Country of Origin: United States
Price comparison: About the cost of a national domestic.
Alcohol percentage by volume: 6.7%
Cute bottle/label? Twelve ounce standard-shaped; label has a cluster of hops with added eyes, pointed ears, and devil horns, in case the point had not been put across by the name.
Appearance: About the color of strong tea; decent carbonation and creamy suds with a decent half-island of lace left on the surface.
Scent: Hops, of course, but also nice citrus and some clove and caraway.
Flavor: A strong grapefruit flavor predominates, but malt is also detectable. Black pepper bite at the finish.
Impressions: This is indeed a very hoppy ale, but not aggressively so. Quite drinkable considering the ABV.
Will I buy this beer again? It's not special. However, it is affordable and tasty, which go pretty far with me. I mean, not everything can be a Belgian, right?
I've yet to have an India Pale Ale that was a diva and this is no exception; you can put it with just about anything savory and it'll match well (although the grapefruity dryness of this one seems to be begging for good New England seafood). I'll be having this again, probably very soon.
Rating:
3½ out of 5 cute beer glasses
Reviewed: December 15, 2003
