Tallgrass IPA - Tallgrass Brewing Company

B967ierhunter177

Pennsylvania

1.18/5  rDev -67.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

This beer pours a hazy copper color with one-finger head and lacing throughout. It's aroma is of hay and caramel and pine. The flavor is bland, mostly an overpowering hop bitterness with just a hint of malt. There is a severe bitter aftertase that lingers too long. The mouthfeel is medium light and sticky. Tallgrass IPA is a total hop bomb, not recommended.

Serving type: can

03-20-2012 23:06:10 | More by B967ierhunter177

dpnelson1978

Minnesota

2/5  rDev -45.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

16 oz. can into glass pint.
40°F

$1.95 / ea.

A: Bright amber body topped with a big rocky head of excellent retention. Leaves sticky lace, and a thick bubbly cover.

S: Sweet malt dominates bordering on a corn aroma. Hops tends towards citrus, but is definitely an afterthought.

T: Caramel malt throughout, but a bit on the weak side. Slight sweetness, with all but unnoticeable hop character. Pretty poor. Resinous bitter aftertaste builds.

M: Oily medium body with low to medium carbonation. Bubbles bite the tongue at the end, but I can't shake the thought that this beer is coating my tongue.

D: If you are expecting an IPA you are going to be disappointed. If you can get past that, the beer is good enough, but isn't something I would settle on.

O: I was expecting more. Not much more I can say.

Serving type: can

10-02-2010 03:44:29 | More by dpnelson1978

Azurescens

Washington

2.48/5  rDev -32.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

16oz can with no freshness date, poured into Hair of the Dog tulip, reviewed on 7/10/11.

A: Pours a clear golden orange with fluffy off-white head that leaves some lacing around glass.

S: Pale malts with hints of citrus hops, significantly less hop aroma than I desire in an IPA.

T: Like the nose, this is mostly malt. Pale malt with some caramel and honey, only hints of hops, disappointing.

M: Smooth, slightly creamy medium body with low carbonation.

O: Not a bad beer but a poor example of an IPA, the hops were almost nonexistent in both the aroma and the taste. Would have gotten significantly higher marks if I was reviewing this as a pale ale.

Serving type: can

07-11-2011 05:20:37 | More by Azurescens

Rhettroactive

Virginia

2.5/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

From 16oz tallboy can to Bruges hybrid glass on 5/23/11
*From notes

A: Unfiltered and rich woody amber in color. A nice pour yields an epic three finger head and some really nice, sticky lacing.

S: Like a fresh baby's diaper, pre-shit. It's got that powdery, floral-chemical kick to it.

T: Large quantities of barley and grain. Earthy and uninspiried. I'm not getting any real depth to the hop profile, just a very one dimensional bitterness that's boring like fifth period Latin.

M: Thin and rough, like liquid sandpaper. The forced carbonation is abrasive and insulting to the palate.

O: Amazing....ly sub-par. Tallgrass IPA just didn't do it for me. It's kind of a mess, and something I wouldn't recommend. The bones are there, though it needs quite a bit of refining. Do yourself a favor and spend your IPA dollars elsewhere.

Serving type: can

06-17-2011 23:01:46 | More by Rhettroactive

Ryan011235

Ohio

2.53/5  rDev -30.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured into an E&J Cask & Cream glass on 4/7/11

Faded, pale amber color with a slight haze; mostly clear, though. Over two fingers of ample head formed; however, retention is thin. Sparse trails and clumps of lace.

The smell is a give-away that this isn't my kind of IPA. Heck, the brewery name is telling. Sure the hops are in decent amount but it mostly comes across as grass and straw; some orange peel and lemon zest, but that takes a backseat. Swirling brings out the malt a la dry biscuit and bread.

Wow, this tastes, well, not good. Incredibly grassy with herbal notions woven throughout. Watery orange peel. Dry bitterness come across as just shy of medicinal; this lingers long on the finish. The citrus undertones, slight as they may be, seem stale (this is confined to the citrus; the beer does not taste old). One upside is that the malts aren't over the top; toasted grains and bread.

Medium body and a tad watery. Carbonation is a hair above moderate. As mentioned above the finish is all lingering, dry bitterness. It seems to leave a fine layer of grit behind.

