Stash IPA - Independence Brewing Co.

imasloth

Texas

4.03/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

So they changed their recipe in August 2011 after switching brewers. I wasn't in love with the old recipe so I was excited to taste the new stuff.

A- Poured roughly into a pint glass, giving a two-finger white head atop a reddish/golden beer. Lightly carbonated. Head recedes slowly leaving good lacing near the top of glass.

S- This is what made me so excited the first time I had the new recipe. It's all citrus and piney hops. Smells awesome.

T- Like the smell, awesome. Good mix between bitter and flavor on the hops. The citrus flavors (grapefruit?) override the pine but both are still recognizable. Guess it's the Galaxy and Cascade hops they use ... I love it.

M- Very little body, but the bittering provides good mouthfeel while drinking that fades quickly after swallowing.

O- I love it. I'd recommend it to others. It's my second favorite Texas IPA (to Real Ale Lost Gold).

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2011 22:27:10 | More by imasloth

MADhombrewer

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a ver cold glass. Had at backyard grill in Houston.

Appearance- Cloudy orange with very little head. Maybe due to the glass being so cold? Light, overall lacing.

Smell - I can't smell very much at all. When I stick my nose in the glass I do smell tropical fruits. Orange is very prominete.

Taste- A lot more bitter than what I thought it would be. Big malt backbone adds sweetness but not crazy.

Mouthfeel- A little thicker than I typicacly like but good none the less.

Overall- Good IPA. Easy drinking. Jenray sent me one of these as an extra awhile back but for some reason I didn't review it.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2011 01:24:07 | More by MADhombrewer

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.33/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

cloudy amber with a frothy white/creamy head and some decent lacing. Smell was a citrus hops, mixed with a malty caramel thta makes this smell quite balanced. Taste was definatly hoppy, and again had that bit of caramel, and some spiceness about it. Very nice dry finish and not overpowering on the hops. This is a good session beer and will definatly have more. Looking forward to getting some on tap!

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2011 05:47:27 | More by mikesgroove

StoneBrewFanatic

Virginia

3.68/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours cloudy amber/orange into my snifter with one finger of head that has moderate retention and sticky lacing.

S - Big citrus hops, grapefruit and orange, pine, sweet caramel malts, and faint biscuit.

T - Very bitter from start to finish, nice citrus hops, grapefruit rind and orange, earthy and piny on the back end, sweet caramel malts barely make themselves known through the bitterness.

M - Smooth and creamy, nice feel.

O - I really do like this beer, but in all honestly it's just not very balanced. Love the hops and bitterness for that matter, just needs a little more malt backbone to support it.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2011 22:55:31 | More by StoneBrewFanatic

RomaniIteDomum

Florida

3.3/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks, Travis, for sending this beer over.

Pours orange with a good number of floaties, one of which is the size of a pea. The head is nice, but fades quickly.

The smell is full of bright tangerines and pine. This smells quite nice.

Taste wise, it is a little high on the bitter scale without as much depth or structure. Pine, tangerine, and sweet lemon notes abound, but they aren't as coherent as they should be.

The feel is nice and creamy. Just enough body.

Overall, this was good, but I think I would enjoy it more on tap. I get the feeling from other reviews that there are bottling issues, but I do feel a pretty damn good brew hiding under the imperfections I found in this bottle.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2011 05:40:17 | More by RomaniIteDomum

deepchills

Texas

3.9/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I bought a 6pack of 12oz bottles at The Whip In in Austin, Texas. This beer was my primary brew at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, unfortunately it was the first beer to run out at the festivals only craft beer tent.

Pours yellow/gold with a small head that goes away immediately. Lots of dry hop floaties in this beer, not as much as Green Flash’ West Coast IPA, but you get the idea.

Grapefruit and pine on the nose with a nice malty smell early.

Grapefruit and lots of bitter hops jump out right away. A darker sweetness from all the malts accompanies the hops in the middle, it’s a nice combo, I wish there were more. There is a slight Lager taste in the finish, not sure what to contribute it to or a better way to state what I’m tasting.

