Big Rock India Pale Ale - Big Rock Brewery

Intrinsic

Quebec (Canada)

2.88/5  rDev 0%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

You can't say Big Rock didn't try, but this just doesn't work for me. The head disappeared almost immediately after pouring. Its a very flat amber colour. There's a lot of earthy tones in the smell; I can't put my finger on what it is. Slightly malty, not very bitter, has some nice spice qualities to it. The mouthfeel is very nice - the right amount of carbonation with a very dry finish. Although its not horrible, I can't possibly call this average because most IPAs are better than this (except for Alexander Keith's, the worst IPA ever).

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2012 00:53:37 | More by Intrinsic

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

2.85/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

341ml bottle poured into pint glass 16/1/12

A clear copper with a thumbs width of foam that leaves a single ring of lace

S a little herbal hops and citrus, quite malty with a bit of a purple candy smell

T tastes a bit like a brewery smells, some leafy tea bag and not whole lot of what I expect in an IPA

M light with lots of bubbles, grainy finish

O needs some hops there Big Rock, pretty average IPA at the end of the day

pretty basic stuff from a pretty basic brewery, I was told that this new IPA from Big Rock was pretty good and not the same style as an Keiths IPA, I disagree its pretty average

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2012 02:07:47 | More by wordemupg

ericj551

British Columbia (Canada)

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

Big rock IPA pours a bright copper with little head. The aroma is malty and slightly nutty with a herbal, slighty metallic hops. The flavor is like a well balanced pale ale, with some raisiny malt and a moderate bitterness. More herbal, earthy and slightly floral hops pop up in the finish. Overall a pretty mild IPA, hopwise.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 05:36:16 | More by ericj551

Converge

Alberta (Canada)

3.05/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

341ml bottle poured into a 16oz pint glass.

A - Nice foamy two finger head, slightly off-white. Light copper color. The head settles to some light foam and leaves minimal lacing.

S - A surprising amount of fruity hops wafting from the glass. Tons of grapefruit, to the point where it almost smells sour. Floral, piney character and a touch of caramel malt.

T - Definitely leans towards the English style of IPAs. Lots of caramel malt throughout the flavor. Light piney hops rise up in the finish and lend a soft bitterness to the aftertaste. Not a whole lot of hop presence overall. It's alright.

M - Bubbly carbonation, body on the lighter side. Not a fan of the way the carbonation feels.

D - One of the better Big Rock beers I've had so far, but near the bottom of the totem when it comes to domestic IPAs, especially in Western Canada. I'd sooner reach for Tree's HopHead, Paddock Wood's 606, or even GIB's Brockton IPA before this. Still a good beer, but I'll pass next time.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2011 00:30:31 | More by Converge

2.53/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Appearance - light amber with a smallish head that dies away fairly quickly.

Smell - If you swirl the beer vigorously and inhale deeply you can just pick up a whiff of piney hops and some caramel.

Taste - Echoes the aroma of almost nothing. I know there are hops in there, because I could smell them, but there is no bitternes or hop flavour in this beer. It is very clean, and almost lager-like. There is nothing unpleasant about it, there just isn't anything to make it particulaly memorable.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2011 00:00:02 | More by

allergictomacros

Ontario (Canada)

2.8/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A - Pours a clear amber with an OK head.

S - Nose is caramel and molasses. Kind of an off-ish aroma.

T - OK, there's some hops here and some oomph in the malt. husky grain, caramel and roasted bitterness. Sorely lacking in hoppy aromatics though.

M - OK body. A little heft is nice.

D - Wouldn't turn down a free one, but there are better choices out there.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2011 01:38:45 | More by allergictomacros

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.28/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A - clear golden bronze, short white head dissipated fairly quickly to a thin covering, no real lacing
S - herbal and lightly floral, biscuity and grainy, slightly spicy odour
T - mild citrus and tangy hop flavour, bready and biscuity malt, faint earthy finish
M - fairly thin and watery, decent carbonation, not much of a dry or bitter to speak of
O - decent enough in flavour and good to see Big Rock branching out with some more offerings, but generally an average IPA for a risk averse audience

