Iron Horse I.P.A. - Mt. Pleasant Brewing Company

oberon

North Carolina

3.23/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I have to say this beer is getting better from a year ago when I was here last,pours a deep copper color with medium head that dissapates pretty quickly.Smell of some hops but not to much aroma,taste is somewhat bitter with a decent malty background.Highly drinkable though and went well with the scottish eggs I had.Still a work in progress here but its getting better.

Serving type: on-tap

04-29-2003 14:46:49 | More by oberon

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This is an okay ipa. It could stand to have a bit more of a mature flavor profile. It seems a little too bright and boisterous and not pulling enough character from the hops. Decent enough though, and not too bad. Just needs to be bringing some more muscle if it wants to compete against all the other great IPAs out there.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2012 18:03:38 | More by RblWthACoz

Tone

Missouri

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a cloudy, copper color. 1/5 inch head of a white color. Decent retention and slight lacing. Smells of strong floral hops, sweet malt, and citrus (grapefruit). Fits the style of an American IPA. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp with an average carbonation level. The bitterness level is very high. Tastes of strong floral hops, citrus, and sweet malt. Overall, a good body, blend, and aroma.

Serving type: on-tap

04-19-2010 00:32:51 | More by Tone

GbVDave

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12oz bottle into an imperial pint.

A: Pours a cloudy, bright shiny copper penny color with a thick and creamy off-white head that features excellent retention and leaves an unbelievable amount of gorgeous looking lace in the glass. Lazily carbonated.

S: Very fruity IPA. Peach, apricot, mango, and grapefruit. Also along for the ride is some fresh cut grass, pine, tangerine, crackery malt, sweet orange, and a dallop of molassas.

T: Tastes exactly as it smells. The only addition would be a bit of white pepper in the finish. Tastes extremely fresh!

M: Juicy and sticky. Sweet and fruity with just the right amounts of dry, spicy, and peppery.

D: I totally was not expecting an AIPA of this caliber from this (unknown to me) brewery. Judging by the previous reviews I have a feeling that they either changed their recipe or people reviewed this way past its' prime, or both. Another excellent MI IPA. This commands you to drink it!

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2009 00:52:55 | More by GbVDave

prototypic

Ohio

2.98/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Iron Horse pours a deep copper color. It’s hazier than I expected. Looks a little orange with light behind it. Perhaps a little red too. The head is off-white and stands about a finger tall. It dissipates quickly. Lacing was a little sticky, but definitely on the light side.

The nose is underwhelming. It kicks off with a pretty strong, sweet caramel/toffee scent. Eh. Not my favorite thing in an American IPA. Hops are easily noted and add citrus orange and strong piney notes. A toasted malt scent kicks in late. I’m not a big fan of that in American IPAs either. Smells pretty balanced. Alcohol is a little noticeable, but doesn’t smell too strong. Eh. Not that great.

The flavor is rather average. It does have a caramel malt base that is sweet. It’s too prominent for an American IPA. Toasted malts are also in the mix. Hops finally emerge. They are quite piney. Citrus orange is also noted. There’s a slight hint of bitterness, but it’s quickly lost in the avalanche of malt. It’s fair to say that it’s quite balanced. Alcohol is blended fairly well. It’s a little noticeable, but isn’t too prominent. Finishes sweet with a piney hop flavor.

Iron Horse has a medium body. Carbonation is relatively light and soft. For what it’s worth, it feels pretty smooth. If I liked the flavor more, it’d be even more satisfying. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.

Iron Horse I.P.A. is my first experience with Mt. Pleasant Brewing Company. I was really hoping for more. Frankly, it’s just too malty and balanced for an American IPA. At least as far as my preferences go. Less malt and more hops would immediately improve this one. All in all, it’s very average for the style. It doesn’t do much to distinguish itself. It might be worth a try, but that’s about it.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2011 03:03:44 | More by prototypic

Florida9

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Color is Brownish amber. Forms a thin off-white head that reduces to a very thin surface coating. No lacing.

S: Light caramel malts and pine. Some very light citrus notes.

T: Caramel malts. Light sweetness and a slightly nutty quality. Moderate piney hops and a mild-moderate bitterness.

M: Medium bodied with appropriate carbonation and a mild-moderate bitterness.

O: A fairly typical IPA. Drinkable, but rather ordinary and not particularly exciting.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2011 01:35:46 | More by Florida9

Monkeyknife

Missouri

3.73/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle a cloudy orange-gold with a massive and rocky off-white head. Thick and sticky lacing all around the glass on this one.

Aroma of juicy oranges, faint pine, and sweet caramel malts.

The taste reminds me of Baby aspirin with lots of orange upfront, followed by some piney notes, saltine crackers, and caramel malts. The finish has a light hoppy bitterness.

Medium bodied, smooth, and lightly carbonated.

A nice little IPA from Mt. Pleasant Brewing and a pleasure to drink.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2010 20:31:50 | More by Monkeyknife

david131

Michigan

3.45/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A- A slightly hazy orange liquid with ni streams of carbonation making their way to the surface. The head is splotchy, thin, and white.

