IPA - Lakefront Brewery, Inc.

jwc215

New Jersey

4.43/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Brewed in Feb - notched on label:

Pours chill-hazed orange amber with a thin lasting creamy white head. Foamy rings of lacing stick.

The smell is of grapefruity citrus, some tropical fruits and a peppery spicing. There's a slight, mild bready touch. Beautiful hop aroma!

The taste is citric - grapefruit, with a hint of apricot and orange and a touch of (coconut?) tropical. A slight hint of resin shows. Peppery spicing adds another hop dimension (though might be coming from alcohol). A touch of toast and malt sweetness round it out in the finish...enough to keep it bitter, but rounded. Slight alcohol shows in the finish, but doesn't interfere. Hops come back in aftertaste - always a good thing!

It has a chewy medium body.

Big on hops, maintaining flavor rather than just bitterness. Glad this one recently showed up in my area...hope it's here to stay!

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2010 22:54:54 | More by jwc215

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked up a bottle from Abe's in Bethlehem. Pours a hazy amber with a white head and lacing. Hmm, this one could be old. Thanks Abe.

Still a good beer, regardless of age. The hops have a great sticky citrus and floral perfume flavor underpinned with a biscuit malt backbone. This is a very nice, juicy and bitter IPA with a bit of malt balance. The body is a quite drinkable, and fairly sessionable. I'll have to try this one again.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2008 00:23:01 | More by tempest

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.68/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appears a golwing orange semi clouded with yeast sediment, light orange tinted cream head forms thick and billows above the edge of my glass. Aroma has sharp grapefruit and floral with earthy hops bursting, layers of sugar coated hops have existed with layers of the pale malt biscuit qualities. Flavor has piercing hop bitterness that comes through with citrus and floral hop flavor, semi sweet malt ridden with a hop combo. This is my kind of hoppy IPA. Mothfeel is medium bodied slick with hop oils perfect carbonation level compared to those other IPAs, go tell your friends about this one. Lakefront IPA may be one of the most drinkable versions I've come across pure lovely hop combo with pale malt sweetness to back it up.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2009 17:34:03 | More by WVbeergeek

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.9/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a golden opaque color with a small white head. Nose had a nice hop aroma. Taste was not over the top but more of a good balanced IPA. Not to much of anything. It seemed like a mix of American and English style. Taste was nice, fruit undertones, slightly hoppy, chewy, backbone with a nice ABV which left it sessionable. Tasty and very drinkable. Nice change of pace from the West Coast IPAs I am use to.

Serving type: on-tap

06-15-2009 22:10:28 | More by barleywinefiend

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Explosive opening, lost about a tenth of the bottle. Very cloudy (almost like a wheat beer). Light amber with a touch of orange. Surprisingly moderate head. It lasts, though, and leaves rocky lace.

Nicely balanced aroma, perhaps more malty than a typical IPA, but still quite attractive.

Creamy and malty in the initial sip. Great hop presence without overwhelming. A very easy-to-drink beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2008 21:53:55 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

3.53/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks goes out to Buebie for this brew.

Pours a nice cloudy golden orange color, nice carbonation, very nice one-finger creamy off-white head, with lots of nice sticky lacing. The nose is hoppy, with some malts, slight citrus/pine. The taste is hoppy, with some malt notes, citrus, slight pine. Medium body. Drinkable, not a bad IPA.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2009 01:51:54 | More by Wasatch

Billolick

New York

3.98/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

on tap at the Gate in Brooklyn NY, pours lighter honey amber, typical tan head shows decent retention and then leaves scattered lacing on the glass. Grainy hop nose gleefully portends what is to come. Hops come through loud and clear, grainy and also somewhat floral. Nice enough stuff that seems to have made the trip from good ole Wisconsin in fine form. Nice serviceable and quite enjoyable IPA

Serving type: on-tap

12-18-2008 04:27:20 | More by Billolick

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.53/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Murky looking dark amber. Thin off white head. Lace is moderate. I love this hop aroma. It's piney, but it's also pungent, oily and resiny. On the palate, I notice a nice malt base with the toffee and caramel. Big and full bodied feel to this beer. Viscosity is on the high end of the spectrum. Hops give this beer a lot of character. This is unique in a way because of the emphasis on the dirty, grimy greasy characterstics of the hop flower. Oily and pungent. A little of that bong residue feel to it. And some pineapple juice as well to cap it off. I like it. Haven't reviewed a Lakefront beer in a long time, but this one is pretty damn good.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2008 04:58:16 | More by Bighuge

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.4/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Good orange and brown notes in the color. Thick head.

