Boatswain American I.P.A. - Minhas Craft Brewery

ESPNman

California

2.33/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Purchased at Trader Joe's (for a couple of bucks), served in a standard pint glass.

A - Orange, bordering on copper, with a thin white head that stuck around for a bit. Some lacing.

S - Corn, sugar, and that's about it. Nothing that sould make me think that this is anything other than a malt liquor. Zero hops.

T - Much like the smell, it reminded me more of Steel Reserve than Sierra Nevada's Torpedo. Thick corn and syrup malts cut by the faintest hint of floral hops. An IPA this is not.

M - Not bad, actually. Decent carbonation with a just-right thickness for the style. Definitely the highlight for this beer.

O - Do not recommend. It's pretty awful, and not a true IPA. Do yourself a favor and keep moving if you see this on the shelf, there are better representations of this style out there.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 00:00:23 | More by ESPNman

Asics

Washington

2.75/5  rDev -0.7%

05-16-2013 10:55:44 | More by Asics

JayQue

Virginia

3.34/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Interesting beer. As an IPA, it is very mediocre. Thin mouthfeel, weak nose, lacking in hoppy goodness. As a session type beer, labeled as an ESB instead of an IPA and considering it is $1.99 for a 22 oz bomber, this is not bad at all!!!!

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a pint glass. Clear copper color, medium size fizzy white head with spotty lacing and average retention. The aroma is just not there as an IPA. Call it something else and it is more acceptable....light grassy and floral hops and a little biscuity/bready malt.

Taste is fine (as an ESB or Amber Ale, but not an IPA). Grassy and floral hops, some bitterness but not the hop bomb that the term AIPA conjures up. Nice balance between biscuity/toasty malt and the mild bitterness.

Mouthfeel is pretty thin for an IPA, more acceptable for another style. Nice balance, somewhat crisp and refreshing.

For a $1.99 22 ouncer, Trader Joe's has done pretty well. As a lawnmower beer/summer quencher...not bad at that price. Not a particularly impressive IPA though.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 02:05:23 | More by JayQue

fastrodney

North Carolina

1.5/5  rDev -45.8%

05-08-2013 00:23:06 | More by fastrodney

MilkManX

Arizona

3/5  rDev +8.3%

04-26-2013 20:37:12 | More by MilkManX

zoolou

Iowa

1.35/5  rDev -51.3%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.25

Tastes like a 'hoppy' forty. The smell reminded me of bad college parties and the taste didn't do much to help. Smell has a corny/syrupy aroma with some indistinct hops, and the taste is a little better, especially when it warms up a bit, but misses the mark completely when compared to even 'middle of the road' IPA's.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 02:43:11 | More by zoolou

grubefresh

Arizona

2.75/5  rDev -0.7%

04-23-2013 02:32:01 | More by grubefresh

jadams11

Virginia

1/5  rDev -63.9%

04-14-2013 19:33:49 | More by jadams11

BucannonXC5

California

2.29/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 2.25

Type: 22-oz. bomber
Glass: Firestone restaurant glass
From: Trader Joe’s in Grossmont Center (San Diego), Calif.
Price: $1.99
Purchased: April 4, 2013
Consumed: April 4, 2013
Misc.: N/A

Poured a caramel copper hazy color with two fingers of off-white head. Reminded me of an packaged Lipton iced tea. Good amount of sporadic lacing on the sides of the glass. Very good retention (thick and white) on top all the way down.

Smelled surprisingly (but not surprisingly considering it’s a Boatswain) malts more than hops. Got bread, roasty nuts, caramel and toffee malts. Earthy, grainy hops, probably more resin than grass. Definitely some skunkiness in there.

Medium body. Oily texture. Average carbonation. Abrupt, bitter finish.

About what I’d expect from Boatswain, but it was $1.99. Had to give it the old college try.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 04:45:01 | More by BucannonXC5

Spikester

Oregon

2.78/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Pours hazy amber with one finger of off white head. Some lacing early on.
Smell is slight floral hops maybe some citrus.
Taste is is pink grapefruit with a full backing of malt syrup?
Mouthfeel is average. A medium semi dry finish.
Overall a simple IPA much closer to a Pale Ale or even a hoppy Amber. Very drinkable though.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2013 02:45:47 | More by Spikester

BeerNinja007

New Hampshire

1.88/5  rDev -32.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 1.75

Can't believe I'm trying another one of these Trader Joe's beers, after the revolting experience I had with the Boatswain Twin Screw Steamer Double IPA. This one can't possibly be any worse. From that perspective there's definitely room for improvement, but that's not saying much.

22oz bomber for $2.49 at Trader Joe's in Newington, NH. Served cold in a tulip. Code 13 310 14 stamped on the bottle, whatever the hell that means. Hopefully that's not secret code for "ass beer".

