppy either, and with some sturdy grain in support, just a little sweet from the malt which flatters the hops in this instance, nice beer, but not one of their more distinctive brews i had while i was in. bronze colored brew with a short white head from the tap, rather clear but not perfectly so, very lively. the aroma and flavor are close to identical, a nuttiness from the grain permeates, a little honey and baked sweetness but not too much, and its not heavy despite having plenty of malt character. the hops hit sweet orange and fresh pine notes, spruce and cut flowers, gin botanicals and middle of the road bitterness, no greenness at all, good proportions, real fresh. the ferment might lean a little english, its clean but not totally invisible, and i think it adds something endearing to this, makes it kind of timeless. more fruitiness comes out of the hops as this warms, dried apricot to me, a little oily in texture, and not quite as carbonated feeling as it looks, a tad saggy, but the beer is clean and pleasant to drink overall. i was pretty stoked on the beers here, top to bottom the quality is there. some might find this a touch dated or overly safe, but no denying it is well done, whether you prefer this type of ipa or not...