Half Cycle IPA - Flat 12 Bierwerks

AmitC

Indiana

4.53/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance : Golden brown color.

Pours with a huge head. Big for an IPA i think.

A lot of carbonation bubbles. Quite bubbly for an IPA.

Smell : Huge hops. A bit of citrus.

Taste: Well the bitterness grows on you with every sip. First sip - does not feel that bitter going in, after taste is a bit bitter. And then it just keeps on getting hoppier.

Loved it just for this.

Decent alcohol content. Would have been a 'killer' of a beer for me if it had the strength too of a DIPA. A bit oily, a bit herby.

Serves my purpose.

Loved it just for the bitterness 104 wow.. My palette and my neck felt it real well.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2012 00:32:23 | More by AmitC

JDizzle

Indiana

4.48/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I have had this beer on multiple occasions and it keeps me craving for more.

A: Pours bronze orange that is cloudy with an off white head that is impressive.

S: Huge HOPS upfront with little malt on the nose. Really piney and citrusy. Great smelling IPA. Smells heavier than it drinks.

T: WOW, really comes off like a DIPA. Not sure why, but I feel like I am drinking a 10% hop bomb without the high ABV. Super hoppy with bitter pine and sweet malt on the finish. I really love this beer!!

M: Mouthfeel is thick and syrupy. Good carbs and great finish with a nice lingering bitterness that is not too harsh on the enamel.

One of my favorite IPA's ever!!

Serving type: on-tap

08-22-2012 03:08:27 | More by JDizzle

Roman5150

Michigan

4.26/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

bottle purchased from Beer Depot in Murfreesboro, TN, poured into tulip glass

appearance: light orange amber, small one finger white head that doesn't last

smell: grapefruit, earthy piney hops, citrus, applejuice, popcorn, and a slight hint of some cannabis sativa (seriously, this beer smells like bag of some dank buds, I can't explain it. other reviews have noted this as well)

taste: whoa, what did i just drink. quite possibly the most unique IPA i've had, its sort of like someone took a fist full of simcoe (not sure if used, but sure smells like it) hops and a small amount of english malt and punched you in the face. Very upfront, intense flavor. The malt is blended so well with the hoppiness that it tastes almost like one, i'm not sure if that made sense but that's the only way I can describe this beer. This is the definition of a hop bomb, yet it is so well crafted and balanced that the intensity is second to it's drinkability. The finish is very hoppy and bitter, and leaves a refreshing taste in your mouth.

mouthfeel: average amount of carbonation, very smooth and refreshing; not too heavy

overall: I will be buying this upon seeing it. It's a very good underrated hop bomb of an IPA, I was pleasantly surprised. This beer reeks and tastes like earthy piney hops, if that's your thing, you will love it. While it's no Stone or Two-Hearted, this beer can hold it's one with the great IPAs of this country. This is a well crafted beer that I had no idea what I was buying when I found a single bottle at my local store, and I'm fucking glad I did.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 04:43:25 | More by Roman5150

--Dom--

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I believe this beer deserves a full review as it is rated terribly low in my opinion. Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a golden-amber with 1 1/2 finger head, decent lacing. Smells of danky delicious piney goodness.

This beer is prettty darn good. Opens with danky resiny hops, not terribly complex but it works very well. Just straight up piney, doesn't mess around. Definitely more bitter than malty. Mouthfeel is crisp with medium body.

Overall, pretty outstanding IPA. In my opinion it's a great representation of a single IPA. Stays bitter throughout and still well balanced. Good work Flat 12.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 02:16:15 | More by --Dom--

Casedogg43

Indiana

4.23/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Just had a bottle, had a pint yesterday!
This IPA is terrific!

A: Hazy orange that is cloudy with a nice off white head.

S: Citus, hops, piney. Smells large

T: way hoppy. Smooth and balanced with a hint of sweet and malts. Like it

M: Mouthfeel big for IPA. Hops linger just right!

O: big fan. Now that's it in bottles, will keep some in the fridge!

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2012 00:46:08 | More by Casedogg43

mcallister

Ohio

4.18/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Solid copper color with a three finger white head that leaves some spotty lacing around my tulip.