Overall there is a thinness to this beer, maybe 94 IBU isn’t enough with all the Malts that come with it? The 7% ABV is well concealed in this IPA. There are so many great choices there that you can normally find a better IPA, but this is an interesting changeup, I like supporting Texas breweries, so I will drink this again the next time I’m in Austin.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2011 22:00:23 | More by deepchills

ccrida

Oregon

2.65/5  rDev -27.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Murky, very dark gold, it looks thick. Basically flat, the lightest wisp of skim.

Smell is muted, a touch skunky, sweetness as it warms, apricots, English ale esters perhaps, lots of caramel.

Taste is blah, like a malty pale ale, fairly bitter, especially on the lingering aftertaste, but no hop flavor really, perhaps a touch of citrus. There's a flash of sweetness mid-palate, a touch fruity, melon, but quickly overshadowed by a bitter, long finish, with a bit of hops peeking out on the aftertaste. A touch of alcoholic heat and plasticy phenols as well.

Mouthfeel is dry, medium bodied, not as thick as it looked, but heavy for sure, at least for my taste in the style.

Drinkability is ok. It's not at all my taste in the style, which is very light malt and huge hops. The flaws are modest though, and overall it's fairly bland for the style, that I could suck it down without pain, but without pleasure as well. Below average overall.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2011 21:29:17 | More by ccrida

birchstick

Missouri

2.93/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - pours an orangeish copper color without much of a head on it

S - smells of cinnamon, grapefruit, and caramel malts; not much of a hop presence on the nose

T - caramel and bready malts form the backbone of this beer and steal the battle for most dominant flavor on the palate. Ends with earthy, grassy hops that are dominated by the malts on the exhale. Not a very hoppy IPA.

M - full body with low carbonation; average

D - If this was a pale ale I would have rated it higher. However, given that it is an IPA it fell short of the mark in the hop category. I was expecting a bit more out of this, especially given the giant hop leaf on the label.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2011 15:25:42 | More by birchstick

augustgarage

California

3.5/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Welcome extra courtesy of lnashsig (thanks!). Poured from a 12oz bottle into my Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

Very cloudy gradient of Persian-Orange to Pink-Orange topped by a lasting dense finger of papaya whip merengue. Heavy soapy lacing. Superior retention.

Faint biscuity malt aroma with a hint of orange marmalade; otherwise not much in the nose.

Bread crusts, white pepper, and thyme on the palate - moderately bitter though the breadiness negates the hops in the finish to some degree. Very earthy somewhat spicy, but surprisingly little fruit or bite throughout.

Well carbonated, soft, pillowy, and not-quite-medium bodied.

Most hop-heads will probably find this to be too malt-forward, but I enjoyed it anyway, and think it would pair well with low-and-slow smokey bbq among other things.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2011 04:24:05 | More by augustgarage

HopsKeepDroppin

Texas

3.7/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12oz. bottle into my Maudite brandy snifter.

A- A nice copper color with yeast floating around after being stirred up by the pour. Very thin layer of head that dissapears quickly.

S- Very strong citrus hop smell and I pick up the slightest amount of malt.

T- Bitterness shines through at the beginning but then it balances out with the malt. Like the smell the hops add a citrus character to the taste.

M- This IPA isn't super carbonated and it really plays to it's advantage. Very smooth and drinkable.