Very sour for what an ipa should be. Thick ale. Bitter. Hops not as citrusy as I would have expected, went for more of a big bitterness than a dry hopped citrus feel. A little metallic down the bottle, more malt heavy at the end. Drinkable as it comes at a fair price, but is more like a hodepodge of ipa, imperial esb and a sour. Unique. I'd call it another winner from Lakefront, but far from their best effort.

EDIT: These have shown up in Reno! Wow, some good stuff here, but you can't really go big hops on this one. There's some, and they're better than average, but Total Wine needs to try and order less, because it sticks around on the shelf for like 6 months.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2010 00:10:32 | More by Beerandraiderfan

glid02

Georgia

3.85/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Picked this up as a single at Green's on Ponce in Atlanta.

Pours a very cloudy light copper color with a one-finger white head. The head dissipates into a scaly layer of bubbles on top and a medium-sized ring around the glass. Lacing is decent.

Smells of citrus with a good malt backbone. Floral aromas sneak out every now and then.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Lots of citrus up front soon overtaken by robust malt flavors. There's a mild bitterness at the end. It's good, but none of the flavors really jump out.

Mouthfeel is good. It's a bit thin but the carbonation is good and it goes down pretty smoothly.

Drinkability is good. As I said before none of the flavors have a ton of presence, but it's definitely drinkable. I could have another, but I'm not terribly excited about the prospect.

Overall this is a good IPA - I picked this up, along with the Fuel Cafe because I'd heard less than stellar things and figured those two styles were pretty hard to mess up. I wasn't disappointed. This isn't a must-try, but it's worth a shot if you're looking to try a new brewery.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2008 02:12:16 | More by glid02

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Has a section of the label where the bottled on month/week# can be identified...but this one wasn't tagged.

Pours a light orange/yellow color that is very similar to fresh cider. Pours less than a finger of barely off white head that fades quickly to just a lace upon the top of the beer and a bit on the glass. Nose is pleasantly hoppy with citrus upfront and malt sweetness rounding out the rest of the aroma. Taste has a solid hop bitterness and malt backbone. Finish is bitter and a bit oil-like. Nothing overly exciting about this beer but it is easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2009 02:09:34 | More by stakem

Cyberkedi

Georgia

3.78/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Has a strong, hoppy aroma with a firm undertone of banana. It pours a hazy honey-golden with a thick off-white head that hangs around for just a little bit. Flavor is as hoppy as an IPA should be, fairly but not overwhelmingly bitter, with the same banana undertone as the aroma though not as strong. Texture is smooth and edgy, rather tingly, leaving a nice hoppy finish.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2009 23:34:09 | More by Cyberkedi

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Lakefront IPA

Pours a light copper with a bubbly, wispy head. Hoppy aroma, dandelions, very fresh lemon and grass. In the flavor, moderate bitterness. Actually tastes a bit how cat piss smells, which is not uncommon for the style. Some pine and resin as well. Definately hop forward but more like an intense english IPA than American. Either way, it has a good flavor profile and fits the style nicely.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2011 00:11:59 | More by Stinkypuss

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

2.6/5  rDev -34.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a clean orange-ish/ copper color with a white head. In the aroma, a sweeter malt and a small grapefruit hop. In the taste, a small sticky-sweet grapefruity hop, and a mellow malt backing. A small bitterness in a mainly light mouthfeel, and a sticky-sweet to dry, small hoppy aftertaste. Light for an IPA, small hops, and kind of watery.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2008 14:44:20 | More by OWSLEY069

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Some hazey suspension throughout a strong coppery amber. Light, dough head that quickly turns to a film. Great spicey orange and caramel malt aroma. A litte skunky hop flavor fights with caramel and crystal malt aroma. Good session beer, but there is little balance in this IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2009 17:38:07 | More by scruffwhor

ZAP

Minnesota

3.63/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Haven't had this in ages but found a fresh supply of it and am glad I pulled the trigger.