Amazing aromas burst from this. Dank, resiny, pine driven hops that lead into some tropical and citrus notes. A light biscuity, bready malt lies underneath with only a hint of toffee.

Considering the IBU to ABV ratio this is very nicely balanced and highly quaffable. The middle show very bready, toffee driven malts that than turn to that thick, piney, resiny, oily hop flavor and bitterness on the finish. Some lemon zest, mango, and pineapple with some grassy herbal qualities show as well. This is from a growler of about a week old. Mouth is only slightly thin. However I had this at the tasting room and was much more creamy and full in mouthfeel so take that for what its worth.

Serving type: growler

04-11-2011 18:36:04 | More by mcallister

langm12

Indiana

4.1/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - this is a great looking beer. Cloudy amber/orange with a thick fluffy white head. Great retention. So much lacing.

S - earthy pine, touch of citrus.

T - much like the smell. Good bitterness. Small bit of malt sweetness creeps in the end. Could benefit from a bit more balance but pretty good.

M - thick and creamy.

A very good beer.

Serving type: on-tap

10-19-2011 17:08:08 | More by langm12

ThickNStout

Georgia

4.09/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

12oz bottle from zrab11 (sweet extra!). No bottling info. Served in a Burnt Hickory snifter.

Pours a clear orange hued gold with a quarter finger of off white head.

Smells of fresh citrus and pine and a sweet inviting almost birthday cake aroma. Nice.

Taste is bold and bitter with grapefruit, papaya, pine and citrus rinds. A hint of sweet cake is the only concession made to malt balance and I'm just fine with that.

An oily medium light body with a nice light carbonation. Long, dry, bitter grapefruity aftertaste.

This little guy packs a huge bitter hoppy punch considering that it's only 6% abv. It is a tasty gem that I'll happily enjoy anytime it's offered and specifically request in future trades.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2013 23:59:24 | More by ThickNStout

Swik

Indiana

4.06/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Hop head, so again take with a grain of salt

Appearance, usual ipa golden

Smell, hop hop hop

Taste, wonderful although they don't list hops used if I had to take a guess I'd say galaxy/citra and along with the citra taste comes the zombie dust comparisons and I gotta say in my own opinion it's damn close with a lil more hop complexity, where the dust has a very sweet tropical fruit punch to your tongue this one leaves it straight scorched,.great job flat 12 this one will be on regular rotation in my fridge!

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 17:19:49 | More by Swik

JamesS

Indiana

4.05/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a very nice reddish-copper with decent head and lacing. Nice deep scent, good malt backbone with nice citrus aroma. Nice two-row malt flavor with nice Crystal hit; excellent citrus hop finish, but slightly unbalanced with some pine at the end as well. Goes down well, except for the slight imbalance. Good IPA. (On tap at Tomlinson Tap Room)

Serving type: on-tap

03-14-2011 13:46:02 | More by JamesS

1Adam12

Indiana

4.05/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Nice amber/golden color. Smells very earthy to me. Lots of grass and hay, loads of hops, some citrus on the nose. Taste is very good. Very hoppy and earthy. Has a bitterness on the end of it that keeps me from being able to pound it. Mouthfeel was heavy for the ABV. Creamy, carbonated. A good sipping IPA IMO. Very impressed with my first experience with flat 12. This was my favorite IPA from an Indiana brewery not named 3 floyds. I really hope they bottle this bad boy.

Serving type: on-tap

08-21-2011 14:26:16 | More by 1Adam12

secondtooth

Indiana

4.05/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy amber, with a thick 3-finger head. Attractive wall of lace.

Nose is pungent pine hops, with some tropical citrus. Very nice!

Taste is strong and bitter with assertive hopping and deep pine and citrus notes. With a big, bold, and sticky mouthfeel, this West coast style IPA finishes dry. Quite a surprise and an excellent IPA!

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2012 14:40:16 | More by secondtooth

brentk56

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Arrives with a cloudy amber color with an inch or so of foam that sheets the pint glass with lace

Smell: Pithy and piney

Taste: The pith assaults the tastebuds at the outset, with the pine and a bit of a fruity character developing by mid-palate; after the swallow, the pithy bitterness dominates through the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: A very nice IPA for the hophead, this one grew on me; I would prefer a bit more of a citrusy character, but this was an impressive stab at the style

Serving type: on-tap

09-13-2011 03:10:22 | More by brentk56

cnally

Indiana

4.03/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I have been stopping by this place more and more, and this is one of the reasons why.

