Big Cock IPA - Great River Brewery

TheQuietMan22

Iowa

4.1/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Serving type: 16-ounce can. No freshness date.

Appearance: Poured into a nonick pint glass. The color is copper with a light orange hue. Two fingers of dense, eggshell-colored head dissipated slowly, leaving a spotted lacing, ring around the edge, and trails of foam along the glass.

Smell: Citrus hoppiness, baby! Grapefruit and tangerine stand out. Caramel malts and grassy, British-esque hops balance the citrus.

Taste: It offers a nice citrus flavor without the “bitter beer face.” The mouthfeel, though, seems a little coarse and it does offer a nice bitterness. Grapefruit, tangerine, orange, and lemon. It also offers the earthy hops, pale malts, caramel, and toffee of British pale ales. As it warms, the caramel becomes a little more candy-like and the bitterness beings to linger after each sip.

Drinkability: This beer is solid. It offers a lot of citrus and balance at the same time. Very well-crafted brew.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2012 05:31:32 | More by TheQuietMan22

drinkAK

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +27.1%

05-19-2013 16:50:43 | More by drinkAK

Brianinthewbl

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -15.3%

05-09-2013 03:15:53 | More by Brianinthewbl

CopperMtnPlowboy

Ohio

2.74/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.75

Currently drinking the Big Cock IPA from a shrink-wrapped can bought at Beertopia in Omaha (a fantastic store for selection, by the way). Cracking endless jokes about the name, my lovely bride of 14 years has now huffed off to bed. (It's a safe beer..it's shrink-wrapped!)

The pour into my St. Louis Cardinals pint glass gets a big head which fades to under a half inch in about a minute. Initially, the head is more than the beer by a hair.

The smell is surprisingly weak considering the powerful taste, but I get a grapefruit and pine whiff.

Taste? Something sweeter than I expect, citrus - like a red grapefruit rind - hits first, then the caramel undertones. There is a piney aftertaste which lingers long, long after the swallow...which leads to the....

Mouthfeel - this is a 'sticky' beer. A very thick feel, almost chewey. It hangs around as long as maple syrup. Not that this is a bad thing.

Overall - I was hoping for a little more, particularly in the taste since IPA's generally are my favorite. This is just an average IPA. Nothing to brag about, nothing to be ashamed of, but if you offered me one at the next party, I'd take you up on it. Just be sure to make clear your offering a beer...

Serving type: can

04-27-2013 05:02:31 | More by CopperMtnPlowboy

bennetj17

Arizona

3.75/5  rDev +5.9%

04-24-2013 05:39:27 | More by bennetj17

barnzy78

Illinois

3.28/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

16oz can, rigorous pour reveals an amber colored ale with a very thin ivory head, seems to be lacking some carbonation. Nose is heavy on caramel malt, toasted grain, sweet citric grapefruit, a bit earthy. Bready malt, toasty grain, caramel try to hold up to the massive citrus and earthy pine assault of hops, and actually don't do too bad of a job, but the hoppy bitterness lingers with some astringency in the end. Mouth-feel is creamy and smooth, but needs more carbonation, it's pretty flat. Overall, not a bad IPA, but it's rough around the edges.

Serving type: can

04-11-2013 01:38:58 | More by barnzy78

vidguy17

Iowa

3.75/5  rDev +5.9%

03-30-2013 15:04:53 | More by vidguy17

RDW

Nebraska

4/5  rDev +13%

03-22-2013 23:15:17 | More by RDW

JakeMorgan13

Illinois

4/5  rDev +13%

02-08-2013 14:28:55 | More by JakeMorgan13

jmmy3

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -15.3%

01-31-2013 02:28:03 | More by jmmy3

durlta

Iowa

3.75/5  rDev +5.9%

01-26-2013 15:28:01 | More by durlta

garymuchow

Minnesota

3.79/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

16oz can poured nicely into glassware made to hold that amount of beer.
Very attractive beer, with a dark amber very clear body and a full thick dark head with sufficient lacing.
Hop forward nose with nice citrus and Am. style hops, but also a less pleasing mild hop oil that has a slight stale quality. Firm malt based.
Taste is to style. Well balanced malt/hop ratio with a full bitterness kicking in mid to a very long finish. Nice hop drying. Slight hop oil excess, but it doesn't take away too much from the other enjoyable flavors.
Moderate body that is satisfying, and a pleasing fullness to the carbonation.
Basic solid drinking Am. IPA to style. This brewery seems to do that very well.

Serving type: can

01-13-2013 22:44:43 | More by garymuchow

Timmah11

Minnesota

3.43/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

16 oz. can poured into Hop Tulip pint glass. No date information found.

A-Pours a murky (hazy?) copper color with a finger and a half khaki head. Soap bubble consistency hangs around for a little while before regressing. Heavy lacing.