S- Some banana and other assorted fruits, caramel, and some flowers. Very appealing, but maybe just a tad on the sweet side.

T- Fruits, caramel, and flowers. Pretty sweet and buttery for my tastes.

M- Slightly undercarbonated and has a buttery aspect to it. Lacks that typical IPA kick.

D- An average take on the style. It drinks okay, but is quickly forgettable. With a market flooded in IPA's, I will probably not purchase this again.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2009 04:03:15 | More by david131

Wildman

Ohio

2.93/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

This beer poured a cloudy light copper color and formed a foamy off white head that left latticed lace as it quickly subsided. An aroma of malt, hops and pepper. The flavor was of malt, hops and pepper. The body was medium light and the finish bitter and slightly burnt. A fairly pedestrian IPA.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2010 00:35:07 | More by Wildman

elNopalero

Texas

4.24/5  rDev +17.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I had this at Erbelli’s Pizzeria in Kalamazoo. It was sold under the label “Iron Maiden IPA” and listed as their house IPA but the server said that it was the Iron Horse IPA from Mt. Pleasant Brewing Company. Figured it was worth a shot and I wasn’t disappointed.

This pours a clear amber gold color with nice tight foam. It has an orange citrus aroma and light pine spice. The flavor has a fun spirited bitterness. It’s sharply bitter upfront with a long lingering bitter finish with orange & pine hop flavor. I get a real pleasant piney resin flavor with a hint of a botanical finish. It’s a surprising enjoyable brew.

Serving type: on-tap

01-22-2013 08:41:33 | More by elNopalero

paco1029384756

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a nice cloudy orange color with a small foamy white head and good lacing.

Scent of citrus, hops, caramel, and some sugars. Mild and well balanced, a quality smelling IPA.

Taste of caramel, grapefruit, citrus, some hops, and grain. Balanced and tasty, but more along the lines of a Pale Ale in terms of hoppiness.

Mouthfeel is light bodied and slick with a small amount of carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2009 23:38:36 | More by paco1029384756

BierFan

Michigan

3.43/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a short 12 ounce bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: Thin tan head. Hazy amber body. Definitely darker than most beers of this style.

Smell: Real nice fruity/hoppy aroma. Grapefruit, orange rind, and a little minty.

Taste: Grapefruit and mint at first. Big pop of pine in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Very thick.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2009 23:25:02 | More by BierFan

soupyman10

District of Columbia

3.4/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Standard IPA color, copper with a small head. Aromas are grainy fruity hops and caramel, and they show up again in the flavors. Reminds me of a Red Hook IPA. Body's fine. One of the few just mediocre brews I had while back in MI. Not awful, but when there are so many better local IPAs (Bells, Founders, Short, Dark Horse, etc.) out there, why bother?

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2009 22:00:09 | More by soupyman10

Vonerichs

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Clear amber body with thick white head. Decent lacing.

Smell is light, but is piney hops and toffee malt.

Taste is watery. Piney hops with a bit of grapefruit. The sweet malt is too much for the hops.

Mouthfeel is thin and slick.

Just an ok beer. A fine IPA, but in a world of great IPAs this doesn't stand up.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2011 02:00:51 | More by Vonerichs

FanofHefe

Illinois

3.3/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Batch # on the label says 100246, but could not find any information on their website about codes or bottling dates. But, my local guy recommended this as new arrival and expected it to be fresh. Pours a slightly hazy amber colored body with a hint of yellow. Nice two-finger head that leaves some stickly lacing.

Smells fresh. Nice hop aroma, mostly citrus, sweet orange and a hint of grapefruit. Nice floral hop notes complete a favorable hop aroma. A little biscuity malt follows.

The flavor is a little underwhelming. The hops do not come through as much as I would have expected from the aroma. More malt forward with a stronger caramel and bready malt taste up front. Some hop bitterness accompanies the malt, and leans more toward the grapefruit and pine side.

Medium mouthfeel, no real notice of the alcohol. Would have much prefered a reversal on the flavor profile with the hops up front and coming on strong. Not the case here, so not a big fan of this one.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2011 23:20:03 | More by FanofHefe

kegger22

Michigan

3.58/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Iron Horse is amber/orange in color with a 3/4" fragile head. The aroma was all about the citrus hops with just a slight malt presence. The taste followed aroma's suit. There was a little malt but is was pushed way into the background by the hops. The feel was medium bodied, oily and sufficient carbonation. Drinkability was above average, mainly due to the moderate ABV.

A respectable APA, though not as balanced as I would prefer. It's difficult to be average in a tough market like this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2009 18:20:20 | More by kegger22

BBP

Ontario (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Pours a dark, dark amber with a very full and frothy amber head. A lot of head especially for it's style. It leaves a superb amount of lace.

S- Smells to be very balanced between malt and hops; even somewhat heavy on both of them. Extremely fruity as well. I detect banana strangely enough.

T- The taste seems a lot less "fresh" than the aroma. It's not nearly as crisp. The hops and the malt are a bit blurred together.

