Tap It IPA - Tap It Brewing Co.

THANAT0PSIS

Wisconsin

4.13/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tap It IPA

Appearance: Two fingers of bone white head sit atop a very vigorously carbonated, crystal clear golden orange color. The head is pillowy and sudsy but leaves little lacing behind and minimal alcohol legs; thankfully, the retention is amazing. This is a pretty average looking IPA, with nothing that one will not find in any other quality offering from any other brewery.

Aroma: Pungent citus hop aromas in the form of grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, and pineapple. There is lots of rind bitterness as well, and fantastic piney bitterness. There is a very clean malt bill backing up the hoppy star of the show, but it really is not very strong. More complexity would be great, but what is here is good.

Taste: Fantastic fruitiness in the vein of the aroma, and with a surprisingly sweet, mango-like edge, likely from the superb blending of the bready and caramel malts with the in-your-face tropical hoppiness. There is a bit of a yeastiness in the aftertaste, along with clear, pleasant astringency. This is a superb example of an IPA’s idea taste profile, and is a bit more complex with the malts than the smell would lead one to believe.

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel starts off a bit thin, but it works relatively well with the plentiful carbonation to create a refreshing drink. The hops create astringency, as mentioned previously, and the whole beverage is quite dry in all senses of the word. It is nothing special, and a bit more thickness and stickiness would be preferable, but it works well with the taste.

Overall: This is a pretty basic IPA that succeeds through execution rather than flashiness, over-hopping, or imbalanced malty sweetness. I am not sure Tap It deserved to win any awards at the GABF, but it is definitely a solid beverage through and through. I would drink it again, but I would not actively seek it out. It would be nice to have on a hot sunny day rather than mid-winter in Wisconsin. If you are local to San Luis Obispo, support these guys; they probably have a great beer in them somewhere. 16/20

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2013 03:04:29 | More by THANAT0PSIS

heavenlyStash

California

4.25/5  rDev +8.1%

05-24-2013 07:14:25 | More by heavenlyStash

visionaries

California

4/5  rDev +1.8%

05-23-2013 17:03:30 | More by visionaries

kevanb

Illinois

3.7/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

650ml bottle poured into a stemless wine glass.

The beer pours a clear golden copper color, touches of light amber with a finger and a half of taught white head that has moderate retention and leaves behind no lacing. The aroma is of lightly bitter pine with lots of sweet tropical fruit, citrus and caramel malt. It's inviting, but hardly the dank, dry and bitter hop bomb that west coast IPAs can be. The flavors are also quite sweet, a touch of bitter pine, but again, lots of sweet fruit, citrus and rich malt with a touch of alcohol. The body is nice, moderate carbonation but with just enough to tickle the tongue, coats the mouth nicely but finishes rather sweetly and lacks any dry kick.

Verdict: A decent IPA from Tap It, quite sweet and not nearly as dank as I'd like it to be. It's hard to see this beer winning a Gold Medal above many of the stellar west coast IPAs that come from the same part of California, but kudos to Tap It for the accolades, this one just isn't up my alley.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 00:57:08 | More by kevanb

Topher78

California

3/5  rDev -23.7%

05-15-2013 20:39:31 | More by Topher78

rainfairy

California

4.75/5  rDev +20.9%

05-14-2013 08:08:54 | More by rainfairy

himynameisping

California

4.5/5  rDev +14.5%

05-12-2013 05:05:19 | More by himynameisping

e30todamax

Virginia

4/5  rDev +1.8%

05-05-2013 17:03:51 | More by e30todamax

jpaulsen

California

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

04-30-2013 23:46:37 | More by jpaulsen

MinorThreat

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

04-28-2013 00:47:58 | More by MinorThreat

pkalix

California

4/5  rDev +1.8%

04-27-2013 00:24:36 | More by pkalix

ehammond1

California

3.34/5  rDev -15%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Bottle (2013)

Acquired via trade
Thanks, SubpoenaDeuces!

