Founders Centennial IPA - Founders Brewing Company

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

4.63/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Appearance - hazy dull orange with fine sediment top to bottom. Thick creamy head melts down to a clingy covering, sticky lacing down the glass.

Aroma - a blast of fruity, piney hops. One of life's little pleasures is sniffing a wonderfully aromatic brew such as this, take your time with a half dozen good lungfuls here.

Taste - a basic, not very noticeable malt start, very basic and only there as a platform for the Centennial hops. Lots of citrus character, a below average bitterness for what most expect from an IPA. It's very tasty and finishes dry, with some grapefruit rind flavor that is easygoing, not harsh at all.

Mouthfeel - creamy, oily mouthfeel. Right on. A bit thin which waters the taste down a bit, but I don't mind. Makes 'em drink faster actually.

Drinkability - a great session beer, I could make an evening of these.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2004 16:47:57 | More by brewdlyhooked13

Mitchster

Michigan

4.58/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed in the company of Mike and Tim at the brewery.

Slightly hazy deep copper in color, forming a light-beige head with average retention and lacing. Mild to moderate carbonation. Aroma is intense with fresh, green, oily, leafy, floral hops...like walking into a hop cooler and smashing your face into the bag. Taste begins with some mild caramel notes, a ton of floral and semi-citric hops, some moderate bitterness, and counterbalanced with mildly sweet malt body. Toffee and vanilla in the finish.

Amazing stuff this is. One of the finest IPA's I've ever had. Up there with Two-Hearted and Hop Devil. Just a little rough around the edges keeps it from getting some 5.0's.

Serving type: on-tap

05-17-2004 23:50:44 | More by Mitchster

beergeek279

Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev +7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served in the 12 oz. bottle, into a pint glass. The color is golden, with a foamy head with nice retention. The smell is a nice citrusy hoppiness. The taste is a nice citrus hop and maintains a nice balance with a good maltiness. Mouthfeel is average. As for drinkability, I definitely could have quite a few of these.

Thank you to trbeer for sending this gem. A fantastic IPA, with a good citrus hop and a better balance. Up amongst the better IPAs out there, and certainly one I'll have again.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2004 02:22:25 | More by beergeek279

Sixpack595

Michigan

3.73/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Hoppy brew. Thats it. Copper color with a meagre whit head that dissapears quickly. Aroma is grapefruit and pine hops. Flavor is...guess what...hops. There is a malt base that gives little flavor, but keeps the bitterness within bounds. The hops provide a great deal of flavor without going overboard with the bitterness. Very well done. A one trick pony, but a good one.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2004 09:25:20 | More by Sixpack595

LuckySevens82

Florida

3.78/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz stubby bottle.
Pours a lovely orangy amber with a rather small head for an IPA. I was unaware that this was bottle conditioned, however, so the nice yeast cloud that filled the brew was a nice surprise.
Smell is spicy and floral, very nice.
Taste is exceptionally citrusy. This beer is not exceptionally bitter though. There is a definite citrus presence in every fascet of this brew. There is a little bit of sweetness to the beer, but it is mostly canceled out by the overwhelming cirtus hop flavor.
Overall, this is an above average IPA, I'm not sure i like all the citrus flavor, but this is a decent beer. I would have another.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2004 01:45:23 | More by LuckySevens82

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy, deep amber to bronze color, fine, fuzzy, tapioca-ish head.
Aroma: grapefruit, a whiff of pine, pineapple, softly fruity,never harsh or bitter, but definitely hoppy, on a juicified level, a sweet pleasure to sniff!
Taste: rather mild on the mouth at first, though not unsparing in taste, fruit flavors do a delciious fandango in the tongue, mangoes and melons, grapefruit, and nectarine, with a slice of lime, the bitterness just hangs on the side, never poisons the experiencek merely barks up and nips a little. Again, bitterness is not unpleasant, but full fruity flavor is nothing but!
Medium bodied, zesty, medium-length finish, hangs well and firmly in the mouth. Nice rendition of the style, one I would enjoy again and again, if this were an option!

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2004 10:50:22 | More by feloniousmonk

hustlemuscle

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The Centennial IPA pours a nicely carbonated reddish gold, with a mild head. Not suprisingly, it smells like hops, nice flowery mild hops. That is pretty much how it tastes too, a bit more flowery than some. Comes with typical IPA cheek pucker and oily mouthfeel. It is as easy to drink as any other IPA, and may get another chance. Too many other IPAs still to try before this one's number gets called again though.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2004 00:40:00 | More by hustlemuscle

cretemixer

Indiana

4.2/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a murky honey gold in color, with a thin off-white head. There is a fair amount of unfiltered goodness suspended throughout.
The aroma is a knockout. Fresh piney hops jump out right away with a hint of a caramel sweetness. Very inviting.
A well rounded beer greets the tounge. Plenty hoppy, but with a hint of malt sweetness too. The hop bitterness isn't as "bitey" as a lot of IPAs, more of a juicy mouth-filling experience. Very nice.
Medium body with a refreshing, prickly carbonation. A solid offering from a brewery that seems to be a real up and comer.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2004 02:36:37 | More by cretemixer

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.22/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Hazy, rich, dark orange-amber. This IPA looks like it means business. The head is dark cream with a hint of orange, is thick and creamy and is long-lived. When it eventually fades, a substantial amount of lace in ragged sheets is left in its wake.