The body of the beer is a greatly vibrant orange color, and even coming from the growler it has a fluffy, sticky white head.

The aroma certainly attracts the piney hop one--aggressive from what I am guessing would be Magnum/Nugget families of hops. Low malt profile on this, barely a sniff of the base malt or any specialty.

The flavor more or less explains why they can get a beer up to 104 IBU while still selling it for $8 a growler. There is little backing malt profile, not to say that is a bad thing, but such a small part of the flavor comes from the lightly toasted base grain. This comes off like a hop juice, aggressive but not attacking--enough to make your tongue shrivel a little bit. In spite of the massive hop quality, it is drinkable due to the small semblance of a malt backbone.

The frothy, awesomely carbonated mouthfeel counteract the dryness from the hops. Feels a lot lighter than other hop laden IPAs.

You can tell they did their homework on this beer. It has so much hop profile it comes dangerously close to being overhopped. However, there is enough of a malt addition to make it pretty drinkable.

Serving type: growler

11-20-2011 00:01:28 | More by cnally

Jayman931

Mississippi

4.01/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A: Nice Golden brown color. Nice big head that lingers and nice carbonation
A:Great Hop Smell....
T:Citrus and Grassy....Creeps up on ya! And keeps coming! 100+ IBUs Very nice
M: Good...what you would expect from a 6%

Think I am gonna have another :) Cheers

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2013 03:42:27 | More by Jayman931

notalagerlugger

Indiana

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

Had on tap at old pro's table in Broad Ripple and I loved it. Went to brewey and got two growlers gave one to my hop head friend now we go every Friday for growlers.

A-good light amber color and head

S-citrus and pine

T-light on the malt so not to get in the way of the great hops. Some non hop heads may think it is too hoppy or unbalanced. I say if you want malt pick from the 1000's of way too malty beers. It is like the DIPA hop slam without the sweetness or high alcohol only 6% most hoppy beers are 9-11% that can take away flavor and smell with booziness. When I do beer tastings I start with the more malty IPA's the finish with this beer as my tastebuds get saturated.

M- good medium

D-at 6% pretty good drink with bold food

Serving type: growler

03-18-2011 23:05:53 | More by notalagerlugger

jisom123

Indiana

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

on tap 09/13 @ Dicks Bodacious BBQ Downtown Indy.

Good head retention. White foam hangs around low around the edge.

Smells like a delicious lawnmower. Nice and hoppy. Very little malt smell.

T: Nice balance of bittering hops. Kind of surprised they were there,; the smell didn't tip me off at all. They didn't skimp of the $$$ when making this.

M: Good smoothness that you would expect from a decent Craft Brewer.

The first time I tried this beer, was on opening day of the Flat12 Brewery last year.

As I recall, the bittering hops have gotten slightly stronger, which I like, but everything else is the same. My taste buds may be off since I was eating BBQ though.

Serving type: on-tap

09-14-2011 18:55:13 | More by jisom123

LiquidBread219

Indiana

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

A= Pours Golden Yellow a little cloudy, Nice foamy white head with good retention some lacing.

S= Earthy and pine are the main part of the nose a little citrus hops. The beer really smell hop and it does kind of smell a little bit like pot.

T= The pine really comes through in the taste you have some nice bitterness but the pine does take center stage in this one.

M=Medium bodied, Medium Carbonation.

O= Overall, I really enjoyed this beer A nice Ipa from a smaller brewery would try again.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2011 20:17:51 | More by LiquidBread219

AaronHomoya

Indiana

3.95/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Another of the launch beers at the new Flat 12 brewery in Indianapolis.

This is the Flat 12 brew I have been most excited about trying. It is billed as a single IPA hopped to the level of a double. 100+ IBU's. Single/Double = Half Cycle...

I found this beer pretty much lived up to my expectations. It's got a great aroma with a lot of citrusy, piney hops. The flavor is also very hoppy, with little of the crystal malt coming through. I noticed some tropical fruit, grapefruit and pine. The bitterness is noticeable, but not too harsh.