I really don't care for this one; not at all what I want from an IPA. My preferences in the style aside, it's far too grassy and doesn't fully jive. I like seeing breweries expand to this market but I'm not interested in finishing the can; glad I only bought one.

Serving type: can

04-08-2011 02:58:53 | More by Ryan011235

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

2.55/5  rDev -30.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Brown to light brown (yup) pour, not much head to it, foam rushed out the can when opened, but not so much in the pour. Aroma was earthy, but didn't really bring it in the hops department in any reasonable sense.

A little off kilter taste for an ipa, malt forward, owes a little bit to red/wee heavy malt type territory with its sweetness yet rough and sturdy malt base. Hops just were in the background.

Nothing bad, but just call it a brown or a red ale, and its suddenly at least average or better than average. This was just like, I dunno, Pete's Wicked Ale back in the day.

Serving type: can

07-25-2011 00:58:39 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Reaper16

Alabama

2.68/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

16oz. can served into a nonic pint glass

Pours a pretty typical burnt orange color. The color is the exact same as your average IPA (not that that's a bad thing). It looks pretty thick from the way it reacts to my swirling it around in the glass. An aggressive pour yielded two plus fingers of foam, which quickly settled into a consistent .75 finger off-white cap. Decent stops and starts of lacing. Nothing about this beer looks bad, but nothing stands out. I wish BA's scoring system didn't place so much emphasis on appearance, because while I can't give this higher than a 3.0 it feels like I'm hurting the beer.

Resiny, piney hops hit right up front, with some lighter grapefruit aromas behind them. An uncontroversial, basic hop profile for the style. A bit of a tinny, metallic quality. Lots more malt in the nose than I'd like. Thankfully, it isn't an overdose of crystal malt. It's more a bready, grainy scent. Interestingly, there's an earthy component here, like topsoil. I'm reminded of an English IPA malt profile here in ways; that herbal/soil aroma suggests that there's some English malts here. Unfortunately, they don't really shine. Tallgrass IPA smells boring/focused-to-a-fault, but on the other hand the little curious herbal scent also suggests a beer that doesn't know what it wants to be. The alcohol spikes on the nose for me too, which shouldn't happen in a beer of such low ABV%.

This is a pretty average IPA. No, below average. Yeah, it has some pine flavors, some resiny notes, some citrus (lemon, mostly). It is technically an IPA. Too bad it is a boring one. Waves of caramel malt flavors and more bready malt tones begin to dominate the hops as the beer warms. Herbal/savory malt flavors don't quite mesh with the rest of the malt profile, and they also turn the hops a bit too grassy. The finish is nearly all malt. There is no lingering hop bitterness to speak of. The only bit of hops I get on the finish is a soapy sort of aftertaste.

Tallgrass IPA isn't as thick as it looks, but it's still uncomfortably (for my preferences) on the fuller side of medium-bodied. Most Midwest IPAs have thinner bodies and more active carbonation (let alone West Coast IPAs). Overall, this is a very average India Pale Ale, at best. Personally, it's below average to me. It doesn't do a lot "wrong," but it excels at no particular aspect. I'm not going to throw rocks at this glass of beer, but I've personally brewed batches of IPA that are much better than this. There's a chance that this can is old; I'm actually giving this beer a bit of a cushion (.5 added to my taste score) to allow for age. If I ever receive a fresher can of this beer, then I'll re-evaluate.

Serving type: can

05-14-2011 19:54:26 | More by Reaper16

Beaver13

Colorado

2.7/5  rDev -26%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

16oz can. Pours a clear golden orange with a small white head that quickly goes to a thin film that leaves a little lacing.

The aroma is sweet bready malts with some perfumey fruity hops.

The flavor is bready biscuity malt with some caramel and some grassy, slightly metallic, hops. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with smooth carbonation - it's a little watery though.

Overall, I didn't really care for this IPA. It's drinkable, but there are much better options.

Serving type: can

02-13-2011 00:07:47 | More by Beaver13

Onenote81

North Carolina

2.8/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle received from monsterfat in a recent trade. Thanks!