This is an often overlooked solid IPA...certainly not top tier (4.5+) but not far off from the upper tier range (4.0+ on this scale)

More of a grungy hop forward IPA than a bright citrus hop forward IPA. It has a good dose of pine and sharp citrus (grapefruit).

Malt lends some heft to the body and dulls the hop bite slightly on the finish.

Good, solid, workman-like IPA I'd buy again occasionally even with all the other great options available. Much prefer O'Dell and Two-Hearted but this is enjoyable

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 05:25:09 | More by ZAP

dirtylou

Washington

3.68/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz single, not one of my favorite breweries in the state but it earned a high ranking so i'll give it a shot

appearance: cool label. poured into an imperial pint glass, dull straw-copper color, fluffy white cap and decent retention

smell: citrusy hops - heavier on the orange/apricot/tangerine, kind of a touch of funk as well and noticeable earthy malts

taste: pretty tasty IPA and a bit off the beaten path of the style...citrusy and full of white pepper spice and corriander, fresh lemon zest and bready yeast...grassy and earthy with caramel malt notes

mouthfeel: medium body, lively

drinkability: pretty good

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2008 01:26:03 | More by dirtylou

Tone

Missouri

3.63/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a cloudy copper/orange color with suspended yeast. One inch head of an off-white color. Great retention and good lacing. Smells of strong hops (oil), sweet malt, and slight citrus. Fits the style of an American IPA. Mouth feel is smooth and crisp with an average carbonation level. Tastes of hops, citrus, slight sweet malt, and some pine. Overall, a good IPA; nice body, blend, and appearance.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2009 02:38:52 | More by Tone

kylehay2004

Florida

3.65/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: half finger head on a copper/crimson body.

S: mostly citrus and pine.

T: flavor has a light malt backbone and mostly carries over the pine from the aroma. very simple.

M: medium body and moderate carbonation.

Not as all memorable but drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2012 22:11:09 | More by kylehay2004

cokes

Wisconsin

4.1/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Blurry goldenrod with a whipped off-white of decent height, stickiness, and retention.
Grapefruit, mango, and orange pulp nose backed up with shortbread. It's a great aroma, but it could be dialed up a notch.
Shortbread provide the malt base across the tongue, furthered by crushed apples. It stay moderately sweet, and turns doughier in the middle with a mushy sugar cookie notion. Hops bring perfumey fruit notions of tangerines, sugared red grapefruits, and lime rinds. There's also a background grassy bitterness, but flavor and aroma hops are the mainstays. Bitterness is not big by any stretch. Ironically, spruce is the major player on burps.
The body is somewhat enigmatic. It's medium-light by most standards, but the suspended yeast and hops debris thickens it up a bit, adding a sense of cream when the body might otherwise sag and become flaccid.
All told, this is a solid, insanely drinkable IPA. It has moments that remind me of Hopslam (mainly the myopic citric hops). It's certainly not in that ballpark (or style), and I'd like a little more gumption mustered from the bitterness, and a bigger fullness overall. Those are minor quibbles. This is a much-better-than-anticipated IPA from Lakefront, whom I've always believed make better lagers than ales.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2008 07:30:00 | More by cokes

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz bottle poured into a Lakefront imperial Pint.
Bottled during May Wk2 (2012) notched on label.

A - Pouring slightly hazy golden amber in color with a foamy white head, Lakefront's IPA retains it's head respectably while circling the pint with delicate collars of lace.

S - Certainly hop-forward, assertive pine and bright citrus aromas erupt from within Lakefront's IPA. While not without a malt base, it's hard to detect much more than some trace caramel sweetness from behind the delectable hop aroma. A very slight touch of alcohol can be found in the finish, just as the glass pulls from your mouth.

T - A very good balance of malt and hop action, Lakefront IPA starts malty sweet with caramel notes and slight graininess and moves quickly into a piny citrus hop flavor that finishes crisp and refreshing. Notes of fresh grapefruit and dried apricot add depth to the hop flavor.