There appears to be tons of hops in this, but it tastes like it's primarily wet-hopped. There's a lot of pine to the finish but the hops don't seem extremely prominent before that.

The malt is a bit grainy and buttery. I can really appreciate the malt, although I wish the hops came through a bit more.

M- Around a medium body. It feels a bit watery but full at the same time. It's considerably dry, and slightly sticky in the finish.

D- A bit better than I expected for a brewery I'd heard nothing about. It's a good, well rounded IPA. I think the hop varieties chosen were a bit different than some of my preferred IPAs, but they work in letting the malt get some of the spotlight.

I didn't detect any alcohol heat in this. I think you could easily down a few of these. I'm somewhat plowing through mine.

I got this in a mix a 6pk as I wouldn't have bought a pack of this otherwise. I feel that my preconceptions of less well known breweries may have improved due to this. Will have to check out more from Mt. Pleasant Brewery.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2011 16:19:42 | More by BBP

bishopdc0

Maine

3.05/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer presents as a nice amber cloudy, withe very nice head. Pleanty of lacing hangs on the glass.
Sweet pale malts are the most prevelant but a citrus aroma is present and lingers, nice.
The taste is sweet to start with a smooth carbonation to start. The finish is full of carbonation it is a little weak in the hops deparent, that said it does taste good, call it a pale and I would by it.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2010 23:13:20 | More by bishopdc0

jpmclaug

South Carolina

1.63/5  rDev -54.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Poured from the bottle into a Sam Adams perfect pint glass

A - Pale orange with a white head on top

S - A lightly toasted malt smell... umm where is the hops? Where is the aroma? I am struggling to get what I listed.

T - The toasted malt comes through followed by a hint of what tastes like soap

M - light to medium with a fair amount of carbonation

D - Awful beer. I don't even think I can finish this one. Aftertaste on this reminds me of vomit. Oh well... you live you learn I won't be picking this one up again. Hopefully the other beer I have from this brewery is better.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2010 01:23:18 | More by jpmclaug

DannyDan

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours out a dark golden orange body with a thick white head that maintains superb retention and lacing. Has decent carbonation. The nose consists of pleasant aromas of citrus, pine, and earthy hops. The taste consists of floral hops, followed by some pine and finishes off with some citrus. The mouthfeel is nice and creamy. A very good IPA that is well balanced in its taste and is a must try IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2011 02:45:41 | More by DannyDan

Ineedabeerhere

Connecticut

3.68/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks Dave! Consumed on 10/11, from notes.

Pours a cloudy dark amber-copper. 1 finger white head, spotty lacing.

Smells fruity but I also get a lot of piney-resin hops. Some earthy notes but overall the aroma is not very pronounced. I would've liked a bit more dry hopping, but I like my IPAs with very vibrant aromas. Crackery and toffee flavored malt.

See aroma. Moderate-low bitterness, slightly fruity with earthy and pine tree hop flavors. Some spiced notes too.

This is a nice sessionable IPA that is pretty balanced overall, with solid hop flavors that succeed in being interesting, but aren't overly expressive or in-your-face.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2009 05:03:40 | More by Ineedabeerhere

gopens44

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A -Dark bronze with a good 1.5" foamy latte colored head

S - Strong grassy, earth hop smells

T - Immediate bitter punch that falls off into a rather malty backbone. Little bit of dandelion in the bitter hop part of the taste with a tiny touch of molasses in the malty side of it.

M - Thin with lots of carbonation. Lots of bitterness on the tongue and in the aftertaste

O - Good but lacks a little depth.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2011 22:53:49 | More by gopens44

SometimesIfart

Michigan

3.98/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Pours very murky amber with a relentless massive off-white head that never seems to stop forming. Left a moderate amount of lacing.

S - Grapefruit and mango up front, followed by some lemon zest and orange peel.

T - Pineapple and sweet grapefruit up front followed by a decent amount of mango and malt. A tad bit watery in the finish.

M - Medium bodied with moderate to heavy carbonation.

O - Overall, This was a good IPA and very, very sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 04:43:15 | More by SometimesIfart

berserker256

Michigan

4.15/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I poured it pretty violently into a pint glass and got all head. I'm waiting for it to dissolve back into beer... The head's like ocean foam but more tan. I now see see the dark brass color of the beer. It's opaque as well. It's got a nice mild, but abundant, smell of piney hops and grapefruit and Fruit Loops cereal. Taste reflects a nice blend of hops and malt. Piney and sweet with a nice bitter aftertaste. A medium bodied creamy texture with perfect carbonation. Pretty easy going down. This is a very good I.P.A.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2009 19:52:21 | More by berserker256

enfield249

Michigan

3.95/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Cloudy gold in color, white head that starts with 4 fingers, but fades to just 1.

S - Citrus hop aroma.

T - Hoppy, but not citrus like the smell. Much more of a fresh smelling hop, perhaps floral? There is some resin in there as well, right at the end. Not much malt character, but the beer does not suffer for it. Very pleasant.

M - Not to fat, not to thin. Leaves my mouth wet.

D - Very drinkable, and a pleasant surprise from this brewery.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2010 01:42:52 | More by enfield249