The nose leaves no doubt that this is a serious IPA. Big-time hop esters emanate from the glass. They're primarily of the citrus fruity (grapefruit), tropical fruity (candied pineapple) and floral variety. One deep inhale is all it takes to tell that I'm going to enjoy this one.

This is delicious beer. Centennial IPA is a solid, grapefruit and lemon zestified, hoppy IPA that makes good use of... let's see... Centennial hops? Each mouthful starts with a big burst of hoppiness and then eases into a less bitter, more sweet pale maltiness.

A longer and more lingering finish would be great since the flavor is so enjoyable. The mouthfeel is slightly more full than medium and is creamy and silky smooth. Well done.

Centennial IPA is another solid effort from Founders. I really like Pale Ale and this beer delivers more of what was good about that beer (hops!). I love to find great beer from breweries that I previously didn't know existed. And I have deejaydan to thank for it.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2004 19:40:15 | More by BuckeyeNation

RoyalT

Ohio

4.1/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance – Beautiful, dark orange and hazy in color with an awesome, slightly-tanned head that left large pits on top of the liquid and lace along the sides. I literally drooled on my keyboard staring at this wonderful-looking IPA.

Smell – Big but very smooth hops with a serious malty compliment. This is exceptionally balanced with a resiny hop bias. The floral notes and mild caramel sweetness worked well together, too.

Taste – Anybody interested in a little butter? This IPA is just dripping with it. All the aromatic notes from the nose kicked it up for the taste. Big hops, strong malts, huge butter, and a slightly bitter finish. Wow!

Mouthfeel – So smooth it just slides down the esophagus. How they got all these big flavors to go down so well I’ll never know.

Drinkability – This is like none other I’ve had before, and it is my 39th IPA review on the site. What a treat!

Comments – OldFroth has a way of sniffing out the exceptional, and his senses certainly proved accurate here.

Update – It’s been over six years since OldFroth sent me my first bottle of this beauty and I ran into it at a beverage barn in Ohio so thought I’d give it another whirl. It’s as gorgeous and smooth as I remember it with an amazing texture and a wonderful sense of buttery malt/hop fusion.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2004 03:41:44 | More by RoyalT

moulefrite

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Very deep golden, almost copper in color with a good creamy, sticky head that leaves a good patchwork of lace. Extremely Humbolt county like in the nose with loads of sticky green bud aromas. Full bodied, and assertively hoppy, this aint a bad IPA. Very smooth and round in the mouth. This beer is all about hops, hops, and more.... bitter hops. A certain hit for the hophead.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2004 01:37:04 | More by moulefrite

granger10

Wisconsin

3.95/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

This was quite a nice IPA. Definitely not like the overdone IPA's that have been appearing everywhere. This one is more for the non hop head beer lovers. It poured a golden amber with a nice creamy head. The smell was strong in hops but the flavor wasn't near as strong. The hops were there but they didn't blow my palate away. Really citrusy and grapefruity with maybe a little floral hoppiness too. The base was bready but weak and the malts were very weak, I couldn't really discern a malt flavor. The yeast was real noticeable and mixed well with the hops. Goes down easy. Very good.

Serving type: on-tap

01-11-2004 23:04:34 | More by granger10

AtLagerHeads

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A thoroughly impressive midwestern IPA. This little goodie came looking for a fight with its moody and cloudy rusty amber body and luscious creamy tan head that is stubborn and laces with incredibly thick deposits that create sticky rings. The body is full of particles and floaties that surely portend of the yeast that is a part of the great aroma. The nose is full of yeast and citrus hops at the start, but equally strong on the lovely malt base. The flavor is just great, with thick sweet malts and lovely bittering following from the heavy hopping. Much less citrus hopping on the flavor than in the aroma. The good mouthfeel is fairly full and chewy, and finishes with a nice creamy ending. Depending on the ABV this has good drinkability, but I sense a fairly strong alcohol content.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2003 04:29:59 | More by AtLagerHeads

winomark

Missouri

3.03/5  rDev -27.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Deep copper color with a nice creamy head. Somewhat cloudy(unfiltered).

Aroma: Muted hop aroma. Some malt in the background.

Taste: Hops present, but malt dominates. Not typical IPA flavors.

Mouthfeel: Coating mouthfeel, with hops giving some bitterness, but malt gives good balance.

Drinkability: An easy-drinking IPA. More of a Pale Ale IMO, since the hops are not overpowering. Not what I expected, and I doubt I will try again.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2003 15:41:54 | More by winomark

PhantomVodoo

Ohio

4.05/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Unfiltered. Hazed brownish copper color with a light tan head.
Strong piney, floral hop aroma with pale malts buried underneath.

Taste follows with a good floral, piney hop flavor. Biscuity, toffee malt flavors attempt to balance, but this one is about the hops.

