Mad Manatee IPA - Bold City Brewery

route66pubs

California

3.48/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours an orange-yellow, very clear with a nice white head. Head has great retention as I drink away at the glass, sticking closely to the sides of my Pisgah pint glass.

Somewhat malty aroma surprises the noise. Bready, banana-like, with an orange twist in there somewhere.

A bit of malt sweetness, but also orange and a bit of pine on the tongue. Ends with a much heavier pine feel.

A little bit soft on the tongue, but not at all disappointing. This clearly feels like an IPA. It is definitely NOT a Left Coast IPA though, and that may be for the best. But the clarity and crispness in the mouth on this definitely raises its score.

As mentioned, this is no West Coast hop-bomb. You are not going to be cringing with every sip, trying to keep the hops at bay. And that's good this little beer. 6.5%? I don't feel it. This is quite happy in the mouth and feels good going down for high marks on drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2011 07:15:16 | More by route66pubs

TheDoak

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%

05-13-2013 02:45:46 | More by TheDoak

beernads

Florida

2.5/5  rDev -27.7%

05-08-2013 07:38:43 | More by beernads

WebGuyMike

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -6.1%

02-12-2013 00:33:59 | More by WebGuyMike

iemailjack

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%

01-07-2013 23:01:19 | More by iemailjack

twizzbeatz

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +8.4%

12-21-2012 23:58:49 | More by twizzbeatz

bifrost17

Washington

3/5  rDev -13.3%

11-19-2012 17:16:52 | More by bifrost17

genogirl

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -6.1%

09-28-2012 01:56:10 | More by genogirl

Lovely85

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +8.4%

08-04-2012 22:51:14 | More by Lovely85

Eriktheipaman

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%

05-19-2012 13:49:31 | More by Eriktheipaman

drabmuh

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a snifter, picked this bottle up in FL a few weeks back, just now getting to it. Beer is dark amber with a mild haze, nice off white head of small bubbles, moderate to low carbonation, nice lacing, looks good.

Aroma is lightly hoppy and a little grainy, I hope it tastes better than it smells.

It does taste better than it smells but it still isn't very hoppy. This is almost like a red ale in the mouthfeel, medium in body mildly bitter on the back end, mostly earthy piny hop components, a light IPA, probably not a repeat but a decent beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2012 03:01:20 | More by drabmuh

2378GCGTG

Texas

3.75/5  rDev +8.4%

03-23-2012 00:13:43 | More by 2378GCGTG

dsauter

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%

02-05-2012 04:16:15 | More by dsauter

ygtbsm94

Virginia

2.5/5  rDev -27.7%

01-31-2012 09:31:24 | More by ygtbsm94

jdcjfl

Florida

3/5  rDev -13.3%

01-22-2012 21:04:51 | More by jdcjfl

kylehay2004

Florida

3.08/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Single finger head with nice lacing in a murky amber with golden hues body. Aroma is mild with some malt and light musty hop aroma. Flavor is mostly pine and bitter hops. Very one dimensional however hop heavy. Medium body and moderate carbonation. This is a simple IPA with nothing memorable really. This is a Popular bold city brew but not popular with me.

Serving type: on-tap

01-21-2012 03:59:17 | More by kylehay2004

umopuew

Florida

4/5  rDev +15.6%

01-11-2012 15:00:38 | More by umopuew

Aiptasia

Florida

3/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Sampled this one from a bomber in a pint glass, approx. 50 degrees cold.

A: Minimalistic pour without much of a head. Medium warm gold orange in color with very light carbonation. Lacking much lacing, and what there is doesn't cling.

S: Citrus rind and earth notes on the nose, leaning towards earthy.

T: Malty dry grapefruit rind and dirt. Phelonic flavors giving medicinal notes which tilt the balance on the bitter side. Agressive hops profile would benefit from further shelf aging, a hop bomb when young.

M: Not very fizzy. Drinks ok with a dry finish.

