Front Street Port City IPA - Front Street Brewery

jcran83

4.73/5  rDev +39.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

awesome IPA, these guys have done a great job of making a spot on IPA. perfect in golden color. the American hop variety was chosen perfectly. these guys really took their time with this. i'm glad to see this beer goes back to tradition, they have crafted this beer to taste, look, smell and feel like a traditional IPA and they have done it.

Serving type: on-tap

09-19-2012 22:01:38 | More by jcran83

CrellMoset

Virginia

4/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Front Street IPA, on tap at Front Street Brewery. Enjoyed on my last trip to Wilmington.

Appearance: Arrives a light golden in hue, spot on color-wise, really - not too dark, not too bright. The head is about one finger high, rocky, with admirable retention, and after fading leaves a good thick ring with nice crunchy lacing dripping along the sides of the glass, a foamy collar, and faint surface dusting. What one expects from a highly hopped IPA.

Aroma: Cascade herbal and citrus notes warmly greet the nose, a little faint though gradually intensifying as this one approaches room temperature. It's probably more herbal than citrusy, and at least more herbal and grassy than pure Cascade would suggest - perhaps there's some Amarillo here, though it's a little less leafy than Amarillo. There's an underlying canned sugar syrup sweetness to the proceedings, too, slightly roasted, though it blends well with the fruityness of the hop profile.

Taste: Mild bitterness greets the tongue, enhanced and amplified by the relatively dryness of the body. Dashes of grapefruit and orange mingle with tobacco and hints of mint, though the hop profile is somewhat pithy rather than juicy, again likely in part because of the dryness of the crackery, roasted base.

Mouthfeel: Bright and fluffy, amplifying the bitterness again above the levels I imagine it's present at (IBU-wise). It manages to remain fairly smooth and even despite the carbonation levels, to its credit.

Drinkability: An above-average IPA, though it doesn't really differentiate itself from the slew of other above-average IPAs out there (is that a knock against it?) or particularly excel in any one category. If I could take any single beer at Front Street and choose it as my "After Work Friday" beer, this would be it. Quite quaffable.

Serving type: on-tap

01-16-2011 04:31:15 | More by CrellMoset

blackie

Virginia

3.68/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a: poured into a standard pint glass, golden amber in color with a decent layer of white head

s: lots of raw citrus rind hops on a benign body of pale malts - nothing more than a support structure for the grapefruit hop profile, nice and pungent

m: light-medium in body with a lively carbonation

t: much like the nose, a lighter pale malt body holds loads of citrus pith hop flavor, grapefruit, light metal, strongly bitter, unbalanced towards the hop end but tasty all the same

d: a little acrid or harsh at times, but a nice ipa that's easily drinkable

growler sourced from the brewery by a friend, enjoyed while camping streamside in the Pisgah forest

Serving type: growler

09-24-2010 02:53:25 | More by blackie

beer2day

North Carolina

4.35/5  rDev +27.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Deep orange gold pour into FSB pint glass. Thin head. Very nice sparse lace.

Nose feels a bit dirty and unfinished. Very earthy with weak grapefruit.

Deep hop taste all the way through. Extremely bitter finish. Oily. Very nice hop taste with citrus and tad bit of pine.

Malt body stands up to the hops well.

Great drinker. Easy to have 2 or 3 of these.

Serving type: on-tap

08-24-2010 15:04:49 | More by beer2day

Gavage

New Jersey

4.33/5  rDev +27.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: clear orange in color with a one finger head that lasts. Some lace paints the glass during the session.

Smell: nice floral hop aroma and some softer orange citrus is easy to detect with the nose.

Taste: caramel, orange citrus, some floral tones, and a soft but sharp bitterness arrives late. Well balanced.

Mouthfeel: nicely crisp throughout. Aftertaste is surprisingly brief. Medium bodied beer.

Drinkability: this beer went down quickly and it was a bit refreshing too. If on tap make sure you grab a pint or two.

Serving type: on-tap

08-06-2009 11:43:13 | More by Gavage

ewright

North Carolina

3.83/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Reviewing the first pint poured from a 2 week old growler. There was barely any audible noise when I unscrewed the lid.

A: A moderate pour formed a decent half inch head with some rocky bubbles emerging in a fairly creamy looking head. The beer is a bit dark for an IPA, more like an amber beer in color. There is noticeable carbonation in the beer, which is making me feel better about the lack of sound.

S: There isn't much up front in the nose... faint toffee and citrus, but not much else.

T: Ahh, all the hops must have been added early on. There is a bracing hop bite right up front, with hints of orange and grapefruit. Good malt profile shows up later, with toffee and toast.

M: Very smooth with bits of prickly carbonation. Something in the aftertaste leaves just a bit of tongue-puckering.

D: A very drinkable, session strength east-coast IPA. I'd definitely get this one again.

Serving type: growler

05-04-2008 15:21:23 | More by ewright

brentk56

North Carolina

3.83/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Arrives at the table with a light amber color and a modest head that leaves little lace

Smell: Grapefruity aromatics

Taste: Fruity up front with a nice grapefruity flavor; after the swallow, the bitterness is somewhat pithy

Mouthfeel: Medium body with low carbonation

Drinkability: Nice flavor but a touch undercarbonated

Serving type: on-tap

08-12-2007 21:10:36 | More by brentk56

MuddyFeet

North Carolina

3.2/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served pint at the brewpub this afternoon.

Poured a subtle copper color. Very much transparent. Head of white foam that quickly dissolved. Nose was essentially non-present. Picked out just a slight hint of hops. Flavor was very subtle for an American IPA. More akin to an English style with an amped up hop bill but not particularly bitter or powerful. Malts quickly overpowered any real bitterness. Medium mouthfeel.

I have a hunch this would be quite nice if served on cask and dry hopped.

Serving type: on-tap

05-15-2007 22:14:11 | More by MuddyFeet