O- It is a little more bitter than some of the other IPAs brewed here in Texas but still isn't super hoppy by any means. I say it would make a fine gateway IPA for someone that hasn't tried the style.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2011 03:26:51 | More by HopsKeepDroppin

CuriousMonk

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 12oz bottle into pint glass. Pours a bright hazy golden orange with a big billowy white head that recedes to a thick cap and leaves good lacing. The aroma is tame with some light lemony hops and some floral as well. There is light sweet malts as well but it’s all very subdued. The taste is more of the same and actually a little less impressive. There is some faint citrus hops and light sugary malts. There is a light metallic bitterness in the finish and a fairly surprising alcohol burn. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with good carbonation but the flavors seem watery. Overall a decent session IPA.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2011 19:41:33 | More by CuriousMonk

ncmussell

Minnesota

3.08/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a pint glass. nice head. Good color and not too dark. Not a ton really going on on the nose. Taste is kind of middle of the road, not really on the malty end and not really on the piney end either. There is some fruit there but just kind of all jumbled together. Overall it was a fine beer, but nothing that I need to try again.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2011 23:26:42 | More by ncmussell

JMad

Texas

3.98/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I drank this beer from a tulip glass...

The color was a hazy golden with a fluffy white head. It smells of grapefruit, tangerine, mango and pineapple. It tastes of bitter pine and grapefruit peel with some caramel malt a little pepper and tropical fruit. Feels medium bodied with low carbonation and a dry finish. I thought this was a good IPA, it's not up there with the best but is better than your average IPA.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2011 04:49:49 | More by JMad

Dster

Texas

3.93/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

poured from the bottle into a tulip pint glass.

A Pours a dark amber with a quarter inch head.
S Piney...cedar. Later comes citrus.
T When you first taste...its like it smells...heavy on the pine...but when you swallow there is a lot of grape fruit.
M smooth texture, high carbonation
D Good session american IPA. If you like hops, you could drink a pack of these. Kind of feels like a comb of a east coast and a west coast IPA

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2011 07:19:13 | More by Dster

EgadBananas

Louisiana

3.13/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

A- Pale hazy orange in color, light off-white, yellow hued creamy head with little bits of bubbles.

S- Small bits of lightly citrus hops, but mostly really rich malts, caramel, and nuttiness. Almost a little bit of candied sugar. Too rich for an IPA IMO.

T- The taste definitely balances things out a lot more. The caramel, sweet malts, are a lot more subtle, and the hop bitterness is more pronounced. Nice bits of sweet citrus.

M- The feel is lighter than anticipated with the rich aroma, but it has a nice crispness, adequate carbonation, and slight creaminess.

D/O- Drinkability is average, and over all, it's a middle of the road IPA. The aroma is a bit too sweet and rich, but fortunately the taste is worlds apart, making this a decent IPA.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2011 00:30:20 | More by EgadBananas

boralyl

Oregon

3.28/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Bottle dated 3/3/11. Pours about an inch of creamy white head into a tulip glass. It's got very nice retention and leaves lots of sticky lace. The beer has a slight haze and is burnt orange in color.

S - There is some fruit, and sweet malt character, but the aroma is pretty muted.

M - Medium in body with some creaminess competing with the medium carbonation.

T - Some sweet maltiness up front followed by some grapefruit character, but floral hops quickly overpower it in the finish. It's got a long lasting bitterness.

It's good, but nothing special. It's lacking in the aroma department, but looks great!

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2011 01:16:04 | More by boralyl

crusian

Texas

3.98/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

bottle from Specs, side of the case says it was bottled 3 days ago, cool.
pours with about a 1/4 inch of head with a light apricot color.
smell is nice, cirus with a hint of sweetness and light malt.
Taste is about the same as the smell, some light malt with a nice citrus hop presence. it is a nice light AIPA... or I think it is. seems like it is a bit o the lower end of alcohol for something this hoppy, around maybe 6%. Seeing as how I just had the divine reserve 11 a couple days ago, this pales in comparison to the hops in that, however, this is not an IIPA. It is nice, and light and refreshing... and I am reviewing by style.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2011 02:32:34 | More by crusian

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had a bottle from Whole Foods. The body is a bit thin and the flavor is simple. It is at least a clean beer, unlike the Austin Amber (diacetyl bomb). There's a clear grapefruit juice taste with more herbal citrus rind, but that's about it. It's drinkable and bitter, but not terribly fun to drink.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2011 00:50:34 | More by tempest

AlCaponeJunior

Texas

3.53/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Orange and hazy, pretty good one finger head, and nice lacing.

