Bumper Crop IPA - Cambridge Brewing Company

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap @ the Cambridge Brewing Company (Cambridge, MA) on 11/6/10. Served in a pint glass.

Pours a slightly hazed but still mostly clear gold, with a finger of smooth and rich bright-white head. Nice robustness to the retention here, leaving back a foamy cascade that quickly slides down the sides of the glass. The aroma is floral and bright smelling with a lot of fleshy fruit character present, along with notes of herbs, spices, and a little bit of sharp earth. Sweet toasted grains lie underneath. This is nice.

The taste is bitter up front with grapefruit juice but is immediately undercut by a layer of soft fruitiness that ends with a noticeable smack of lemon zest. The malts have more of a mellow grainy sweetness to them that comes in off the sides but the hops regain things quickly with a finish that is big on bitter rind, earth, and a lingering dryness that sticks to the roof of the mouth. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a smooth and creamy texture to the carbonation up front but then prickles the tongue more as this spreads out in the mouth. Crisp, with some presence, this is still mostly pretty easy feeling in the mouth.

I wanted to like this more than I did but man; there are just too many citric hop varieties at work here, with the fruity aspect of this just controlling the profile to the point of almost being overkill. The malts and fruit were in balance with each other but some more bitterness would have been welcome here to help give this more of a hoppy and refreshing feel. Well made but the flavors just weren't my cup of tea.

Serving type: on-tap

11-09-2010 18:02:10 | More by Kegatron

EPICAC

Massachusetts

4.1/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bumper Crop IPA pours a lightly hazed, bright, copper color. It's topped by an off-white head that fades to a film. The aroma is bright and hoppy with notes of resin and citrus. There's also an undercurrent of grainy malts.

Toasty malts upfront provide just enough balance to the hops without detracting from them. Resiny, grassy, and citric hops appear in the center and move into a strongly bitter finish. The beer is light and crisp on the palate with carbonation that provides a good bite.

This is a nice hoppy IPA.

Serving type: on-tap

10-31-2010 21:53:35 | More by EPICAC