M - Sporting great balance, IPA features a nice smooth mouthfeel with a decent carbonation crispness, all ending with a dry, bitter kick that brings you back in for another sip.

D - Lakefront nails down an easy drinking, almost dangerous IPA that's full of the hop-head's dreams; pine and citrus abounding. Plenty of balance makes this a tasty treat that, despite the higher alcohol level, is rather sessionable!

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2012 22:58:09 | More by BeerFMAndy

smakawhat

Maryland

4.1/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Poured from the bottle into a Dogfish Ale House glass. Bottled November 1st 2012. Kinda borderline we shall see how she goes.

A nice simple golden light amber, with some slight haze, but real nice light faint carbonation. Head forms with off tan color, hinting at light brown and two fingers. Settles to a good 4mm puck. Fairly decent looking.

Nose is a nice balance of malt and hops, makes me wonder how this would be fresh. Mellow chewy dense green leaf hop, a hint of sweet orange and good dense malt. Real inviting.

Chewy palate in the feel. A great sense of biting fleshy tones of hop earth and light sweet malts. Subdued caramel, and chewy almost dense biscuit earth and hits of fruity character hop. Perhaps hinting tropical, even with a little bit of banana strangely.

Overall even this far past bottling this brew is still excelling. I also like it's subdued character even. Real tasty would have this over many other IPAs if given the choice.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 20:44:08 | More by smakawhat

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle poured into tulip oct18 2010

A hazy orange with a shitload of sediment and a few bubbles moving it all around, big two finger head hangs around for a while leaving a couple rings of lace followed by some patches further down the glass

S earthy hops with some pine, lemon rind and a citrus vodka smell that keeps it from a higher grade

T some bread and caramel to go along with what I smell but much less of that vodka, it's still there but a little better in the mouth

M a little bitter and just enough carbonation to keep it alive, leaves a little grit on your gum's and the flavors linger

D decent beer but there's that little vodka aspect that keeps it from greatness, but that being said I'm not mad that I have 5 more

perhaps I'm being a little hard on this one but I just couldn't shake the vodka smell getting in the way of it being a great beer, perhaps I'm crazy I guess you'll just have to judge for yourself

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2010 04:23:35 | More by wordemupg

FosterJM

California

4.05/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

623rd Review on BA
Bottle to Tulip
12oz

Total Wine & More Las Vegas (Sumerlin)

App- A mix of light orange with some peach and some yellow. A pretty flat and fast receding one finger head. No cling or legs on this one.

Smell- Light citrusy malty flavors dominate. A little bit of sweetness behind it but not too much. A welcoming IPA that is neither too bitter or malty or citrusy on nose.

Taste- The taste was a bit like the nose but had more of a bitter too it with some fresh citrus that was more tropical of note. A bit mango/papaya to me vs. orange/grapefruit.

Mouth- Medium bodied and Medium carbonated. A bit thicker on the mouth with the malt. Nice feel to it.

Drink- For an IPA that cost me less than 2 bucks, I am pretty damn happy. I'd love to have this one again. Next time in Vegas, Ill grab a whole six pack.

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2011 03:45:41 | More by FosterJM

GClarkage

California

4.18/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

01/28/09- Purchased at Mollie Stones in Burlingame, CA.

Prresentation- 12oz bottle with a marked date strip on the side of the label. Poured into a random pint glass.

Appearance- Deep golden color approaching amber. About a 1/2 inch head on the pour and leaves very nice lace sheeting behind.

Smell- Fruity with citrus notes. Some grapefruit, but a good amount of orange as well. Smells even better when stiffing the empty bottle the next morning. A light mingling of caramel malt in the background.

Taste- Quite fruity as the scent denoted. Even a bit of pine hoppiness thrown in with the orange and grapefruit. Caramel toasted malt swirls amongst the hops to create aw well balanced IPA.

Mouthfeel- Pretty smooth with a about perfect carbonation level. Light bitter aftertaste.

Drinkability- Not sure of the abv, but it may be a touch too sweet to be sessionable, at least for me. But for a single beer, this is good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2009 16:33:45 | More by GClarkage