Highland Kashmir IPA - Highland Brewing

MDM

Michigan

3.4/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This was my first exposure to a Highland beer, and to be honest I picked it up as part of a "make-your-own-6-pack," and didn't know what to expect. It is definitely on the lighter side of IPAs. The IBUs weren't listed on the bottle, but I'd have to guess that it is on the low end when compared to most. That said, it has a bright, almost citrus flavor that I liked. It also had a smooth finish, and was more refreshing than I think many IPAs tend to be. To reiterate, I think it's worth a try, but it won't be what most people expect out of an IPA....

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 20:29:58 | More by MDM

drmystery

North Carolina

3.08/5  rDev -13%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75

this IPA isn't very "IPA-ish". its not that hoppy for an IPA but more hoppier than a pale ale. i think it's been described on here as "light IPA" and I'll have to agree with that. it tastes hoppy enough but it's also watery and more carbonated than I'd like. the appearance is pale orange with a good head. I think this IPA makes for a good introduction to IPA for somebody new to IPAs or craft beers. it doesn't taste bad or offensive or anything, I just think this IPA could be a lot better for what it is.

overall it's a good beer, but if you want a solid IPA go for something else. if you are new to IPA and/or craft beer this one will be a great stepping stone.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2013 23:46:59 | More by drmystery

kangarooAdam59

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Thanx Damian74Shensky:

Into a pint glass:

A: light golden colored body with a nice foamy one finger head, light lacing on the glass

S: malts/hops combination leads to a decent sweet/bitterness

T: sticky sweet through previously mentioned flavors, light sweet aftertaste and finish

M: light, sessionable, ABV not felt

O: this is good for its style and good for me, might come back to it, however it seems a bit undefined in what its tryin' to convey

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 22:02:17 | More by kangarooAdam59

HalfFull

California

3.3/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear golden from a 12 oz. bottle and into a pint glass. Offers a half inch of whitish foam and standard retention.

Nose is quite subtle and remarkably so for an IPA. A bit earthy and dusty on the nose with a light spice. Pleasant yet subtle and with a slight oaky character.

Taste is of flowery grain and a lightly fruity malt character. Rather dry overall and somewhat lacking in bitterness on the finish. Offering a bit of peppery hop spice in its stead.

Feel is smooth and light. Touch of citrus yet a bit thin in body though not out of balance for a 5.8% ABV IIPA. Overall not really sure where they're going here so off to thier web site I go. And yes as expected they are aiming more for an English IPA here. And still it misses to a degree yet by not so much as for an American version. Mediocre overall and a bit aimless yet ok in the end.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2013 04:22:01 | More by HalfFull

Thiestru

Georgia

3.38/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12-ounce bottle into a Terrapin pint glass.

Appearance: Slightly hazy golden with a thin white head. Good retention. A little watery-looking, but not too bad.

Smell: Citric. No malt to be found here, just a rather subdued hop aroma.

Taste: See above. It's quite enjoyable, but there's no kick to it at all. I would not have thought this was an IPA if the bottle didn't tell me it was; it's more like a standard pale ale with maybe a bit more hoppiness.

Mouthfeel: Not too thick, not too thin. Nice and tangy. Probably the best thing about this beer.

This isn't a beer that I'd refuse if it were offered to me, but I wouldn't seek it out. It's not very representative of its style, but taken on its own merits, it's a perfectly good beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 03:27:26 | More by Thiestru

oline73

Maryland

3.13/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from the bottle into a standard pint glass.

This is more of an east coast style IPA. There is a prevalent hop bitterness with a very mild malt backbone. Honestly, this one could use more malt in the finish. There is a fruity undertone that goes well with the bitterness. Nothing overly interesting here, but it's still not bad. The head is fluffy white and leaves some nice lacing.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2013 01:19:52 | More by oline73

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a crystal clear medium golden yellow in color with some orange highlights and a moderate amount of visible carbonation. The beer has a two finger tall foamy bright white head that very slowly reduces to small to medium sized thick patch of large bubbles, a very thin film covering the majority of the surface of the beer, and a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: There is a light amount of grainy malts with just a touch of apple and lemon. Moderate aromas of floral, citrus, and grassy hops (think orange blossom) that is quite inviting.