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2011 01:27:07 | More by joemcgrath27

iSip

Colorado

2.55/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Big Rock IPA: Living in the Colorado Rockies, I guess I am spoiled by New Belgium Ranger, Great Divided Titan and the Odell IPA. On the visit to the Canadian Rockies, where the scenery is stunning, I was expecting the same from the local IPA. The Big Rock Brewery (Calgary) IPA was a bit of a disappointment. The head is thin and fades quickly. Nice copper color, but no notable aroma. Mouthfeel is good, and flavor OK. Smooth malt up front and a bit of bitter to the back. Not a bad beer, but definitely not a statement IPA. Is it even a pale ale? Someone in Calgary needs to ramp up the hoppitude and create an IPA to match the grand peaks of the Canadian Rockies.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2011 15:06:05 | More by iSip

canucklehead

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

It is nice to see the Magpie and the IPA back in stores again but I agree with other reviewers that the craft market has evolved and Big Rock needs to step their game up if they want some respect in that consumer group. This is a weird beer because as an IPA it fails completely but as an amber ale it actually is not bad. The problem is lack of hops even for an English style IPA this is malt forward. It is very drinkable , nicely balanced and quite a full mouthfeel for a Big Rock beer but it tastes like an amber ale. No IPA but a decent beer from a brewery in need of a winner.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2011 17:16:36 | More by canucklehead

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.54/5  rDev +22.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

341ml single, a weird surprise upon my return to the embrace of Calgary liquor stores. Apparently, this is different than the new small-batch Alpha Dog IPA available around town on draft.

This beer pours a clear pale golden amber colour, with two fingers of puffy, broadly foamy, soapy bone-white head, which settles in a fairly lazy manner, leaving a decent wall of Chantilly lace around the glass.

It smells of biscuity, mildly caramelized malt, lightly citrusy floral hops, and a hint of earthy spice, which is so far just as expected (of the brewer, if not quite the style). The taste is a nice even lightly bready, fairly biscuity malt, a touch of leafy tea, and some very mild musty citrus hops.

The carbonation is quite moderate, if a tad peppy here and there, the body generally light in weight. It finishes with an ethereally bland earthy hoppiness that is hard to pin down, nor to assign blame.

I never had a chance to try the Big Rock IPA in its previous incarnation, so the release of these two new IPAs in such a short time frame is confusing, but I'll do my best. This is a somewhat decent, adequately hopped English rendition of the style, and quite easy to put back. I'd likely order this in a pub - just not over another properly put-out American version. Which just happened to be the case at a recent apres-soccer event - good for BR.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2011 05:40:45 | More by biboergosum

markaberrant

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A - clear, croppy, frothy white head persists

S - holy crap, I can actually smell some hops in a Big Rock beer. Light citrus hops, but quickly overtaken by wet cardboard, sweet malt

T - clean crisp malt, soft malt sweetness, a hint, I mean just a hint of citrus hops, very light bitterness, some of that Big Rock metallic finish, though not as bad as most

M - ok I guess

O - ridiculously easy to drink, the flavours that are there are good, but they are so mild and disappear so quickly, that you have no choice but to take another gulp

Somewhat reminiscent of Pils Urquell in a weird sort of way (mild hoppiness, malty, yet very crisp, and a quickly disipating aftertaste). While it is a poor excuse for an IPA, I would drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2011 03:27:37 | More by markaberrant

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

3.18/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Looks like Big Rock is trying to get back to its roots. Picked up this one alongside their new Magpie Rye Ale.

A - Pours a nice copper colour, thin layer of head with no retention or lacing.

S - Pretty mild on the nose with sweet caramel coming through alongside some faint bitter hops.

T - Pretty disappointing for an IPA with only a mild bitterness that comes across the palette and lingers alongside the caramel malts. The hops have a bit of a grassy taste as well. It's definitely a bit more full flavoured than their other offerings, but still a tad mild.

M - A tad thin for my liking and could use a bit more lift, again a tad disappointing.

O - Overall, I commend Big Rock on their efforts to re-establish their roots, however, the craft market has evolved. The bar has been raised and they'll have to put out something a bit more extreme in order to consider themselves to be fair competitors.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2011 00:17:31 | More by andrenaline

mrmanning

Ontario (Canada)

2.73/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Bottle- Dark gold pour with good froth atop and nice lace. Strange aroma is funk, with some malt/hop aromas, grains, and slight leaf. Bitter hoppy flavours with mild malt to back it up. Bready bitter finish with just a touch of sweetness. Nothing fantastic, but better than most of the BMC fare available in this area.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2010 19:31:02 | More by mrmanning

Noxious26

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.1/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

341ml bottle poured in a pint glass.