Mildly hazed dark orange. Large off-white head. Stripes of thick lacing left down the glass--a sticky IPA. Pretty and appropriate.

Sweet, candied oranges in the aroma. Caramel complements and just a hint of alcohol. Fairly average, I suppose, at least when compared to Southern California's usually upper echelon of hop bombs.

Sweet candied orange flesh, caramel and bready malts, moderate bitterness, and incredible drinkability.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

Good, but a sweeter IPA compared to other SoCal gems.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 00:11:51 | More by ehammond1

Obsidian

California

4.25/5  rDev +8.1%

04-14-2013 06:06:32 | More by Obsidian

rbrefbeerman

California

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

04-12-2013 03:03:24 | More by rbrefbeerman

Rollzroyce21

California

3.25/5  rDev -17.3%

04-11-2013 03:31:20 | More by Rollzroyce21

JasonFromLA

California

4.5/5  rDev +14.5%

04-09-2013 02:02:17 | More by JasonFromLA

LuauLarry

California

4/5  rDev +1.8%

04-06-2013 16:26:57 | More by LuauLarry

Halcyondays

California

2.81/5  rDev -28.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75

12 oz. bottle,

A: Pours amber with a medium white head, average head retention, some lace.

S: Fairly light, has some earthy hop and grass, but I'm really not getting much.

T: Grapefruit and grass, light hop character for the style. Some mild biscuity malt. Undercurrent of earthy hops.

M: Light-bodied, clean, fairly crisp, a bit flabby.

O: An OK starter IPA, it didn't really have more of a hop character than most pales I've had, a bit on the high side price wise as well.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 04:20:05 | More by Halcyondays

quetzal013

California

4.25/5  rDev +8.1%

03-23-2013 02:57:48 | More by quetzal013

Beerandboards

New Mexico

3.4/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

12oz to a pint glass

A - pours a semi-pale gold. Loose white head.

S - some fruity hops, kind of a little flat, nice but seems very thin. Not sure on freshness, but perhaps it's a little old?

T - malty sweetness on the front. Some pine and citrus on the hops, finishes with more caramel type malt on the end.

M - nothing great nothing bad.

O - didn't wow me. Not bad, but would be unlikely to order it in the future.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2013 02:59:50 | More by Beerandboards

litheum94

California

3.5/5  rDev -10.9%

03-13-2013 14:13:29 | More by litheum94

McStagger

California

4.03/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A: Aggressive pour leads to two fingers fairly quickly diminishing off white head. Translucent copper color. Bright carbonation. Moderate lacing. Head is very bubbly.

S: Bright, immediate citrus. Grapefruit, orange, orange juice, orange pulp. Background of caramel malt, with a touch of woody/herbaceous pine.

T: Good intro of malt sweetness. Caramel, bit of toffee. Juicy, citric hops take over. Again, lot of orange and grapefruit pulp, touch of the rind astringency, but not much. Soapiness in the back end with an herbal, drying finish.

M: Creamy, softer mouthfeel. Very lush and full bodied, but the carbonation saves it from being flabby or overdone.

O: I think the GABF gold is excessive, but this is a very good, "basic" IPA. Would not kick out of bed.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2013 08:05:12 | More by McStagger

JOrtt

California

4/5  rDev +1.8%

03-04-2013 05:17:34 | More by JOrtt

Beerrenda

California

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

03-02-2013 17:26:13 | More by Beerrenda

largadeer

California

4.3/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Fresh keg on tap at Harry's Hofbrau. Brilliantly clear golden amber with a clingy white head. Big bright citrus hop nose with some bready malt buried beneath. Floral aromas meet pineapple and grapefruit. Gentle bready malts hit the tongue first, followed by floral hop notes, grapefruit, pineapple. Nice medium-light body with gentle bitterness in the finish. This is quite good. Maybe not quite world class, but very well balanced and drinkable with some great flavors.

Serving type: on-tap

02-22-2013 06:29:17 | More by largadeer