Smells a bit light for an IPA but not bad at all. It's a bit malty, with some hops aromas and a bit of citrus.

Tastes pretty malty for an IPA, but quite tasty. There's some hops and citrus, a touch of pine, and a light sweetness despite being slightly dry.

Feel is light to medium bodied, moderately carbonated, and lingering light bitterness with a hint of sweetness.

Got this one in a trade, a nice extra. I'd certainly be happy to consume it again, it's pretty good, if not outstanding.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2011 03:10:33 | More by AlCaponeJunior

ColdPoncho

Ohio

3.8/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - a murky copper body with a small white head.

S - a nice, subdued hop profile. mostly citrus, clean malt background.

T - hops are mostly bitter on the finish, with a light tang on the front. I'm guessing this is a touch on the older side. It's a nice taste, but I'd like more hops.

M - Actually a very nice and smooth mouthfeel. Medium bodied, and pleasant.

D - it's pretty drinkable, but I wish it tasted better.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2011 21:28:10 | More by ColdPoncho

adamhimself

Texas

3.23/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

The appearance is pretty standard. The beer is unfiltered so it was slightly cloudy and there was a small amount of yeast left at the bottom. It has quite a nice head of foam on it.

The smell was slightly sweet, but very faint. It was most certainly not powerful. A small flowery smell was present as well.

The taste wasn't strong. I would say for an IPA it was on the lower end of bitterness. It almost comes closer to being an APA rather than an IPA. It didn't taste bad and was very refreshing, but there was no unique or "wow" flavor. It wasn't neither amazing nor was it bad.

The mouthfeel was smooth. Not much can really be said about it. Pretty standard.

The best part of this beer is its drinkability. It isn't overly bitter or sweet. This would be a decent session beer and a good beer for introducing someone to IPAs whose never had one before.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2011 02:23:09 | More by adamhimself

salvo

Indiana

3.63/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Stash IPA by Austin-based Independence Brewing. Solid hoppy IPA on the light side pours amber brown with orange highlights with an inch of off-white head. Head dissipates quickly. Great lighter uncomplicated IPA that would either open a tasting session well without tearing your palate apart for the next one. Carbonation is a little soda-like with big bubbles struggling to keep the head aloft.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2011 02:25:49 | More by salvo

frognot

Texas

3.53/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a murky burnt orange body with a thick foamy off-white head

Smell: More pine than citrus smell

Taste: A lot of resiny taste with a very crisp taste.

Mouthfeel: Very light mouthfeel with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability: Very drinkable. Would like to try again in the summer while grilling burgers.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2011 22:29:12 | More by frognot

Fenris244

Texas

3.33/5  rDev -9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

poured into a stein from the bottle

After the pouring the color was orange, very orange and quite hazy, had a 2 finger head and retention was nice. Eventually it turned into a nice thick lace that clung to the sides of the glass with each sip.

Aroma was faint but complex with citrus, candied lemon, some hop and fresh cut grass aroma.

There is hop bitterness up front with a grainy tasting finish, really not much to the flavor aside from that.

It was crisp, had a lightly carbonated feel to it as well as being light in body.

Was pretty drinkable, being light and crisp help it out in this department.

All in all I dont mind it, If I'm looking for pure IPA flavor though I'm going elsewhere, that being said my bmc drinking friends love it and it just might be a great gateway beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2010 06:37:42 | More by Fenris244

Duttonic

Texas

3.15/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

From notes 11/24/10. Served from 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

A- Copper/orange hue, two fingers off-white head, mild lacing, little bubbling.

S- Strong alcohol presence up front, floral, hoppy, spicy, malt presence on the tail end.

T/M- Smoother than I expected based on the smell, somewhat watery body, bitter/dry finish.

D- Not overly bitter, nice linger, but not overly remember-able. I need to try it again before I make up my mind, since it may have not been served cold enough, but it did not stand out as much as I was expecting.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2010 18:19:36 | More by Duttonic