Nice, clear, orange-copper colour. Head is off-white, but what little there is on the pour quickly disappears to a thin ring around the edge.

Aroma is both hoppy and malty. Reasonably balanced, but perhaps leaning a little towards the hop side. A bit of sweetness in caramel undertones.

Taste is mildly hoppy with some sweet/malt undertones. Finishes lightly bitter moving into a piney-hop bitter aftertaste. A little bit of a grainy undertone throughout.

Mouthfeel is fairly crisp and clean. Moderately carbonated and light-medium bodied.

This is a pretty uncomplicated, clean tasting beer. Only, instead of being labeled an English IPA, I'd put it more in the English Pale Ale bracket. However, even then it's just average. None the less, this is still preferable to Rickard's "IPA" or Keith's "IPA".

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2005 03:44:53 | More by Noxious26

fisherman34

Manitoba (Canada)

2.88/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A light copper IPA. It was much lighter in both appearance and flavor than I was expecting. Smelled like what you would expect from an "almost macro, not quite micro anymore" kind of brewery: some nice but very weak floral and malt aromas. A bit on the watery side going down, with less malt caramel malt flavor than other IPA's I've had. Easy drinking, but not anything special. Closer to a real IPA than Keiths, but not by much.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2005 20:29:13 | More by fisherman34

DrJay

Massachusetts

2.33/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Very clear golden amber colour. Large rocky white head settled rapidly to a thin lace. The majority of the aroma came from malt - grainy, caramel and some sweetness. There was also a small amount of earthy hop aroma.

Same earthy hops in the flavour, still on the low side. Balanced towards grainy sweetness with a mild, yet harsh, bitterness. Medium/light body and moderate carbonation. Short, medium dry finish. Not what I expect from an IPA.

341 mL brown bottle, no freshness date on label or bottle.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2005 19:24:03 | More by DrJay

3Vandoo

Quebec (Canada)

2.95/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A very pale beer very yellow, there pale ale and there are PALE ale, very pale I thought my beer was now albinos or looked liked Mr. Jackson.
Not much head, nothing much and not much carbonisations, a very dull beer to look at.

Smells of caramel and a wee shy bit of malt, nothing much to brag about.

taste was in the following, caramel, maltish then hops and very boring.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2005 04:38:07 | More by 3Vandoo

CAMRAhardliner

Ontario (Canada)

2.2/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

I saw a few singles of this at the liquor store and although Im not a fan of Big Rock beers I thought it was worth a try.

It pours a deep gold color with a wispy head and some nice lace. The carbonation is very sparse, strangely so. The aroma is of diacetyl and cooked vegetables, horrible. The taste is a little better, it reminds me of a highly hopped macro lager. Theres a strong adjunct flavor that mingles with some hop bitterness. The finish is sweetish and theres an underlying gasoline flavor. The mouthfeel is thick and even mouthcoating, its the opposite of 'crisp' I guess.

Alleged 'IPAs' like this and the dreadful Alexander Keith's are doing a disservice to Canadian Brewing. They lack the hops, strength and even the malt character of real IPAs. All I can say is thank god for Scotch Irish and their mighty IPAs.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2004 03:15:34 | More by CAMRAhardliner

rajendra82

Georgia

2.93/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Sent as a part of BIF 13 (from hell) package by drewbage, this had the potential of being a decent brew, as I generally like the style.

The beer poured with classic IPA look, orange amber body, and a creamy off-white head leaving lots of lace. The aroma was very subdued, with earthy English hops, and light notes of alcohol. The taste was very bland, with a caramel sweetness, hop bitterness, and citrus twang in very light proportions. The mouthfeel was crisp and dry.

This appears to be representative of the school of thought, that IPAs were traditionally brewed extra strong for the ocean voyage and diluted after getting to India. This pretty much tastes like an American Double IPA mixed with equal parts water. I prefer for them to hold the water and pass the beer to me straight from the ship.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2004 05:08:51 | More by rajendra82

slitherySOB

Ontario (Canada)