A: Hazy reddish copper brew, fizzy light brown head 1 finger high from a moderate pour. At least it looks like beer so far.

S: Immediately upon pouring it put up a decent amount of rough hop aroma, but this faded away too quickly for me to really get a handle on it. What's left is a clean semi-sweet light malty backbone with some raw starchy grain aspects. Smells almost like a cheap Euro Dortmunder/ Export lager. Hops are completely gone at this point, like a fart in the wind. At least it doesn't smell like asparagus piss like the last one did. (Sorry, still hung up on that nasty Twin Screw Steamer).

T: This is pretty rough. A tad bit of coarse malt and a mild generic hop, combined with an equal amount of green vegetable stuff and a really pungent EtOH peppery heat. Tons of fusels. Wow. Like half as nasty as the other one. Yes an improvement, but nowhere near enough of one that I'm glad to be drinking this. Borderline drainpour material. Really unrefined, raw, choppy. What a train wreck. Who the hell is making this stuff??

As it warms/ airs, counterintuitively, it seems to improve a bit. Maybe some of the offensive volatile stuff is burning away, who knows. A light syrupy sweetness emerges to balance out the raw grain. Some mildly tropical thing going on in the body. Not much hop still... just a tad bit of generic bittering hop in the finish, mixed up with the fusels and rubbing alcohol.

M: Unbelievable how poorly-hidden the EtOH is. It's only 6.7% but I'm pretty sure you could dilute rubbing alcohol down to this point with pure water and it'd go down more smoothly. Carbo is appropriate. At least it's not flat or overly fizzy, so at least I can give them that much.

D: A step up from the Twin Screw, but again that's not saying much. Not worth $2.50. If I was a homeless bum and this was $1, it might be an option versus MD 20/20 or Boone's Farm every now and then.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2013 03:53:48 | More by BeerNinja007

DmanGTR

New York

1.44/5  rDev -48%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.25

Bottle from TJ's. Was only $2.39 for a bomber so I thought nothing to lose...

Poured a deep amber, very clear, with a short lived billowing off-white head. Scant lace left behind as the head receded. It kind of looked dead after the head died down. Giving a sniffy sniff, I must say that it was superbly underwhelming. Nose is faint overall even though I poured the beer slightly below room temperature. Bit of malt and biscuit in the backbone and mild herbal notes. Bit of fruit that seems like a blend of dried orange peel, lychee, and bitter herbs. The flavor is very much like the aroma but there is a metallic distastefulness that sends it all down the drain. Barely any citrus or pine notes that I would expect in an IPA. I'm struggling here to find anything appealing about this beer. Body is pretty hefty for the mild carbonation, almost a slick feel to the beer. The beer kind of starts off with the sweetness of malt, then picks up the herbs and mild citrus, then dies, leaving only a scant bitterness in the finish.

I found water to be more appealing than this.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2013 03:21:13 | More by DmanGTR

rodney45

New York

2.89/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

A: Amber brown with a small head that laces the glass throughout.

S: Boozy and malt smelling with little hop aroma.

T: First notes are of crystal malt and cracked wheat. Secondary flavors are of light hops and a second dose of crystal and munich malts. Finish is not dry and has distinct flavors of cherry and belgian candied sugar.

M: Medium to mid heavy mouthfeel with low carbonation and little bitterness.

O: Middle of the line brew, not bad for the price of 2.79 for 22 oz. I'd def buy again because although it doesnt seem like a traditional IPA, it isnt bad. Its more along the lines of a scotch ale or a blond ale gone dark. I liked it, and i'd recommend it (for the price.)

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2013 07:50:21 | More by rodney45

SolaceBrewing

California

1.83/5  rDev -33.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 1.75

22 oz Bottle from Trader Joe's

Appearance - amber/orange in color; one finger head that disappears within a minute; somewhat darker than I would expect for an IPA

Aroma - faint alcohol; little to no hop aroma; hints of sweet malt

Flavor - bitingly sweet malt flavor; if this was homebrew, I would think that I needed to repitch yeast to continue fermentation; subdued hop bitterness, with little to no hop flavor

Mouthfeel - syrupy; carbonation level is good--a good balance of tingly and smooth on the tongue

Overall - I'm glad I didn't pay more than $2 for this. It is not something I would drink again. It is also lacking in hop flavor, aroma, and bitter/malt balance I would expect from an American IPA. I couldn't finish the bottle and dumped it.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 21:25:25 | More by SolaceBrewing

spokeydonkey

New York

2.25/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Got a bomber of this at Trader Joe's for under $3. Bottle claims 75 IBUs, 15.46 plato starting gravity and 6.7% ABV, which would make a pretty dry, hoppy IPA. Unfortunately, it tastes like none of these things. Their "appearance," listed as "brown" is spot on (bear in mind, this is an India PALE ale).

