Crooked Tree IPA
Dark Horse Brewing Co.
Marshall, Mi
6.00% ABV

C. Clear
H. Amber
N. Big Time Hops Dominate Nose, Floral and Citrus

Hooligan; This beer I felt was similar to St. Victorious. It is a very dark beer and when pouring it looks like an amber color. It had a small head when pouring. The beer had a lot of carbonation that a thick feel to it. It was heavy to drink but it had a mixed taste of citrus and caramel, which was yummy.
Score; 3.98765

The Ferm; Well for some reason I moved backwards on the tasting of the Dark Horse IPA’s. If you remember I reviewed Double Crooked Tree some time ago. The main difference between the two was that this beer was more of a Hop Bomb than the Double. The malt backing wasn’t nearly as strong, which allowed for more of the hop bitterness to come out. I honestly liked this beer just a hair more than I liked the Imperial Version of the beer. Very good beer.
Score; 3.9901

**Yep thats two days in a row that both reviewers have been as close as a .01 away from each others scores, and we did not talk about our reviews!**

Commodore Perry IPA
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Cleveland, OH
7.5% Abv

C. Clear
H. Amber in Color
N. Caramel, Toffee, and Toasted Malt

A: Toffee and Caramel malts dominate the aroma. No real hop presence. No diacetyl, no esthers.
A: Pours a clear amber with a thin persistent white head.
F: Malt dominates upfront and throughout the body of this beer, but it does finish with a hop bitterness.
M: A mid bodied pale ale w/ medium carbonation. No warmth or creamyness. A bit brash from all the malt. No astringency.
O: For a pale ale, I believe this beer has some significant flaws as to aroma and flavor. Where are the hops? The only real hop presence is in the finish. Highly suggest more hop presence in flavor and aroma. Style suggests moderate to high hop character and was not present. The malt character is great, just needs the hops, which are the bread and butter of this style.
(25/50) (2.5)

The Ferm; The bottle reads “Don’t give up the sip” and there is a ship on the label. Get it like someone is taking the ship….yah good play on words I guess. I think the bottle should read “The captain goes down with the sip” and show the ship sinking. WAIT! Another beer got sinked? Noooo, but pretty close to it.
This was supposed to be a IPA, but the malt all over the beer begs to differ. The nose is filled with it, the attack is dominated by it, and the aftertaste has been overwhelmed with it. Simply, Malt made this IPA it’s Bitch! Sadly the hops did not come through on the beer at all. Now all this said I still thought it was a pretty good beer. Add some more hop bitterness in and it would be tasty. Although in the current state, I wouldn’t rush out to pick this one up at the local store in Cleveland.
Score; 2.621

Overall: 2.5605

AleSmith IPA
AleSmith Brewing Co.
San Diego, CA
7.25% ABV

C. Clear
H. Golden Yellow
N. Citrus and Floral Hops, Slight Sweet Malt

Kirk Diggler;
A: Subtly sweet flaked oat/caramel malts, citrusy and floral hops, no esthers, slight astringency.
A: Pours Clear, golden yellow w/ a thin white head that quickly dissipates.
F: Tastes bitter upfront, malt presence is slight if non existent, the balance is towards the bitter hops. Finish is w/ a lingering bitterness.
M: I found it to be lacking in carbonation with an almost watery mouthfeel. No warmth / creaminess . Slight astringency coming from the hop bitterness.
O: This beer has a great nose per style. A very bitter IPA. However I found this beer to be lacking in mouthfeel and taste. Suggest more in the way of malt character that would improve the body and flavor of this beer.
(37/50) (3.5)

The Ferm; Ahh I love having Kirk Diggler back, if anyone makes me look less organized as a beer drinker it is him. He is so structured and I am so raw…and well unorganized.
This is one of my favorite IPA’s when it is fresh, and seeing that it is from San Diego I figured Kirk Diggler has had it once or twice before. The beer poured with a very light white head that vanished quickly into the body. Smells like an IPA heaven….There is nothing I love more than the aroma from citrus and floral hops! The taste….ughhh…the taste….yep this bottle is not as fresh as I thought. Regardless the taste is still on point with a solid IPA. Surprisingly the malt is shining well, through on this probably 6mth old bottle. The hop presence is still there, but the malt is almost standing front and center. Now even fresh this is not Jai Alai good, but it is a great West Coast IPA none-the-less.
Score: 3.98

Overall: 3.74

Sorry for the picture today folks….cell problems and my one picture of the IPA was stored on the BlackBerry….I’ll have pics for the rest of the week.

60 Minute IPA
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, DE
6.0% ABV

C. Pours Clear
H. Light Amber in Color
N. Citrus, Floral Hops, Grass, and Hints of Pine

Cerveza Chica; I will start by saying that I like most of the stuff that DFH puts out so I was fine with drinking this beer. I have drank quite a bit of it over the years so was surprised to find out that the Ferm and I haven’t already reviewed it. He is a hop hound whereas I am not, but nonetheless this beer is pretty good. It is not overly carbonated or overly bitter in my opinion. The hops used in this beer I believe are just right. It is a pretty good beer I think to introduce someone into craft beer because it isn’t too crazy and fairly straightforward. You can’t really go wrong with this beer. I wouldn’t say it’s delicious but it is drinkable and not overly high in alcohol which makes you be able to have more than one in a sitting. Definitely worth picking up especially if you are new to the craft beer scene.
Score:3.77

Ferm; Ahh, an old friend. This was one of the beers that broke me into the IPA style of beer. This is a very balanced single IPA. The malt backing is present and a nice balance of hops. It has a good medium body, but is still easy to drink. It’s just a nice refreshing beer for a warm day, or hell any day.
Score:3.92

Overall: 3.845

Ithaca – Flower Power IPA
Ithaca Beer Company
Ithaca, NY
7.50% ABV

C: Very clear
H: Orangey amber
N: Citrus and piney hops and light malt

La Cocinera;I don’t really have a whole lot to say about this one. It’s a solid IPA, but nothing that is really memorable. I got a bunch of citrusy and earthy hops in the aroma and a bit of malt. The smell was promising but the flavor didn’t really live up to the it. It was hoppy with some caramel, but a little too subtle for my taste and not too bitter at all. Would have liked more hops in the flavor. IPAs used to be my favorite style but I’ve become a little bored by them. This one is very drinkable though and well balanced.
Score: 3.1

The Cerveza Chica; The smell of this beer made me believe that it would be very bitter due to the strong smell of hops, but upon tasting it I was pleasantly surprised. It is a pretty straight forward IPA. Nothing truly special or abnormal about it. This is my first beer that I have had from Ithaca and I wasn’t turned off by it so would be open to trying some of their other varieties of beer. In my opinion I could drink a decent amount of this beer, but I definitely have IPAs that are bigger favorites of mine. The Ferm got this in a trade so I don’t know how much a bottle goes for but I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys citrusy hops.
Score: 3.77

Overall: 3.435