T: Upfront there is a light amount of grainy malts with some light amounts of honey sweetness and just a touch of lemon citrus. There is a moderate amount of floral and citrus hops (think lemon/orange blossom) that contribute a light amount of bitterness that lasts for quite a while.

M: Slightly heavier than medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth and almost creamy.

O: Very well balanced and the alcohol is hidden - easy to drink and enjoyable with wonderful hop flavors and aromas. Another solid brew from Highland Brewing and one I would be happy to get again - I used to get this pretty often when I lived in NC and wish we could get it in NJ.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 22:08:26 | More by dbrauneis

marlinsfan4

Maryland

3.4/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Part of the Highland Brewing mixed 12 pack. Pours a light golden color, smallish white head to it. Faint hop aroma. Light to medium bodied, okay mouthfeel. A very malt heavy IPA, would have liked the hops to be a bit more upfront. Solid and well balanced, but a bit on the boring side and doesn't break any boundaries. Serviceable IPA, but nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 00:12:43 | More by marlinsfan4

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.95/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

a clean golden yellow pour with 2 fingers of foamy white head, visible carbonation, nice lacing and great retention. kind of an OLD familiar smell.. getting a very reminiscent smell of miller high life... which is weird.. i guess it's malt heavy. definitely smelling pilsner malt, grass, bready yeast.. not an ipa smell at all, hmm...
a very subtle but weird taste.. bitter up front, grassy/floral tasting hops, a very malty yet bitter flavor overall, slightly sweet on the finish.
light-medium body , creamy but well carbonated so it goes down smooth and easy.
overall, i really like this one. it's a nice change in beer expectancy.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2012 00:33:49 | More by facundoCNB

Veristic

Tennessee

3.23/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Kashmir IPA poured into a 3 Floyds tulip pint glass, consumed on 6/5/12. Bottled: 4/6/12

A- One finger white head with good retention. Crystal-clear golden body, most definitely filtered. Some spotty lacing. A decent crown hangs on through the end.

S- Out the neck: light hop aroma, some malt, kinda stale/skunky, not very appealing. Once poured, more of same. I'm not impressed. The hop aroma is just strange and barely existent.

T- Nice bitterness upfront. Some citrusy hops and pale malt. Not all that interesting. A kind of stale bitterness lingers in the aftertaste.

M- Medium-light bodied. Moderate carbonation.

O- This was the 2nd IPA I'd ever tried when I had it about 5 years ago. I was not a fan then, and now that I've grown to love IPAs, I'm afraid I'm still not a fan. There would've probably been a point that I would've enjoyed this say 2 or 3 years ago but at this point it falls short. WAY too many other IPAs I would choose over this.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2012 03:59:43 | More by Veristic

StoutHunter

Michigan

2.4/5  rDev -32.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

I got a bottle of Highland's Kashmir IPA that my brother brought back from his trip down south. I have had their Oatmeal Porter before and I thought it was good so I am interested to see what this brewery can do with an IPA, so lets see how it goes. No visible bottling date. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a imperial pint glass.

A- The label looks ok and is pretty much the same as their Oatmeal Porter, it just has a pink plaid background instead. It poured a pretty clear pale golden color that took on a brighter orange/gold color when held to the light and it had two fingers worth of fluffy white head that died down to a thin layer that stayed till the end and left a little lacing. This was an ok looking beer, but I thought the color was pretty pale for the style and it was much clearer then most American IPA's.

S- The aroma is not too intense with this beer, it starts out with a good amount of medium sweet malts that impart a sweet grain aroma and slight bready aroma. After that comes the hops which are mainly citrus, with grapefruit and pineapple sticking out the most with a little bit a grassy hops towards the end. It's ok, but it smells a little muted, I would like a little more going on with the aroma.

