Big Daddy IPA - Speakeasy Ales & Lagers

lordofstarside

Nevada

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

12oz to a pint glass. Bottled on 10/30/12, a little over three months old, should still be pretty fresh. Just finished reading Elie Wiesel's "Night" along with a book about Clinical Ethics. Needless to say, even though it's only 3pm I could really use a beer :(

Pretty interesting bottle art, the colors and theme make for a nice presentation. The beer pours a nice consistent light gold with a perfect two fingers of head. It receded down to one finger pretty quickly, and is retaining a finger of foam. Mild carbonation stems from the bottom of the glass against perfect clarity with the lacing almost up to par. Nearly a flawless looking beer, a bit more color would have a perfect score. There's an aroma of thick piney hops among a consistent floral citrus base. Notes of orange zest meld well with some grapefruit that comes together with a a solid bready malt. At 6.5% no alcohol comes through, leaving this an above average smelling brew. Taste of moderate hops come along with a rigid malty base. Not much of the citrus from the nose translates well across the palate, leaving the beer a little bland. Feel, like most other beers, is done well, with a crisp body that's a little on the light side. Little to no alcohol in the taste makes this pretty easy to drink, with a dry finish. Overall this is a bit mild for a west coast ipa in the sense more efforts seem to be taken to balance the beer. As always I'm sure the beer would have a stronger hoppy profile fresh off the tap opposed to three and a half months in a bottle, but the malt detracts from much of the other flavors. Still pretty good though, though I've had many better I've had even more a lot worse. Pick it up and give it a try if you have the chance

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 23:18:28 | More by lordofstarside

Pilvi

California

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-25-2013 21:54:47 | More by Pilvi

WizzardOfHops

California

4/5  rDev +7%

05-23-2013 12:28:50 | More by WizzardOfHops

quakeroatmealstout

New York

4.25/5  rDev +13.6%

05-21-2013 02:24:02 | More by quakeroatmealstout

jnardone235

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-20-2013 23:45:38 | More by jnardone235

GratefulTech

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-20-2013 23:29:51 | More by GratefulTech

thinwhiteduke

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%

05-20-2013 01:21:02 | More by thinwhiteduke

TheBattousai

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-20-2013 00:53:36 | More by TheBattousai

KTCamm

New Jersey

3.76/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a twelve ounce bottle into a pint glass.

Pours golden, clear, with 1/4 inch patchy white foam/. Early lacing observed. Leaves islands. Lemon pine nose, sharp. Grapefruit taste, firm hop, even throughout. Latent citrus. Very dry finish, flavorful IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 21:53:13 | More by KTCamm

Satan70

Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%

05-19-2013 19:52:07 | More by Satan70

likeemdark

California

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-19-2013 18:43:16 | More by likeemdark

ssimpson89

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-19-2013 00:19:21 | More by ssimpson89

jbarletto

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-18-2013 21:59:34 | More by jbarletto

BlurryVisi0n

New York

3.83/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Served in a nonic pint glass.

Appearance: super clear yellow/gold with light bubbles on the body. Head is a straight white with no tint rising about 1/3".

Smell: honestly it feels like a strong floral, and after my first sniff it was more like a forest. Honestly no complaints.

Taste: heavy floral, feels light at points granted I am pairing this with an excellent chicken dinner. The hops are strong, definitely room for improvement but still pretty good.

Mouth: medium to heavy, consistent stickiness to the beer.

Overall: good beer and honestly will be ordering another. Have had it before and honestly thought I wrote a review a long time ago about it but I apparently didnt. Salud!

Serving type: on-tap

05-18-2013 03:08:01 | More by BlurryVisi0n

prender1482

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -13.1%

05-18-2013 00:29:47 | More by prender1482

eliz108

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +20.3%

05-17-2013 15:48:30 | More by eliz108

rob99er

California

4/5  rDev +7%

05-17-2013 05:49:54 | More by rob99er

magictacosinus

California

3.34/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a mason jar pint... Because, why not? Consumed on 05/12/13. Review is from my notes.

Produces a golden-amber straw color, complete with 2.5 fingers of head depending on how aggressive the pour was. Some bubbles rise to the top, but luckily the head never fully goes away. No lacing to speak of. Not too viscous in nature, but does look like a thickened IPA as far as the ingredients go. Seems a bit paled, however, and I do prefer my IPAs to shine and glow.

The aroma immediately threw me off with an acrid, skunky earthiness and faded hops, almost to the point where I thought the bottle had been oxidized or was past its prime. However, as I let it sit, the initial off flavors changed for the better, and I got some subtle yet warm lemon rinds, some slight oranges, and an undeniable pine/grass combo from the hop profile. However, this may be TOO subtle, especially when considering the style at hand here. There's a bit of malty sweetness, as well as brief astringency from the hop resins, but otherwise this is not too complex by any means. I wouldn't say it's necessarily "balanced" either!

There's a rush of floral, grassy hop notes, as well as lemon, that melds decently into the crisp grainy profile and finishes with a touch of sweetness and bitterness that is mild yet inoffensive. Slightly earthy, but nothing wrong, unlike the initial skunked phenols in the initial aroma. Not as fruity as I usually like my IPAs, and I'd go as far to call this a golden ale with extra aromatic dry hops included in it. Definitely not too astringent, but the initial burst of floral hops is rather nice. The body is relatively thickened, and to me is the biggest strength of this beer, which makes this easy to drink, if relatively underwhelming.

I remember having Big Daddy in bars across SF years ago when I was first getting into craft and found it to be overwhelmingly mediocre (given the fanboyism that went around for it), but it seems that it might have changed for the better here. There's less of that prickly graininess from the original recipe and little bit more balance here, as well as extra charm added to the hop profile. However, it's not something I'd really have again unless offered.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 16:48:48 | More by magictacosinus

cnbrown313

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%

05-16-2013 13:10:36 | More by cnbrown313

rgilbert

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-15-2013 02:24:58 | More by rgilbert

Drucifer

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%

05-14-2013 13:42:19 | More by Drucifer

cadaugherty

Illinois

4/5  rDev +7%

05-12-2013 15:01:38 | More by cadaugherty

mc4z

California

4.25/5  rDev +13.6%

05-11-2013 06:12:18 | More by mc4z

MidwestBA

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-08-2013 23:16:59 | More by MidwestBA

Hopmarc

Illinois

4/5  rDev +7%

05-07-2013 18:18:28 | More by Hopmarc