Lilja's Argosy IPA - Sand Creek Brewing Company

EvilKeith

Alabama

3.63/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Argosy IPA poured into the glass a hazy honey amber color with a firm frothy finger of beige foam. The lacing was impressively thick and sticky.
The smell was sweet malty goodness, faintly grassy with a mild citrus fruitiness. The taste was sweet bready malts, with moderate bittering and a lingering dry finish.
It was medium-light bodied with a fairly light carbonation. The mouthfeel came across as being a bit slick.
This works as an English IPA. Not my favorite of the style, but it is drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2006 23:49:18 | More by EvilKeith

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.38/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Picked this as part of a mixed 6-er in Fayetteville, AR

Pours an effervescent gold with 3 fingers of cream colored head. Great lacing & above average head retention

S: Breadyness & grassy hops, jammy notes

T: Follows the nose, some leafy hops & apricots up front. Jammy notes plus leafy & woody hops as this warms. Finishes with jammyness, plus dryness with woody & leafy hops

MF: Medium bodied, creamy carbonation, okay balance

Much like other offerings from these guys, just a run of the mill example of the style, nothing to see here. Drinks okay, just not digging the hop profile at all, which makes it somewhat a slog to finish

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2013 01:48:24 | More by russpowell

j-rod18

North Dakota

3.75/5  rDev +20.2%

04-05-2013 00:02:33 | More by j-rod18

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev +4.2%

02-01-2013 14:49:10 | More by Slatetank

GoldHorde

Minnesota

4.18/5  rDev +34%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

I love IPAs! This IPA is very aggressive from the first sip - slight front hop aroma with a strong slap and long rusty, bitter afterburn - just what I like - although I normally get that kind of bitter tabacco-ish bite from creamy stouts! Color was a muted haze of copper - it did not predict the aggressiveness AT ALL. The head was surprisingly thick with long lasting lace. Very interesting beer - definitely stretching the style category here!! I thinkI've had a Sand Creek before - I would definitely have this one again...nice job!

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2013 04:32:02 | More by GoldHorde

budgood1

Minnesota

3.78/5  rDev +21.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

pours out an unfiltered murky dark gold colour with a frothy half inch beige head. tons of lace to be had. aroma is nice combination of modest citric fruit and earthy herbal spice. taste follows suit leaning heavily on the spicy, herbal hop bitterness...seemingly leafy in nature with a slight blonde tobacco nuance. pale maltiness provides a nice backbone... and i detect a slight yeast and wheat aspect that adds another dimension. it's a dry beer that has a solid back end bitterness in the tradition of english ipa's. this is certainly a hybrid, though, and that's a good thing. medium to above medium body, complimented by a somewhat coarse mouthfeel due to a moderately bitter bite. drinkability is nice...although i see this offering to have more of a summer time quenchability to it.

overall i was somewhat pleased with this ipa. the price was right slightly discounted as it was and seemingly in better shape than the hop monster i also purchased at the same time and price. recommended.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2013 23:51:48 | More by budgood1

tronester

Oklahoma

3.28/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a chunky golden with a nice clingy white head. Aroma is butterscotch and a tiny bit of citrus. Flavor begins with some toffee, then some buttered bread, then some citrus rind, and finally some piney bitterness. Mouthfeel is good. Overall a decent IPA, but probably not something I would purchase again.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2013 23:31:56 | More by tronester

Gtg642

Michigan

2.75/5  rDev -11.9%

10-26-2012 19:21:09 | More by Gtg642

ranrad

California

3/5  rDev -3.8%

10-04-2012 21:58:18 | More by ranrad

kbrown

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev +20.2%

10-04-2012 00:42:40 | More by kbrown

HoistinBrews

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -3.8%

09-30-2012 05:57:14 | More by HoistinBrews

lars925

3.5/5  rDev +12.2%

08-11-2012 19:33:12 | More by lars925

bjohn84

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -3.8%

08-10-2012 02:21:23 | More by bjohn84

WDJersey

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev +4.2%

08-01-2012 16:08:38 | More by WDJersey

xipho

Illinois

2.5/5  rDev -19.9%

05-30-2012 04:43:05 | More by xipho

Tyrawlings

Ohio

3/5  rDev -3.8%

02-16-2012 02:21:21 | More by Tyrawlings

omegaman

Illinois

2.5/5  rDev -19.9%

02-15-2012 18:39:21 | More by omegaman

zonker17

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +12.2%

01-12-2012 22:27:28 | More by zonker17

pweis909

Wisconsin

2.28/5  rDev -26.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

A=Hazy yellow orange with a strong white foamy head that laced the glass.

S=Butterscotch with no hop aroma.

T=Sweet, oxidized, and butterscotchy.

M=Feels right.

O=I vehemently would refuse a second one.