Overall I think this is a very good beer. Perhaps too much balanced towards hops to make it as highly drinkable as say a Two-Hearted, but still a very solid IPA.

Serving type: on-tap

12-30-2010 22:34:22 | More by AaronHomoya

CheeseheadNation

Indiana

3.95/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Nice looking amberish orange, poured into my FFF Teku glass. Very little head and lacing.

S - A good amount of citrus and pine. Little bit of tropical fruit with some earthyness to it.

T - Pretty much tastes like it smells, which is a good thing.

M - Light-Medium bodied with slight carbonation. Very drinkable.

Flat 12 makes some solid beers and I expect for them to get better with time. This is solid IPA and is definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2013 04:39:45 | More by CheeseheadNation

rlee1390

Indiana

3.95/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A-cloudy orange two finger head with lacing some carbonation

S-hops grass dirt, not much malt but lots of hops

T-very hoppy, grass dirt and pine, mild citrus. Ends with a sharp hop bite and slight bitterness

M-medium bodied, slight carbonation mild hop resins

O- A nice all round IPA, but with so many good ones out there it is difficult to revisit it.

Serving type: on-tap

04-02-2013 21:29:36 | More by rlee1390

Tsigos

Indiana

3.83/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Poured a nice hazy golden color with about a quarter-inch to half-inch foam head. Nice lacing was apparent on the glass. The head dissappeared relatively quickly and the carbonation did not last very long.

S - Lots of pine scent here. Did not detect much citrus.

T - Piney hop flavor dominates. Very slight citrus or grapefruit bitterness. Good Taste overall but would have liked less pine and more citrus. Kinda reminds me of a blend between Dogfish Head 60 and 90 minute IPAs.

M - Thin mouthfeel. Carbonation disappeared quickly leaving it somewhat flat but this may have been the result of being stored for a day in a growler.

D - Piney flavor tends to coat your mouth. This would prevent it from being as sessionable some other IPAs. You may want a glass of water to go with it.

Conclusion - a worthy IPA that would probably pair well with something spicy like Thai food. Not sessionable like some other big-hopped IPA but would be a nice treat with the right meal. I would buy it again.

Serving type: growler

12-31-2010 02:11:19 | More by Tsigos

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from CWBlues, thanks Cy! 12oz bottle into a tulip.

Unfiltered orange, voluminous and dense white head - tremendous lace and chunks of retention. Nose of orange, tangerine and lighter citrus, some piney/herbal that's peripheral. Light sweet malt character. Taste has more bitter citrus along the same lines as the nose, finishing grassy and herbal. Slight dank qualities. Bitterness is medium high, carbonation is fairly low. A serviceable, quite bitter IPA.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2012 03:22:24 | More by liamt07

jzeilinger

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Many thanks to jisom123 for sending a few bottles of this stuff!

A - Pours a medium amber color with a very dense, creamy head. mild but steady carbonation and a thick lacing ring.

S - Toasted caramel malt with pine and citrus hops, not much in the nose.

T - Some toasted caramel malt up up front that quickly gets knocked down with a healthy amount of spicy, piney, citrus hops. The spice portion of the hop flavor comes with some onion character and the bitterness is long and lingering. It's "just about" balanced but not so much to stifle the hops. Leaves a small coating of orange/mango at the very end.

M - Medium body and coats the mouth with some onion, pine, and grapefruit. Lots of carbonation on the tongue and slick on the end.

O - This is a solid IPA and I'm looking forward to cracking another bottle of this.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2012 21:23:47 | More by jzeilinger

Tucquan

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Had this on 2013-04-06 in Warsaw, IN

A - Mostly clear gold with a 3-finger pillowy white head with good lacing.

S - Naval orange flesh, white bread, hop floral.

T - Sharp simultaneous bites of tart citrus and bitter pine, dank, mild citrus flesh, little caramel malt. Taste is quite different than the subtler and sweeter aroma. Finishes very bitter; clearly unbalanced toward the bitter side.

M - Light-medium body and medium carbonation. Extremely prickly, resinous, tongue-numbing.

O - This is one of the bitterest ~6% ABV brew I've had. A bit too out of balance for me go give it a top rating but it sure gets your attention.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 20:49:42 | More by Tucquan