Smuttynose IPA "Finest Kind" - Smuttynose Brewing Company

Jason

Massachusetts

4.65/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

12 oz bottle with a bottled on date. Bright sunrise orange hue with some chill haze from the hops. The head retention is amazing, lots of stickage with many rings of lace left on the glass. Perfumy aroma of pine and grapefruit juice, a hint of grain and alcohol in the back.

Clean and stabbing bitterness from start to finish, a heavy hand of hop flavor; grapefruit juice, mild pine, tobacco and faint grassiness. Some alcohol sneaks in with a clean fruity ester, the pale maltiness holds the beer together quite well. The pungency level is pretty high and puckers the mouth as the crispness of the carbonation produces a thirst quenching feeling in the mouth. This is like Shoal's Pale Ale on hop steroids!

Hands down my favorite NE IPA, next time I am buying a case or two.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2004 11:27:08 | More by Jason

Todd

Massachusetts

4.6/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A bright, but dusky, titian colored beer with a clingy, creamy foam head. Pungent grapefruit, citric must, sappy pine and floral aromatics in the nose. Flavor is quite sharp upfront with a striking grapefruit juice/rind character, pine, archaic herbs and hints of sea salt that binds to the palate like a tenacious resin. Malt character is a bit juicy, at first, with a light honey sweetness, mild peary/peachy flavor and a malt biscuitiness that gently underlines the aggressive hop profile. Metallic/mineral water edge. Bone dry, with a linger chalkiness, floral sweetness and pear skin flavors.

Imagine getting hit upside the head with a bag of grapefruits, then, when you finally become conscious again, you awake to find you've got a grapefruit as a gag and you're being held hostage buy Smuttynose IPA.

This is one hell of a palate smacking IPA! A top-notch brew!

Seek it. Buy it. Enjoy it.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2004 22:26:31 | More by Todd

DStoked

Ohio

3/5  rDev -27.4%

05-22-2013 13:34:46 | More by DStoked

irs

New Jersey

4.75/5  rDev +15%

05-22-2013 05:07:08 | More by irs

russwilliam

New York

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

05-22-2013 03:04:13 | More by russwilliam

nebula1999

Connecticut

4/5  rDev -3.1%

05-22-2013 01:01:13 | More by nebula1999

JoyHelfrich

Illinois

4/5  rDev -3.1%

05-21-2013 01:10:54 | More by JoyHelfrich

dheacck11

Connecticut

2.93/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Slightly hazy pale golden orange with a 1/4 finger of dense white foamy head. Nice lacing.

Nose is pretty non existent. Just a hint of lemon. Nothing spectacular.

Taste is pretty hopforward, with dry, straw flavors. Little bit of lemon and orange in the mix, but finish is lots of super dry hops. Mouth puckeringly bitter from the hops.

Feel is a little too thick for all that hoppiness.

I am skeptical that this beer may have been infected, as the tastes are so far from what I expected. Though as time passes drinking it, it does balance a little more. I think it's just not for me. Too much dry hop. Not enough fruit and juice, nor stickiness.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 00:00:51 | More by dheacck11

bessborough

New Brunswick (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

05-20-2013 22:24:00 | More by bessborough

AMCPhD

Florida

4/5  rDev -3.1%

05-20-2013 01:15:46 | More by AMCPhD

Stonehill64

3.75/5  rDev -9.2%

05-19-2013 12:43:14 | More by Stonehill64

bzach

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

05-18-2013 23:10:45 | More by bzach

inanity

Massachusetts

4.75/5  rDev +15%

05-18-2013 00:15:04 | More by inanity

twenty5

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

05-17-2013 14:46:20 | More by twenty5

Glider

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

05-17-2013 13:46:57 | More by Glider

AR_Rios

Kentucky

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

05-17-2013 02:19:53 | More by AR_Rios

Kunstman

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -15.3%

05-17-2013 02:12:02 | More by Kunstman

Nittanylion1991

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -3.1%

05-17-2013 01:43:03 | More by Nittanylion1991

MerriweatherRaven

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -15.3%

05-16-2013 20:29:40 | More by MerriweatherRaven

Andrew041180

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Poured from a 12 ounce bottle approximately six weeks old. The beer is a light copper color with a slight haziness. The beer poured perfectly into a standard pint glass, with the head just barely coming over the rim of the glass. The head retention is incredible, and leaves nice lacing on the glass.

S - Not overwhelmed by the smell. I couldn't pick out anything in particular.

T - Again, not overwhelmed. It's definitely a well-balanced IPA, but I'm only getting a hint of the citrusy flavors that I expected, and a lot of bitterness that doesn't seem to add much.

M - Matches the appearance. This portion of the beer is solid, but weakened by the fact that I didnt' really want to keep the beer in my mouth for all that long.

O - A bit of a disappointment. I'd had it before, but after reading the reviews here I had hoped that my palate would be more welcoming of this East Coast IPA. Unfortunately it was not to be. Good beer, some great aspect, but didn't meet expectations for me.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 23:49:28 | More by Andrew041180

YalovaIA

Iowa

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

05-15-2013 20:49:55 | More by YalovaIA

jcarbaugh

New York

4/5  rDev -3.1%

05-15-2013 15:32:55 | More by jcarbaugh

jkane101

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

05-15-2013 00:43:55 | More by jkane101

Jimbo4430

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +9%

05-15-2013 00:36:28 | More by Jimbo4430

jzmaui1

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +15%

05-14-2013 20:45:44 | More by jzmaui1