Appearance: Dark amber-brown. Definitely not a pale ale of any variety. Looks fairly clear wit a decent off-white ead.

Smell: Lots of caramel malt and some citrusy hops.

Taste: UGH! There's only a few beers I've poured out, but this is one of them. Syrupy caramel and cloying sweetness. Can't detect much in the way of hops. Way out of balance for the style and for any beer in general.

Mouthfeel: Syrupy. Didn't get past that and didn't want to.

Overall: Barely drinkable. The sweetness and lack of hop flavor is offensive. I dumped it. If you like sweet, low-bitterness beers relying heavily on caramel flavor, this might be up your alley. If you're looking for an IPA, look elsewhere! I dumped this and grabbed a Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye for my hops fix.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2013 23:31:25 | More by spokeydonkey

MikalMick

Florida

3.25/5  rDev +17.3%

01-06-2013 23:49:19 | More by MikalMick

barczar

Kentucky

2.95/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a slightly hazy deep copper with a dense one inch cream head that lingers. Leaves thick lacing as it eventually dissipates.

Citrus zest, pine, floral hops, and lightly toasted malt form the initial aroma. There's a skunky note, as well as a hint of onion and earthy hops.

Flavor is way too sweet. Caramel malt, slightly toasted breadcrust, and buttery toffee form the initial profile. There's an underpinning of floral hops and grapefruit pith, but the sweetness of the malt dominates into the lightly bitter finish.

Body is pretty full, with fairly low carbonation, which compounds the syrupy mouthfeel. There's significant grainy astringency at the finish.

Overall, wish the flavor followed the aroma more closely. Cloyingly sweet, and masked the hop profile.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2013 20:30:01 | More by barczar

markipa1

Massachusetts

2.48/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

This is so far from what I think of as an "American IPA", that name is almost laughable. If you are a true fan of American IPA's, just avoid this. It's drinkable, more like an amber, but has none of qualities one would associate with a decent IPA.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 23:15:56 | More by markipa1

cliff1066

Virginia

2.75/5  rDev -0.7%

12-22-2012 21:43:27 | More by cliff1066

Offa

California

3.13/5  rDev +13%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is a decent beer, hardly great and rather rough and simple, but a solid, enjoyable beer and good with food.

Pale golden copper, it has a medium off-white head steadily shrinking to thin ring.

Aroma is bread crust, hint of metal and coins, hint of citrus - orange flowers, and dusty pine.

Taste is alcoholic orange flowers, jammy with hints of bread crust, fruit candy. It's a bit sweet with only light spicy bitterness, and it's a bit rough and simple, but it's nice tasting nonetheless and is quite enjoyable with food, where it holds up well.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2012 00:27:30 | More by Offa

mactrail

California

2.6/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Very dark hazy amber in the New Belgium tulip. Really nice cloud of foam on this with plentiful lacing and sudsy mouthfeel.

The sweet flavor is kind of a shock. It's sweeter than a bock beer. It's like a DIPA missing the hops. I'm always complaining about abusive levels of bitterness, but hot this one. It's so unhoppy I'd have to call it insipid, like a malt liquor. There is a leaf mold sort of smell, with a bitterish murky taste that must have something to do with hops.

Overall, this has that nasty sweet 'n' bitter combination that usually signals "drainpour" for me. However, I had a bottle of Knee Deep Simtra open, which is a ticking hop bomb. Mixed fifty-fifty it wasn't a bad combination. But what do you want for two bucks? Rubber biscuit?

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2012 07:24:09 | More by mactrail

ssimpson89

Illinois

2/5  rDev -27.8%

12-07-2012 01:34:51 | More by ssimpson89

LXIXME

New Mexico

3.53/5  rDev +27.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A medium sized light tan head settles into a nice lacing on a clear orangeish copper colored beer that seems to have a fair amount of carbonation.

Light sweet malts with a light orange citrus aroma.

A light almost bitter dryish citrus taste with some light sweet malts adding balance to this drink.

There is a light sweet malty dryish aftertaste on this medium bodied beer.

For the price this was a pretty good deal, decent to better taste on a relatively cheap bottle of beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2012 03:09:28 | More by LXIXME

buckyp

South Carolina

2.75/5  rDev -0.7%

11-24-2012 00:12:06 | More by buckyp

Simlaw111

New Jersey

4.08/5  rDev +47.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I think the problem with this beer is naming it an IPA, being from England and growing up on traditional bitter, I really like this beer. It is nowhere near as complex and aromatic as an American IPA should be but for a pleasant quaffable beer it hits the mark. Perhaps thats why they put it in a 22 oz bottle, of course you do not want to drink it in the same volume as an English bitter as its considerably stronger than most.

Overall a good beer if you forget the IPA rating.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 20:47:27 | More by Simlaw111