This beer was poured into a pint glass. Look of it is of a cloudy dark gold with a huge rocky white head on top. Retention on this one is holding up fairly well. Some sticky lacing, but not much. Smell is of cotton candy, bubble gum, and banana saltwater taffy. I kid you not. This is the sweetest smelling beer, let alone IPA, I've ever dipped my nose into. It smells good, but it's weird for the style.

Let's keep with the theme here, at least they're consistent. Flavor is malty and sweet, and on the finish, bubble gum! This is really an interesting beer to say the least. I actually like it alot, but if I judge to style (which I should), this just doesn't scream IPA. I could drink a few of these. Mouthfeel is firm, and drinkability is high. but, don't expect your run of the mill IPA on this one. It'll take you places you've never thought an IPA could go.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2009 20:13:40 | More by Onenote81

barleywinefiend

Washington

2.85/5  rDev -21.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

A: Pours a clear golden orange color with good carbonation and a nice white cap.

S: Pale malt, bread, some grass amd light citrus

T: Very malt fwd. Lots of grass, light citrus, plenty of bread and pale and.or crystal malt.

M: Off balance, plain, not hoppy enough

O: Pass

Serving type: can

07-24-2011 03:10:40 | More by barleywinefiend

mcraw88

Nebraska

2.93/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance - Pours a rusty copper with about an inch of white head. Decent lacing, but resided quickly

Smell - Malty, not many hops here kind of disappointed. The hops present are citrusy.

Taste - Once again, Malty upfront and then a little citrus hops in the end. Much more APA.

Mouthfeel - Carbonated to the level of about any BMC product. Nothing special here.

Drinkability - Not to good of an IPA. Seems to be more of an english ipa and when looking at it that way it is a much better brew.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2009 05:44:51 | More by mcraw88

sholland119

Pennsylvania

2.95/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to CosmoHopHead for this cool extra. I love trying a new IPA.

A-Pours a clear copper amber with a thin white head. No real lacing.

S-Light malt notes but not a lot of hoppiness going on.

T-Kind of the same. Nicely malty but again little hop presence.

M-Light bodied, especially for the style.

D-Not really for me. Underhopped by any measure, sohrt on flavor and body.

HV

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2009 17:24:31 | More by sholland119

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

3/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

16 oz can split in a New Belgium globe.
No date or info on the can.

Awesome designed can shared by the one-and-only Beerwolf!

A - Pours a cloudy, dirty apricot orange color with a low off-white head. Low stature and low retention with little lace.

S - Lightly toasted amber malts fall just behind earthy, grassy hops. A pinch of Pinesol seems off a bit. Not the most appealing IPA nose.

T - Thin amber malts lead the way into a thinner hop profile of light citrus and pine. Not much going on here.

M - Medium-light bodied and thin in flavor/feel with almost no real bitterness to the finish.

O - Meh. Thin hops might be faded and old to be honest. Average at best, it's drinkable but not that great.

Serving type: can

05-13-2011 12:03:50 | More by BeerFMAndy

iflah45

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Purchased in Philly, no freshness date, poured into my Portsmouth tulip.

Pours a dark orange hue, hazy with a decent 1-2 finger head. Sticks to the side of the glass with decent lacing.

Not much going on in the aroma, muted citrus, light toasted malts, some caramel. A hint of grassy hop. I presume that this can has some age on it.

The taste follows the nose, very heavy on the malt. Toasted grains, fresh bread, yeasty character.

Medium body, creamy mouthfeel and a good level of carbonation.

Overall, I was very unimpressed with this beer. Having cracked it open after a Heady Topper, its review may have been doomed from the start but I didn't get enough hop to satisfy my taste buds. Too malty and unbalanced.

Serving type: can

10-05-2011 01:13:06 | More by iflah45

Colt4540

Kansas

3.03/5  rDev -17%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint mug.

A- A clear medium brown color with a little of white head that leavs decent lacing and leaves and film at the top of the beer.

S- Slightly hoppy with a pretty strong malty smell for and IPA. The more you smell it the more the malt comes through.

T- This is an IPA? I wouldn't call this an IPA. Is it good, yes but and IPA, no. This is almost reverse of a true IPA the maltiness out weighs the hoppiness instead of the other way around.
It has good flavor and a nice blend but still lacks alot considering it is an IPA.