This beer is nothing like a good English IPA. The heavy diacetyl points to a fermentation problem. Lack of hop presence points to a recipe problem, and perhaps, an age issue. And the oxidized character, of course, points to poor storage and possibly poor packaging.

Nice label. I dig the mythology reference, and I really disliked this beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 16:25:26 | More by pweis909

brandoman63

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +12.2%

11-30-2011 03:12:26 | More by brandoman63

Hoptometrist

Oregon

3.2/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Served from the bottle into a becker glass

A-Poured a semi-hazy orange color with a one finger soapy head

S- Very sweet floral, slightly citrusy aroma. Smells like a clean pale ale

T- Very sweet floral taste, come citrus and herbal notes. Finishes with a strong bitterness (a non-nondescript bitterness). Kind of faint in flavor.

M- Medium body, pretty high carbonation, pretty clean

O- A clean IPA that reminds me more of a pale ale. The strong nondescript bitterness brings this beer down for me some, just not very flavorful either. Not worth picking up, much better IPAs out there.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2011 01:10:48 | More by Hoptometrist

maximum12

Minnesota

2.38/5  rDev -23.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Picked up recently in a little bottle shop that we've been eyeing. Interesting that the beer claims to be an "East India Pale Ale". Haven't seen that advertised before. East? What about West India? Not for them? Hmmmm.

Poured into my a pint glass from my favorite Lake Mills brewery, this is a sunlight-riddled beer with kiltons of carbonation. Head fills the empty four ounces of the glass. Smell is weak: more like a triple-hopped lager than an EIPA. Spare notes of grass, wheat. No hops.

Lilja's Argosy (E)IPA tastes like beer. Straight up. This beer would make the best beer chaser in the world - it's completely inoffensive. Taste? Not so much. Bit of yeast, citrus shavings, water. Faintly metallic aftertaste. Really, this is almost funny. Aside from the carbonation, there is - really & truly - almost no taste.
It's remarkable.

How do you grade something like that? It's not -bad. Certainly, it's not good. I'm going to go with sub-par, but this is almost an achievement.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2011 01:44:29 | More by maximum12

cjacobsen

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

(A) Pours a light yellow orange color with and ample, frothy white head. Leaves a good amount of lacing.

(S) Some grapefruit and decent amount of orange and citrus. Pale malt. Some sugars.

(T) Has a bit of a dank flavor to it. Like wet, old hops. Tastes like there was a fair amount of simcoe used in this one. It's got a fair amount of citrus rind to it. Has some cereal aspect to the malt base. Has a really funky aftertaste that isn't all too pleasant.

(M) Oily and crisp. Medium to light body.

(O) I'm usually a fan of Sand Creek's products and the other Lilja's stuff that I've had have been pretty decent, but this one is kind of a let down. I've had some English IPAs before, and prefer American, but this one just didn't really do much for the style.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2011 20:04:40 | More by cjacobsen

beerthulhu

New Jersey

2.68/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

A: Cadmium orange coloring with a good clarity reveals a medium dense effervesce rising at a rapid rate making the micro- yeast particles within swirling around in the glass like a wind tunnel. A rocky light beige head sits atop like a 2 finger high pile of shaving cream sticking tough to the glass walls with a well lasting retention.

S: Peppery flowers and pine first come to mind on the nose. Dried lemon meringue, fresh parsley with some cinnamon toast and cereal grains. Intriguing, not your typical ipa hopping. Spicy, fruity and flowery of light strength.

T: Toasted grains with a touch of peppery flowery hops. Things turn to dried citrus, fairly bitter with signs of pine and dried grapefruit. The hoppiness is pretty blunt, lacking the complexity found on the nose. Dried pine comes on strong for the finish along with a peppery fade. There are flashes of intermittent sweetness from the grain here and there in the beginning, but over there is a sour, almost acidic nature to the flavor. All and all the hops are blunt, kinda coarse and without much taste defining flavor, the malting is toasted and of medium base while the alcohol is quite noticeable.

M: medium by weight, dry, citrusy and peppery warming the inner cheeks along with some fore-mentioned alcohol presence. Some washiness comes from the mostly lasting head with every sip.

O: Overall a blunt ipa, but not necessarily a good thing. Dry, peppery with a focus on a knock out hop punch rather flavor, complexity and balance. A smack your tongue around hoppiness but ultimately doesn’t taste all that good, and I do love my hops strong in my beer, this is just a wreck in composition. the hopping is totally off per english style.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2011 16:16:32 | More by beerthulhu

zeff80

Missouri

3.28/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Poured out a hazy, golden-orange color with a one-finger, white head of pillowy foam. Not much lacing.

S - It smelled of citrus and fresh cut grass.

T - It is spicy up front with sweet caramel. There was also a butterscotch sweetness to it.

M - It was fairly crisp and smooth. A light to medium bodied ale with a dry finish.

O - This was okay. It was a little unbalanced and too sweet for an IPA.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2011 16:49:47 | More by zeff80