I.P.A.
Brew It Up!

 

 

On tap at the brewpub

A - Poured a copper color with an off white head that leaves lacing behind

S - Is mostly of citrus hops

T - Follows the nose with a grapefruit hop flavor

M - This beer has a medium body with medium carbonation to it

O - While this is definitely one of the better beers from Brew it up its a pretty average IPA a safe choice while at the brewpub

On tap in a nonic pint glass at the brewpub on 3/8/11

Deep amber; hazy and dulled. One and a half finger head dissipates very slowly. Good retention and a solid half wall of lace.

Some floral hops meander about but this smells an awful lot like candy. Some caramel, too. The aroma is pretty weak overall.

Earthy hops and a decent bitterness hits the palate, but nothing over the top. Hints of past-prime citrus move in toward the mid-section. Solid caramel base with some toasted bread on the finish. Said toastiness keeps things from being too sweet. Fairly average.

Medium-full body with a thickness that is grainy and coating. Finishes as it tastes. Carbonation is a touch higher than average.

This could be a lot better (certainly more hop-forward) but it doesn't seem poorly-crafted. Perhaps it's a West Coast take on the East Coast style?

Had this one on tap with my roasted duck marsala, tasted like a good IPA and brought out the spice of the food very well. This review is for the bottle, drank at home.

It pours a cloudy amber. The head was forced out, but was pretty good. The retention was good as well.

The aroma is pretty subtle for an IPA. The hop profile is a bit more understated than I think it should be. Some sweet tropical fruit, and a dash of pine round out the somewhat lacking fresh hop aromas. A strong butterscotch aroma, with some bubblegum, and fruit snacks really add to the sweetness.

The flavor definitely is more sweet than bitter. Yet, the overall experience isn't bad. The same butterscotch and caramel flavors aren't hiding behind a hop front. The tropical hop flavors come in towards the finish, which ends up nodding towards the bitter side.

The feel is good. The body is medium with a bit of a syrupy sticky feel. The carbonation is perfect, crisp but nothing more. The bite at the end is magnified by the lingering dryness. This one has pretty superb drinkability, the one thing they nailed IMO.

This one has a lot of flavor, however it's different than the typical WCIPA. There's much more sweetness, but it's not bad. Give it a shot if your in the neck of the woods. I haven't tried the Imperial IPA that Brew It Up makes, but perhaps that would be more of a hophead's delight.

I have had more complex and interesting IPAs before.
Having said that I have not taken anything away from this brew.
I found it to be fairly basic and true to west coast IPA/Pale standard.
Again not knocking this brew just trying to push the idea that this beer is straight forward, no surprises.
However if you were ever interested in seeking out an IPA that you could call a session brew I would have to recommend this one to you. I found it enjoyable and enviting. I would drink this again if they lower the price from 5.75 a pint!

22 oz Bomber purchased at the brewery in May 2006 for $3.49, and consumed at home a few days later. The fairly plain tan-yellow label proclaims "big hop flavor and aroma balanced with a medium bodied ale".

The appearance is a good, relatively dark golden, slightly hazy. A decent head from the pour, with minimal residual ongoing carbonation.

The aroma is a nice solid, but unremarkable IPA aroma- typcial of the style without exciting me. Hops, a litlle floral and a little herbal. The flavor is good, quite enjoyable, somewhat oily, with a solid hop profile as the main characteristic (as expected). The mouthfeel is kind of thin for the style.

A decent tasty IPA that I would gladly enjoy at the pub with no reservations.

I picked up a few bottles of Brew It Up's own beers for home after visiting the brewpubs. Though not terribly easy to bring back to LA, it was well worth it and I still have another 22 of these waiting for me in my fridge.

This poured a nice hazy copper color. The hop aroma was clear but not overwhelming. It took a few sips for me to really get the taste in my head. I could taste cascade hops. There was a nice bitterness to it. The mouthfeel was really crisp with a clean finish. I could drink this often.

I see just one other BA has reviewed both this and their DIPA and my thoughts are just the opposite, then again - we could have tried very different beers in the several months in between.

Poured a pale amber with one finger of jaundiced head with decent retention and lacing.

Hop aromas are reserved, slightly floral, and generally weird. A bit of cloying caramel seeps in through the aroma. Is there a bit of oak? Or boubon? Weird...

The hop bitterness is definately present, and a bit unpleasant. Harsh backing bitterness, a bit of tannin, and little hop flavor or aroma to temper things. The malt backing is decent, but it suffers under the weight of this misconstrued, tannic bitterness...

A disappointing IPA, especially considering how good Brew it Up's DIPA was. Inexpert use of hops here, resulting in unpleasant, tannic bitterness as opposed to the full, resinous, juicey hop assault of many other west-coast IPAs.