S-Subdued aroma. Flowery hops, a bit of pine. Smell of British malt/hops. A little stronger than a English Style IPA.

T- Malt forward with an equal amount of hops. Caramel malt and piney hop in a fight for supremacy. Malt wins by a nose.

M-Medium to heavy body. Creamy for an IPA. Not crisp like many IPAs. More “full” like an English version.

O- Lots of malt and 70 IBUs makes for a good, interesting beer. Interesting because it is a change-up from other IPAs. It is not my favorite but I have bought it a few times.

Serving type: can

01-07-2013 02:57:44 | More by Timmah11

mattafett

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev -1.1%

01-07-2013 01:04:17 | More by mattafett

gatornation

Minnesota

3.58/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

from 16 oz can

A-pours a clear copper color with a 1 finger Khaki head a nice lacing on glass

S-malts and sweet caramel first with citrus hops

T- Malt forward ipa with alot of sweet caramel citrus and some tropical hops are present but malt rules this on

M-sweet with medium carbonation smooth with minimal bitterness

O- sweet and malty ipa its a good drinker i liked it and would pick up a single again it does have a touch of west coast in the taste

Serving type: can

01-02-2013 21:56:18 | More by gatornation

RelentlessLefty

Iowa

3.75/5  rDev +5.9%

12-30-2012 14:10:54 | More by RelentlessLefty

mynie

Indiana

3.08/5  rDev -13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I dunno guys. I ain't exactly a prude, but, geez louise euphemism jokes don't work unless they're at least a tiny bit subtle So, yeah, this name offends me--not because it's a penis reference, but because as a joke it is very horribly and charmlessly executed.

Aside from the name, the beer's pretty solid. Flawed, but solid. I'd had it before and assumed it was a bad batch. This batch is better. Smoother, fizzier, the malt less syrupy and the hop profile more befitting an IPA. The hops are still a bit hamfisted and the malt don't quite back it up--there's strong herbal nodes in there, but nothing by way of the breadiness or yeastiness that usually mark an IPA.

It's messy but drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

12-29-2012 01:38:20 | More by mynie

qthompso

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -1.1%

12-28-2012 02:25:03 | More by qthompso

Whiskeydeez

Kansas

3.25/5  rDev -8.2%

12-27-2012 18:56:50 | More by Whiskeydeez

zac16125

South Carolina

3.95/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

16 oz can into a pint glass
no born on date

Thanks to haveanother1 for sending this, along with a number of other northern midwest IPAs, over in a trade.

A: Pours a dark reddish amber with 2 plus fingers width of light tan colored head, which takes a good while to settle down to a thick film that remains throughout the drink. Leaves a fair amount of lacing down the sides of the glass.

S: Citrus rind, caramel malt, touch of pine, and a somewhat bizarre dirty feel smell.

T: Tasty beer here. Prominent caramel malt backbone accompanied by really nice ctirus flavors (lemon zest, grapefruit, orange rind), and a strong piney bitterness. Bitterness lingers for a long time after each sip. Very nice.

M/D: Very smooth for the style, perfect carbonation, medium bodied, drinkability is good. Very nice mouthfeel.

O: Overall, I thought this was quite good. There are not many reviews, but I am surprised that the ones that are here show this beer to be rather poorly received. I think its a well crafted, tasty IPA that I would certainly drink again. Above average in my book.

Serving type: can

12-26-2012 19:04:02 | More by zac16125

Chucker17

South Dakota

3.75/5  rDev +5.9%

12-19-2012 17:10:01 | More by Chucker17

schoon

Iowa

4.5/5  rDev +27.1%

12-12-2012 01:11:48 | More by schoon

JJFordick

Illinois

4/5  rDev +13%

12-08-2012 19:52:22 | More by JJFordick

morimech

Minnesota

3.28/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a dark amber color with over two fingers of head that had good retention before settling to a thick cap. Moderate amount of lacing is left down the glass.

A lot of caramel malt in the aroma. Some floral and citrus hop scents. Does not really smell IPA like.

More malt in this IPA than what most brewers use. Taste a lot of caramel and bready malt. Does not taste artifical like some beers with a lot of caramel malt. The hops are not as forward as I would like. Mostly floral and earthy notes. It is bitter and I believe the 70 IBU claims. Tastes like an early example of an East Coast IPA with its strong malt sweetness.

Full and creamy texture. Nicely carbonated and presents a good mouthfeel.

Not enough hop flavor for me. Need some flavor payoff for the bitterness. The last couple Great River beers have not impressed me much.

Serving type: can

12-07-2012 23:23:51 | More by morimech

Lionhawk

Iowa

3.75/5  rDev +5.9%

12-05-2012 03:53:35 | More by Lionhawk