M- Kinda plain nothing really to special, but I think this is what makes it nice.

D- It is really smooth and easy to drink.

Some of my rating might be low because I actually like this beer, but I rated it as an IPA and in that sense it isn't great. If this beer was under a different class I would for sure rate it higher.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2009 02:05:00 | More by Colt4540

DrewOSU

Ohio

3.05/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Received this as a bonus on a trade from Monsterfast. Thanks man.

A: Pours dark yellow to light orange body with a spongy ½ white head. Lacing is thick and sudsy on initial pour. Spider web like lacing down the glass after completion.

S: Very earthy smell. I get more grain then hops or citrus on the nose.

M/T: Light to a very low medium body. A little watery and not much carbonation bite. Huge hit of that earthly element that I smelled in the nose. I can't really put my finger on it, followed by light bitterness and a very small amount of citrus. Finishes pretty clean. This is an IPA?

D: The drinkability is pretty good on this beer due to the very low aftertaste, however not a lot of explosive flavors. The flavors seem to just melt together and nothing really superior stands out on this one. Not bad, but so much better out there.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2009 01:19:46 | More by DrewOSU

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.08/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

16 ounce can, 11 232 stamped on the bottom. Served in a nonic pint glass, the beer pours a clear orange/copper color with a half inch off-white head. Head retention is good, with an OK amount of lacing. For an IPA, the aroma is more malty than hoppy. The brew smells like bready and sweet malt, and some grassy hops. Taste is pretty much the same as the aroma, but there's some toffee noticable too. This is definitely one of the maltiest IPA's I've had. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a little slick and has decent carbonation. It's also smooth and easy to drink. I like my IPA's to be hoppier than this one was, it's one thing to have balance, but for this brew the malt character was definitely stronger in both the aroma and taste. It's not a bad beer overall, but rating the brew for style it's average.

Serving type: can

04-08-2011 23:16:50 | More by bluejacket74

woosterbill

Connecticut

3.1/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

16oz can courtesy of jtrockchalk into a Duvel tulip.

A: Pours a lovely, clear reddish-amber body with three fingers of soft, pillowy cream-colored foam. Terrific retention and lots of lace. Stunning.

S: Full, round, balanced aroma of grassy hops and caramel malt. THe hops aren't as bright as I'd like, and the malt winds up dominating. Not my kind of American IPA, but not really bad, either.

T: Pretty much just straightforward caramel malt. A little bit of dryer, biscuity malt helps balance things out a little sweetness-wise, but the hops are almost completely relegated to a dully bitter finish. Tasty enough, but far from a great example of the style.

M: Smooth medium body with moderate, soft, lively carbonation. Nice.

D: Way too sweet for the style. Where's the crisp IPA bitterness?

Notes: Big thanks to jtrockchalk for sending this one my way. I always love a craft beer out of a can, and this was my first time trying a beer from Kansas. It might be better listed as an English IPA, as the hops didn't even achieve an even footing with the powerful malts. I definitely like more hop aroma, flavor, and bitterness out of an American IPA, but this was still an enjoyable beer.

Cheers!

Serving type: can

09-24-2010 03:48:50 | More by woosterbill

beerwolf77

Wisconsin

3.1/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Huge thanks to woodychandler for another state tick. Poured from a can into a tulip.

A: Amber orange hue. About a finger of off white head. Some spots of lace remain, no cap.

S: Mild pine hop presence. The malty sweetness seems to have taken over here. The age of this one is showing quite a bit.

T: Sweet malt is followed by a sharp acrid bitterness. Damn this one has turned into a malty bitter mess.

M: Medium body with moderate carbonation.

O: This one has a few months on it so it's not in prime form. Good thing I have a few more from this brewer.

Serving type: can

04-13-2011 23:19:27 | More by beerwolf77

EagleTalon

Arkansas

3.13/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours to a generous rocky head and hazy burnt orange color. Aroma is citrus and piney hops with a strange off-odor that I cannot describe. Flavor is a decent balance of malt and hops, starts sort of woody and thing resolves to resin and sweet malt. Finishes spicy and dry.

