Beer 396/365 – Fat Head’s Head Hunter IPA

Style: American IPAABV: 7.5%

Purchased at: Fat Head’s Saloon – Pittsburgh, PA

What makes this beer different: One of the better, lesser known IPAs I have had

Will I be drinking this again: Yup, fatheads is right down the road from me, and this is always a go to beer for me.

Grade: A-

5/19/2011: Pittsburgh is well known for its classic Primanti’s sandwich, but the sandwiches at Fat Head’;s run a very close second. They have a sandwich called the South Side Slopes, which includes kielbasa, pierogi, onion, and cheese. Yes its a heart attack wrapped up between two buns, but it is amazing. They also brew their own beer, and unfortunately its brewed in Cleveland.

Head Hunter is Fat Head’s staple beer to be sure as it has won many awards. The nose is one of the best smelling of any IPA I have ever had. Lots of citrus, some floral, even some tropical hints. Tons of hop flavor without being overwhelming. Citrus and Tropical are the two highlights, with a little bit of caramel malt sweetness. The mouthfeel is actually a bit lighter than most other American IPAs. Great great beer, and if you are ever in the Pittsburgh/Ohio area be sure to try it.

Picture of the day: Ohhhh Sarah Palin…

Beer 389/365- Pelican Pub India Pelican Ale

Style: American IPA

ABV: 7.5%

Purchased at: Sent in a trade

What makes this beer different: One of the hoppier IPAs I’ve had in a long time

Will I be drinking this again: Meh, it was good but not worth trading for.

Grade: B+

4/14/2011: Had this beer on the day I brewed my fourth batch of beer. This was my first time trying a recipe that was completely “freestyled”. I wanted to make a hybrid between two of my favorite beers of all time; Three Floyds Gumballhead, and Flying Dog Raging Bitch. I basically found a good clone recipe of each, cut them in half, combined them, and added a little bit of citra hop. This beer actually turned out pretty good, and hopefully we kick the keg this weekend during opening day of trout.

Onto the beer… Indian Pelican Ale has a very hop forward nose, a lot of grapefruit, and some pine. Long time readers of my site know how much I hate piney flavored hops. The flavor again is very hop forward, although not as piney as it was in the smell. Lots of grapefruit, some citrus, and pine in the mix. I wish there was a bit more maltiness going on, but there is just enough for this beer to be considered good. The mouth-feel is a little light for the style, probably due to the aforementioned lack of malt. Overall a pretty good beer, just needs a little more body to it.

Picture of the day: Women’s purses are like a black hole.

Beer 337/365 – Short’s Huma Lupa Licious

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.6%

Purchased at: Sent in a trade

What makes this beer different: On the piney end of the hop scale.

Will I be drinking this again: Probably not.

Grade: B

10/11/2010: Huma Lupa Licious is Short’s best selling, and most reviewed beer. Love the description on the label; “A complex malt and hop theme park in your mouth.” I am assuming going into this one that its going to be pretty tasty. Never thought I would say that about IPAs in general, but I have learned to really crave a good IPA every now and again.

The nose on Huma Lupa is grapefruit hops, and a lot of pine. Not good! For those of you who have been reading for a while you know that I hate piney hope flavor. The flavor is of the sharp resiny pine type, with some citrus, and biscuity malts. Usually I can take a bit of pine, but this little bastard was the main attraction in this theme park. Mouthfeel is medium and very nicely carbonated. Overall I am sure for he style a lot of hop heads would love this, but it was just average to me because of the pine kick.

Picture of the day: A family was almost killed yesterday while making pancakes.

Beer 336/365 – Short’s Hanging Frank IPA

Style: American IPA

ABV: ?

Purchased at: Sent in a trade

What makes this beer different: Probably the most controversial label I have ever seen on a beer.

Will I be drinking this again: One time release so probably not.

Grade: A-

10/10/2010: Pretty shocking label right? Well it sure did spark a ton of conversation on beeradvocate and beernews.org. Some people thought it was an African American man hanging in the label, but turns out it was a Caucasian; the owner of a local bar a who hung himself about a century ago. Whatever I’m not going to get into a tizzy over it, I’m just going to drink the damn beer. Hows that sound?

Lots of caramel malt and citrus hop in the nose. The flavor is strong but delicate at the same time; citrus hops, and very caramely for the style (which is okay by me). A bit of toasted flavor as well. Mouthfeel is medium but nice and creamy. One of the better IPAs I have had lately.

Picture of the day: This will help reduce stress.

Beer 290/365 – Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA

Style: American IPA

ABV: 7.2%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: I usually am not much for how a beer looks, but this is a tasty looking beer.

Will I be drinking this again: Maybe, a little bit on the bitter end for me but it was good.

Grade: B+

8/25/2010: Been wanting to try Torpedo for a while now, but just recently got around to buying a fresh one. I surprisingly have not had the Pale Ale in my prior 289 beers yet, maybe I should pick that up on my next beer run?

Torpedo has a very unique smell to it, citrus, grapefuit, and .. dirt? Not sure how to explain the smell I am getting. The flavor has all kinds of stuff going on, toasted malt, slightly herbal, citrus hops, and a little bit of pine. One sip I love the mix, the next I’m not so sure. That exchange continues until about halfway through the beer, then it really starts to meld together well. The mouthfeel is semi-creamy for the style, and not “sharp” like some IPAs. Overall very good, and pretty unique for an American IPA.

