El Gato Grande - 2nd Shift Brewery

TheSarge

Illinois

4.83/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured this brew into a Duvel tulip and the beer produces a strong four finger thick head, and the body is copper in color with a little haze.

The aroma is of pine, caramel, grapefruit, and maybe even lime.

Taste wise it has a strong toffee malt quality, with a strong lemon and pine twist.

Feels mildly carbonated and oily slick with a little warmth in the end.

I figured this would have been a Belgian style IPA, but nope, it's American style for sure. Probably one of the best that I've had in a long time.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2012 00:05:49 | More by TheSarge

edk218

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%

05-19-2013 16:59:58 | More by edk218

FanofHefe

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Served on-tap in a pint glass at Bailey's Range in St. Louis. Medium to light yellow colored body, mostly hazy, with a small white head. A little lacing.

The aroma is light - slightly tropical hop notes, and some light pine. Some definite caramel malt in the mix, but not a powerful aroma overall.

I really like the flavor. The caramel malt is much more prominent than I expected. The hop flavors are a decent mix of tropical, citrus, and pine notes. A little sweet overall compared to many of the IPAs on the market today, but I enjoy the balance.

Medium texture and no alcohol noticed. A very solid IPA overall. As much as I like this and Brew Cocky, I'm definitely becoming a fan of 2nd Shift.

Serving type: on-tap

05-12-2013 21:36:49 | More by FanofHefe

BRD14

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +11.1%

05-11-2013 15:26:22 | More by BRD14

Mcrichey

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%

05-09-2013 01:47:55 | More by Mcrichey

dt_gbpackersfan

Missouri

4.5/5  rDev +11.1%

05-04-2013 03:39:09 | More by dt_gbpackersfan

EgadBananas

Louisiana

4/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks FTowne!

A: Hazed orange, beige head, epic lace.

A: Astringent, cat piss, fruits, citrus, tropical fruits, caramel, zesty flowers.

T: Orange, sweet citrus, caramel, nuts, light bitterness, hints of lemon, mango.

M/O: medium body, clean, slick, good carb level. Tasty, well flavored ipa, despite not being a bitter beast.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 01:27:41 | More by EgadBananas

RyanBeer13

Virginia

3/5  rDev -25.9%

01-19-2013 19:40:36 | More by RyanBeer13

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.96/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Yes, 9 months old, but really fun citrus still highly carbonated creamy IPA. The hops still gave it taste and citrus bitterness, cleaning the palate.
Steve IP, another interesting one. Incredible creamy head though the c-p of the citra took over, like smelling cat p after many many days.
Yet very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2013 03:52:45 | More by northyorksammy

hoppytobehere

Colorado

4.13/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured into a tulip glass. Huge foamy head. Great color.

S: Hit with hops and fruit. A little boozey.

T: Reminds me of some Californian IPAs, which is definitely not a bad thing.

M: Great finish.

O: Qué bueno! One of the best IPAs I've had from Missouri. I'll have to find more next time I'm in the area.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 22:37:19 | More by hoppytobehere

Chaney

District of Columbia

3.58/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I had this one at a bar in a hotel next to my hotel on a recent trip to St. Louis.

A: Poured out about the color of Sierra Nevada "Celebration Ale." Somewhat clear, yet bubbly, and with a slight rose-color to it. The slight head was both pillowy and silky white.

S: Pow hops! Lots of pine and delectable fruit notes to boot!

T: Well, it was a bit too resiny for my taste. I'm all for whole leaf, fresh hops, but this was a bit one-sided and need a bit more malt backbone for my tastes. It also had this rather odd kerosene flair that I often get with "60 Minute" from a bottle.

M: While this had a really nice carbonation bill and lacing, I though the extreme bitterness killed the experience somewhat.

O: I thought this was nice, just a bit overdone.... but that's just me.

Serving type: on-tap

08-30-2012 11:43:25 | More by Chaney

Dieck

4/5  rDev -1.2%

08-29-2012 17:56:45 | More by Dieck

AllHailBeercules

Missouri

3.75/5  rDev -7.4%

08-28-2012 04:10:54 | More by AllHailBeercules

KegsAndEggs

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%

08-27-2012 22:47:12 | More by KegsAndEggs

thewimperoo

Illinois

4/5  rDev -1.2%

07-31-2012 15:46:37 | More by thewimperoo

dav

Missouri

4.75/5  rDev +17.3%

06-24-2012 02:23:53 | More by dav

StlHopHead77

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-Pours a transparent,reddish orange with 2 strong fingers of just slightly off white foam
that showed great retention and left chunky islands of lacing.

S-Soft,sweet citrus,apricot preserves,flowery hops and mild honey malts.

T-More soft citrus,peach candy,apricot,crisp cracker malts and a slight hint of pine.

M-Really smooth and unassuming.Mild bitterness with a sustained fresh fruitiness.

O-This just seemed to be lacking something.It leaned a little more toward a pale ale than a true IPA.Decent but not game changing.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2012 11:42:28 | More by StlHopHead77

Beezee

Illinois

5/5  rDev +23.5%

04-28-2012 03:31:02 | More by Beezee

FreshZ

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%

04-19-2012 15:20:02 | More by FreshZ

captainbearcat

Illinois

5/5  rDev +23.5%

04-08-2012 02:10:00 | More by captainbearcat

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

3.6/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a tulip glass from a 750ml bottle.

Pours a very nice slightly hazy copper color with some nice orange twang to it. A very gorgeous tall 1.5 inch frothy and dense head is formed with some nice sticky bubbles. Slightly off-white after further inspection. The head recedes slowly to a nice chunky matt with tons of sticky lacing.

Strong floral hop notes start things off. Nice citrus backbone in there as well. Grapefruit and orange with some slight tangerines. There is some nice herbal and earthy notes in there as well with some slight biscuit malt on the back end. A bit bready.

Flavor starts off with some slight sweet and bready malt that is very nice and gets things off to a good start. NIce and earthy grain. This is quickly followed by a blooming of more herbal hop notes. SOme nice sweet pine mixed in with nice sweet citrus fruit juice. Tangerines and some slight grapefruit. Very nice. Not too overwhelming. Good IPA in a large format bottle. Pretty straight forward but delicious.

Good IPA. Another great IPA offering from 2nd Shift. Nice and citrusy but also well balanced.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2012 23:31:01 | More by JoEBoBpr

derekfilcoff

Florida

3.75/5  rDev -7.4%

03-06-2012 23:07:54 | More by derekfilcoff

Shoo65

Indiana

4/5  rDev -1.2%

02-12-2012 05:19:40 | More by Shoo65

Madjr

Missouri

4/5  rDev -1.2%

01-26-2012 19:42:14 | More by Madjr

gford217

Georgia

3.75/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle.

Pours a dark, clear amber with an impressive frothy head that does recede at all for a while before slowly shrinking to a cap.

Aroma is a combination of juicy citrus and light herbal notes. I definitely smell some pineapple and oranges. There is a dry biscuity malt aroma and a spritzy tingle in the nose.

Taste is light sweet citrus, not overly juicy but with a bit of sugary sweetness. There is some orange zest, lemon grass and a dry, crisp malt finish. Very little hop bitterness in the finish though the doughiness of the malts is very eviident.

Mouthfeel is light and almost spritzy, very crisp and clean.

I enjoyed this beer a bit but the citrus is not nearly as big as I was hoping for. The bready character is what I remember most after drinking this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 03:24:41 | More by gford217