3.08/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Definitely not a hop monster. A thirst quencher, nothing more. Big Rock IPA pours an almost orange colour, with a fingernail of foam for a head. Lace sticks to the glass lightly, giving it an almost residual look. Smells a bit hoppy. Lemon and grass. Sweet malt as well, which dominates the scent. I know this isn't going to be a strong IPA. Tastes better than I thought. Lightly sweet, crisp, dry and grassy. Their is an earthy bitterness. Not very hoppy, but more hoppy than a usual pale ale. Aftertaste is crisp and grassy yet again. Good on a hot day like today. Carbonated mouthfeel leaves the mouth quenched. Decent session beer, but not for someone looking for a hop bomb, or even a hop firecracker.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2004 02:28:51 | More by slitherySOB

the42ndtourist

Ontario (Canada)

2.55/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

disappointing. My first beer back in Canada after 9 months away... I went into the local beer store, took a while to choose - very few micros here. I didn't feel like Unibroue, and KLB doesn't come in sixes. So there was Big Rock. They're pretty hit and miss - this is a miss

a reddish amber hue, with a thin head on top. This doesn't stick around. Some corn in the body, along with some slight roast malts. Hops are recalcitrant to say the least (especially in a new world IPA). No distinguishing flavour to this beer, unfortunately.

Goes down more easily than most Molson or Labatt products, at least (less corn in the Big Rock).

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2004 15:15:56 | More by the42ndtourist

Popsinc

Ontario (Canada)

2.28/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

The pour is of a nice amber colour accompanied by a minimal white head. Right off the bat the nose gets my attention. Why? Beacause this is absolutely NOT what i expected from an IPA. Dull malty notes and grainy sweetness. The taste does not get much better. Like a bad malt liquor this beer is grainy and matly sweet with little depth or mouthpleasing qualities. The mouthfeel is fizzy and the body is light with a watered-down finish. I was quite disappointed considering I quite enjoy the big Rock Traditional Ale & Warthog Ale.

Thumbs down.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2004 19:02:23 | More by Popsinc

TheLongBeachBum

California

2.08/5  rDev -27.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Presentation: 11.5 fluid ounce (341ml) brown glass bottle, with a twist-off crown cap. The neck label has the Brewery name ‘BigRock’, whilst the dark blue colored main label has a picture of a snowy mountain gorge and the letters 'IPA', a well as 'India Pale Ale', just in case you did not know what it stood for. Described as, “Traditionally Brewed in Canada”.

Appearance: Amber color with a white head that stays at ½” for a minute, or two, before it totally disappears. Minimal carbonation. This looks old, but there is no freshness date on the bottle, and it looks new, so I guess it is fresh – I will assume so.

Nose: Sweaty grass, with a moldy odor and damp biscuit malt. Nothing like a lambic mustiness which I would not mind – this is more of an “old” locker-room sweaty sock smell. Rather offensive.

Taste: Awful, not to my liking at all. An aged mustiness is all pervasive, and ruins the beer completely. Has a taste of damp grass, germinated malts, and a sweet biscuit aspect in the middle that is totally out of place for an IPA. Only the mustiness lingers, and I wish it would go away. Did I miss the Hops? Guess So.

Mouthfeel: Extremely light. What it does have, is short lived.

Drinkability: Not my favorite beer, a bit of a struggle, and one I would definitely pass on if I had the unfortunate experience of being offered one at a Canadian BBQ.

Overall: An experience soon forgotten. A poor beer both in quality and exponentiation of the IPA style, and that’s being Polite.
A “Small Pebble”, rather than a “Big Rock”.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2003 19:51:26 | More by TheLongBeachBum

tavernjef

Minnesota

2.8/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

IPA? I don't think so. Color is fine, a lighter amberish glowing hue with a firm one finger high head of white foam, leaves some drippy lace. Smell is musty grass, slightly sweet with a bit of a hop and malt note, but overall musty sourness, not to pleasant, sorry to say. Taste is a little bit sweet of malt and grains, musty as well, but weak and thinned out. Hardly even a pale and non compliant to being an IPA. Where's the hops already? Feel is light, thin, pale, and watery, drinkable, nah, passable, yah. Sorry Big Rock, you're not so big here.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2003 16:30:50 | More by tavernjef

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

2.6/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Big Rock had a pretty decent pale ale out a few years ago called Chinook that I rather liked. It suddenly disappeared and was replaced by this IPA, which is more of a pseudo-IPA. The colour is a nice deep gold, but the head is lacking, and retention is a no show. The nose is hoppy, as is the flavour, and it lingers in the aftertaste as well. Normally I stand behind the Big Rock Brewery, they do some mighty fine work, but this particular offering is disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2003 21:41:57 | More by IronDjinn