This beer is, um... a bit "off" but not terrible overall.

Serving type: can

11-23-2010 03:02:50 | More by EagleTalon

Natural510

Ohio

3.13/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

16oz can, no dating.

Pours a darker, hazy amber-bronze with very thick, chunky white head resembling melted ice cream.

Scent carries tea-like notes of hops, slightly floral, and sweetness from malt.

Sweet, grain-like malt with a mild forest hoppiness. The flavor is somewhat washed-out (watery) and finish not as dry as I prefer in an IPA.

As stated above, the body is fairly thin and watery, not what I expect in the style.

A painfully average ale; too sweet and not bitter/hoppy enough for a quality IPA. With the packaging I wanted to like this alot more than I did.

Serving type: can

04-10-2011 05:05:47 | More by Natural510

ms11781

Massachusetts

3.15/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Reviewed on 05/28/2011. Thanks to tedwarhc. 16oz can poured into a pint glass.

Pours a deep copper color with a huge fluffy, off-white head. Head reduces to a half finger of foam and stays put. Great lacing left on the glass.

The nose is pretty balanced. Bready malts and grassy hops are here in almost equal parts. There is a slight malt sweetness as well, perhaps some caramel. Not a ton going on, but as mentioned, what is here is balanced.

The taste follows the nose but the malt characters stand out a bit more than the hops here. Caramel and bready malts provide a nice base for some grassy hops and a touch of grapefruit. Very slight bitterness at the finish.

Medium body with medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is pretty smooth. Slight bitterness at the finish but it doesn't linger.

Overall this is an ok take on the style. It's pretty balanced in the nose but the malt takes over, perhaps a bit too much, in the taste. It really lacks a hop bite.

Serving type: can

10-27-2011 01:29:19 | More by ms11781

beer2day

North Carolina

3.15/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Honey gold pour with forced 1-finger head. Decent retention, though, and moderately chunky lace.

Burnt caramel nose with hints of floral hops. Not quite enough there.

Taste is mild, especially for an IPA. Really light caramel malt, a little toast, and very light hop presence. Mild lemony iced tea flavor. Getting a little more hop presence in the finish, but just not enough umph.

Appropriate body for the style. Creamy, but needs a bit more fizz.

A fairly average, malt forward IPA.

Serving type: can

12-11-2011 03:56:40 | More by beer2day

PeterLemonjello

Alabama

3.2/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - clear with a very light shade of brown color
S - grainy/malty. Considering the style, very little in hop aroma
T - same, there is a bitterness present but very little in hop flavor. Biscuity flavor with a nice dry finish
M - nice, carbonation level goes well with the feel of this beer.
D - A very drinkable beer but in my opinion, not a good example of the style. Honestly drinks more like an ESB to me.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2009 01:41:04 | More by PeterLemonjello

DefenCorps

Oregon

3.2/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

scoobydank sent me a can of this as an extra. Thanks, Bill, I've never heard of this brewery, and I'm looking forward to this!

Copper in color with a dense, finger-thick beige head with excellent retention and a little lacing, this is a good-looking beer. The nose is decent. Bright citrus is present and noticeable, this is clearly quite fresh, but it also has an _interesting_ supplementary hop aroma. In some ways, it reminds me of the Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA, with a blend of mint and soap. This also has a rather substantial malt presence, with a definite toffee, caramello and a little sugar. Unexpected and unique, this smells quite good, improving the more I dig in.

The palate, on the other hand, stumbles initially, and quite hard. With a blend of floral hops and sugar sweetness, this starts of tasting rather artificial. Once I get used to it, I do pick out a light hop flavor with some citrus and a mild herbal character, like fresh mint. Sweetness is medium-light, there's caramel and toffee present. Medium-light in body with low carbonation, this feels quite good on the palate. The finish is nothing exciting, with a little bit of hop flavor (floral) and some sweetness. Bitterness is low throughout, this really isn't your typical IPA. Decent stuff, thanks again, Bill! As an IPA, it isn't terribly exciting, but this is actually a very enjoyable beer.

Serving type: can

11-12-2010 02:46:06 | More by DefenCorps