O: Sadly, there's nothing unique about this IPA at all. Tastes like so many other middle of the road IPA's. It's not a bad beer, it's not a great beer. It's solidly mediocre. My suggestions would be to re-think the bittering hops choice and perhaps go with a lager yeast without the phelonic profile.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2011 14:33:29 | More by Aiptasia

babaracas

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

First off, what a fantastic label. Pours a hazy amber with two fingers of dense foam that settles slowly to a persistent half inch. Rings of thick lace down the glass. Smell: spicy, orange peel, chalky, bready + a little caramel in the back. Out of place peppery component...some non-neutral yeast character. Taste: citrus heavy - tangerine juice, grapefruit peel, sweet pale and a little caramel backdrop. Unfiltered apple juice. Oily and gets a bit astringent towards the end of the sip. Medium bodied, fluffy feel but again, thins out. Bone dry finish, somewhat unpleasantly dry. Some good, some bad. With tweaking could be pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2011 04:59:01 | More by babaracas

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

4.2/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured on-tap at the Bold City Brewery, the beer was served up in a pint glass. The beer is a bright, clear orange-gold coloring with a thin, clingy film of head. Great aroma of cedar and resinous, spiced hops. The flavors are smooth, with grapefruit and citrus blended sweetness forming a backbone for very spicy hops to springboard. There is a smokey and peppery aftertaste, with a dry, bitter finish. This beer is tasty, and light enough to drink A LOT of. That's a good characteristic, because I usually end up leaving with a growler of it, and in FL a growler is a gallon! Enjoy this one, my fellow hopheads!

Serving type: on-tap

05-25-2011 03:04:32 | More by GarthDanielson

drumrboy22

Colorado

3.68/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22oz. bottle into a standard pint glass.  Beer is a slightly hazy orange color, with a two-finger, thick, foamy off-white head.  Heavy lacing and moderate carbonation.

Aroma was citrus hops, light grains and malt.

Taste was bitter, citrus hops, some bread and grains. 

Long bitter finish.  Medium bodied.  Not too thick and syrupy, but not too light either.  Well balanced. 

Pretty drinkable brew. 

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2010 04:47:08 | More by drumrboy22

boss302

Florida

3.68/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Mad manatee IPA, Bold City Brewery, 22oz bottle, 

A Clear and orange in color. Big thick head. 4

S Citrusy sweet hop aroma. Good smelling beer. 4

T Big hops, some piney flavor. Rich bready malt flavor comes through  after the hops. There is a significant amount of astringency. There is a lingering pine taste also.  3.5

M Medium body and thickness. Carbonation is right on. 4

D A good IPA. IPAs are my favorite style and after trying so many, my preference is for the IPAs that have the great hop aroma and flavor, but also keep the astringency in check.  This one is a little unbalanced with respect to astringency. 3.5     

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2010 03:12:48 | More by boss302

zeff80

Missouri

3.55/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Poured out a clear, orange color with golden highlights. It had a small, white head of foam. It had a short lived head and left a little lacing.

S - It smelled citrusy with sweet caramel malt. Some floral notes.

T - It tasted of burnt toast maltiness with some caramel. The hops added a citrusy kick.

M - It was crisp, sharp and smooth. A light to medium bodied ale with a dry finish.

D - This is an okay IPA. It is drinkable but not fantastic.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2010 01:17:09 | More by zeff80

nickfl

Florida

3.9/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Hazy, orange body with a small head of white foam. The head settles quickly and leaves little lace.

S - A light, spicy pine aroma with some orange hop character. There is a little bit of bready malt in the background with a hint of toasted grain.

T - Bready malt up front with some caramel and toffee. Orange hops appear in the middle and give way to pungent pine in the finish. Strong bitterness duels with the bready malt and wins out in the end with a pithy, almost medicinal bite lingering in the aftertaste.

M - Moderately thick body, moderate carbonation, and a dry finish.

D - Not bad, the hop aroma is subtle, but very nice. The flavor is more about bitterness than hop character, which I don't care for but would work well for the real bitterness lovers out there. The malt is nicely handled an manages to keep things balanced up until the harshly bitter finish. I would probably really like this IPA if the hop aroma was just turned up a notch or two. As it stands, it is good but not great.

Serving type: on-tap

09-05-2010 03:40:46 | More by nickfl

beeroclock

United Arab Emirates

3.55/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I've had this beer several times now, but decided to rate it from the growler since I've yet to rate it previously.

A - Pours a slightly cloud-like amber in color giving a small white head and leaving a ring on the glass.
S - Citrus and hints of ?? not sure, maybe pine.
T - Some hop kick and a mild bitter citrus punch. Some floral notes.
M - Crisp, holds a small bite through to the throat.
D - Very drinkable, though I prefer it straight from the tap. It seems even the growler ride home and 24 hours in the fridge has stepped it down a notch from sitting in the brewery with a fresh pint from tap. I'm not disappointed, it's still the best brew to take home in a growler from Bold City. They are doing good things here.

Serving type: growler

08-03-2010 18:15:09 | More by beeroclock