Picture of the day: What it was like being drunk at 18.

Beer 288/365 – Harpoon IPA

Style: American IPA

ABV: 5.9%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Pretty tame for an IPA

Will I be drinking this again: Maybe but there are better IPAs out there.

Grade: B

8/23/2010: Another beer I picked up on a whim because of cool labeling. I am willing to take a gamble on a beer every now and again, especially if its under $2. Plus I know Harpoon on the whole is a pretty decent brewery.

The nose has some citrus to it, with some earthy tones. The flavors are pretty subdued for an IPA, but not bad. Citrus/Floral hops, pale malt, and a little bit of earthiness. Mouthfeel is a bit light for the style, in fact I would have guess this to be an American Pale Ale if I didn’t already know it was an IPA. Very average, nothing great but not much bad about it.

Picture of the day: Ummm and what did you do with this gun sir?

Beer 281/365 – Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.0%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate - Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Almost a perfect balance between hops/malt.

Will I be drinking this again: Yes, this is in the top 10% of IPAs I have ever had.

Grade: A

8/16/2010: Dark Horse is hands down my favorite brewery. I have had almost a dozen of their beers now, but I have not yet tried their best seller; Crooked Tree. I know I know I should be ashamed, but as long time readers of my site know I did not like IPA’s when I started this website. Slowly but surely I am learning to love them.

Crooked Tree has a pretty hoppy nose to it, with sweeter than average malts for an IPA. At first sip you can instantly tell that this is a tamer version of the Double Crooked Tree DIPA (Obviously). The malt profile is a bit different for an IPA, very sweet almost toffee flavored, and the hops give off a lot of orange flavor, and a bit of pine. In this case I don’t mind the pine because the sweet malt is supplying enough backup. Mouthfeel is almost silky for an IPA, with just the right amount of carbonation. Dark Horse always seems to stay true to the style, but puts just enough of a twist on it to make it original.

Picture of the day: I gotta be honest, I read this one wrong the first time too!

Beer 280/365 – Lakefront IPA

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.9%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate - Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Not much, just a relatively drinkable IPA

Will I be drinking this again: Maybe?

Grade: B+

8/15/2010: This one one of the rare times that I picked a beer up on a whim, mostly because I tried Lakefront’s Cream Ale a bunch of months ago and thought it was really good. The price point of $1.49 was a nice selling point as well.

Lakefront IPA has an awesome color to it, a very deep orange type hue that I have never really seen in an IPA. It has a pretty typical American IPA nose; mostly citrus hops. The flavor though was a bit different, as there was an earthy aspect to it that I can’t quite put my finger on, with a less than average amount of hop flavor (which is okay in my book). Mouthfeel is right about average, carbonation is as well. The ABV is nowhere to be found, if I had to guess at the percentage I would have said 5%. Overall a very good beer, and not as bitter as a lot of IPA’s out there.

Picture of the day: Now that I am single I am keeping my eyes open for some good looking single chicks. If only I could get this girl’s number.

Beer 268/365 – New England Sea Hag IPA

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.2%

Purchased at: Sent as an extra in a trade

What makes this beer different: My first beer from Connecticut!

Will I be drinking this again: If it were sold in the area yes.

Grade: B+

8/3/2010: Okay I officially have a problem; I trade for beer too much. I was going through one of my trade boxes to grab some bubble wrap when I reached to the bottom, and there was something in there. Lo and Behold it was the beer pictured above. How I missed it the first time I went through the box? I have no idea. I don’t even know who sent this to me at this point, but thanks to whoever it was!

Sea Hag smells pretty well balanced, equal parts hop and sweet malt. The flavor is on the sweeter end as far as the malts go, which is a thumbs up as far as I’m concerned. Caramel malts are over powered just a little bit by piney hops, which for once I actually like it this beer. Finishes a little dry, but good mouthfeel for an IPA. This might be one of the first beers I was able to tolerate “piney” hops in, probably because of the sweet malts to help it along.

Picture of the day: Yeaaaa, checking for signs of oil… sure he was!

Beer 257/365 – Tyranena Scurvy Ipa

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.5%

Purchased at: Sent as an extra in a trade.

What makes this beer different: Nice and citrusy, but the pine knocks it down a few notches for me.

Will I be drinking this again: They don’t sell in PA, but not so sure I would trade for this.

Grade: B+

7/23/2010: Apologies for the crappy picture. The only pint glass I had at the time has a huge label on the front of it, but it blocked out a lot of the light coming through. Just look at the bottom part of the glass for an idea of what the color should look like.

Scurvy doesn’t smell nearly as potent as most IPA’s do, only slighty hoppy. The flavor though was a bit more hoppy, a lot of citrus hops, and a nice dose of piney hops (my least favorite kind). You can also taste the orange added a little bit, with a lot of caramel malt. Overall Tyranena Scurvy is on the maltier end of the IPA spectrum, but the pine hop flavor knocks it down a bit for me.

Picture of the day: Do not press this button.