Mouthfeel just a bit thin.
Good drinkability.

This is a good, tastey IPA.
Big thanks to TwelveVoltMan for providing the sample.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2003 03:38:18 | More by PhantomVodoo

OldFrothingSlosh

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz. squat amber bottle. No freshness dating. 2 rather angelic-looking people holding up the "Centennial" on the label.

Poured a cloudy rusty honey color. No head at all, despite an aggressive pour. Aromas are all hops. The nose is filled with citrus, spice, and bit of pine? Taste is dominated by the hops. Barely any backbone of malt to be noticed. Bitter up front, bitter in the middle, and bitter at the end. Excellent oily burps. Mouthfeel was not as creamy as expected. In fact, it was slightly on the thin side. Rather low-bodied as well. Certainly a drinkable beer, but I just felt like something was missing at the end of each sip. I really like hoppy beers, and this one certainly falls into that category, but it falls just short of being very good in my book. I would like to try this on tap and see how I like it.

A big BA thanks to TwelveVoltMan for this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2003 23:57:55 | More by OldFrothingSlosh

maxpower

Missouri

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz. short bottle with a twist off cap, pours a cloudy dark amber-orange color with alot of yeast chunks floating around, nice off-white head that leaves a creamy a lace in the glass. It has fresh citrusy aromas, medium body with a full mouthfeel, nice grapefruit and caramel flavors with a decent bite in the end, I think I will have another.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2003 00:54:32 | More by maxpower

chilidog

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Yet another fine brew from this Grand Rapids brewer. This Centennial puored a slight hazy-cloud of copper with an outstanding off-white head. Good head retention and lots of lace, ring after ring. The aroma is bold, hoppy with hints of citrus. The taste has a "jump at you" centennial hop bang, followed by a good rounding dose of citrus ( both grapefruit & lemon ). At the finish a balance of sweet malt can be noticed as the mouth is left with a mild but smooth bitterness. A fine ale to be had, Good-job!

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2003 13:03:12 | More by chilidog

jtw5877

Ohio

4.2/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours an orange color with a white head, excellent hop aroma, and a very good hopiness to the favor too. Maybe a little thin on the body, but otherwise a very drinkable beer. I would recommend this to anybody who likes hoppy pale ales. I really think this stuff is a little bit underrated.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2003 23:36:53 | More by jtw5877

jcalabre

California

2.5/5  rDev -39.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Originally sampled on 12 January 2003. I am writing this review from my notes.
Oh-oh, screw top, bad omen! This pours opaque burnt amber with a thin white head. It has a slight hoppy aroma. The taste is more grapefruit than hops. This was a disappointing beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2003 02:42:46 | More by jcalabre

Realale

Missouri

3.68/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Reddish-gold in color, with a rich fine head that settles slowly to a thin cap.

Nose is a HUGE blast of Centennial. Beautifully floral and grapefruity piney goodness. No malt though.

Big hop flavors from the start, but not enough malt to support it for my palate. Touch hollow in the mid-palate initially, but this fills in. Lovely bottle-conditioned mouthfeel, and a long bitter finish. Add a bit more malt to support it and it would be great. As it is, its still very good.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2003 08:21:10 | More by Realale

Wildman

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This beer is actually called Centennial IPA unless they have two versions. This beer poured a very cloudy reddish gold color and formed an off white foamy head that left some circular lace as it subsided. Some carbonation and sediment is present. A nice aroma of hops and citrus. A flavor of hops, citrus and caramel. A slightly bitter yet creamy finish to the beer. Not a bad IPA. Not as over the top as Two Hearted or others, but a nicely balanced IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2003 17:25:16 | More by Wildman

inebrius

Michigan

4.47/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I consider the pros and cons of twist caps as I pour the fumy amber fluid down the side of my tilted pint glass watching the pale head puff aggressively then fade. The glass is cool and moist in my hand. I stroke my lips in hunger as the aroma of lemon drops and crouton topped butterleaf lettuce grasps me, it's full. Full and round and toasty like stoned wheat crackers and lingering bitter-sweet olive tapenade. And it's gone. Where's that bottle opener?

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2003 21:02:57 | More by inebrius

proc

Michigan

4.43/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A big beer. I am a fan of IPA's and readily admit at present, it is my favorite style. This IPA is loaded with Centennial hops (it is called "Centennial IPA"). Pours out to a good-looking amber in the glass with a light brown head. Aroma is that of grapefruit, as an IPA should be. The taste is very balanced despite the heavy kick of hops. The malt keeps this from being over the top. A very good example of the IPA style. I'll drink this one again.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2003 16:06:19 | More by proc

jackndan

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Founders IPA: A huge American IPA, aggressive hops dominate this brew. Rust/caramel colored, with a slim off-white head. Hops to the left, hops to the right, hops right down the damn middle. Not much balance here, but this is a brew that will really please you hop heads. Mouthfeel was pleasant, but with a little hops oils at the end. Very well made IPA, so big it gave me heartburn.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2002 19:31:51 | More by jackndan