T- The taste doesn't really follow the nose well. It starts out with some pale malts have a lower amount of sweetness and impart a dry and thin grainy taste that is pretty thin tasting and doesn't make for a great base for this beer. Next up is some hops which seems much more floral then citrusy, but overall the hops are still pretty light and impart some slightly grassy and floral hop flavors, the hops are pretty weak and I wish that those nice citrus hops that I picked up in the aroma made their way to the taste. It had a lower amount of medium bitterness with a stale grain aftertaste. I was pretty disappointed with the taste of this beer, it was thin, bland, and pretty boring, not what I want from a good American IPA.

M- Smooth, crisp, slightly dry, on the light side of being medium bodied with a nice amount of medium carbonation. The mouthfeel wasn't bad and may be the most true to style thing about this beer.

Overall I wasn't a fan of this beer and I thought that it was a below average IPA, it just didn't have any of those great hoppy aspects that I look for in an American IPA, and the malt base wasn't that good either. This beer had ok drinkability, it was smooth and went down faster then I expected but not because it was good, but because I wanted to be done with it, the flavors were really bland and could not hold my attention. What I liked most about this beer was the mouthfeel, it was the only part of this beer that was true to style. What I liked least about this beer was pretty much everything else with the taste sticking out as being the worse, it was just way too bland and unappealing for my tastes. I would buy a single of this again if I knew it was fresh but other then that I am not really motivated to revisit this beer anytime soon and I can't say that I would recommend this beer to anyone. Their Oatmeal Porter turned out to be good but this beer was not and was pretty much a let down, I am kind of on the fence with this brewery but I got a few more of their beers to try before I come up with a solid opinion on this brewery. A pretty unimpressive American IPA, I hope their other beers are much beer since this one wasn't good.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 03:43:34 | More by StoutHunter

argock

Virginia

3.1/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12oz brown bottle into a Duvel tulip. 01/06/12 etched under bottom of front label. Single purchased at Ingles Market (Boone, NC) for $1.49.

A: Clear light-orange with fluffy 2-finger off-white head with decent retention and a short curtain of lacing circles the glass.

S: Hoppiness is muted with some soft grapefruit and floral aromas with a light caramel note.

T: The flavor is also muted with pale maltiness as prominent as the light floral, orange-grapefruit hoppiness. There is plenty of bitterness but just not a lot of additional hop character.

M: Medium-bodied with medium carbonation and a good coating quality.

O: Very run-of-the-mill IPA. Not sure if it was this one was a bit on the old side but not really too excited to try it again.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2012 03:44:22 | More by argock

HardTarget

Texas

3.78/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: First blush, nothing too exciting, but excellent head retention gives perfect tide marks down the side of my glass showing the slow, steady retreat of the slightly hazy golden glass.

Smell: At first I didn't think there was a smell. A very, very mild white bread yeast with just a whiff of earthy hops.

Taste: Very smooth, balanced, even, everything an IPA shouldn't be really. The hops are there, and they are pleasant showing a mixture of lime rind and earthy pine, but they don't punch, or come across as particularly bitter. A very light soapy note that is probably hop driven.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, medium low carbonation, clean finish (where I would expect a little more oil from the style).

Overall: An enjoyable glass of beer. Mild for an IPA, mild period. Enjoyable none the less.
Big thanks to Illudium for the sample!

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2012 02:06:57 | More by HardTarget

tdm168

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours an orangish gold with a quarter of an inch of soft, foamy, white head that has great retention. The nose is bready and malty with a faint citrus aroma. The flavor is similar; sweet, bready, and very malty. There is a smooth, balanced hop character that features that is mildly citrusy. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth, and well carbonated.

This is a very malt-forward IPA. It's an easy drinking, smooth, refreshing beer that's both flavorful and balanced. It's definitely worth checking out.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2012 18:59:25 | More by tdm168

donmonkey1

Tennessee

3.63/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Golden with a nice white head, good lacing, lacks carbonation.

Smell: Barely detectable sweet barley.

Taste: Very nice with a variety of floral hops. The taste is a different but better world from the smell.

This is an extremely satisfying ipa. It doesn't look or smell like much, but when you drink it, everything comes together in this excellent beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2012 23:02:00 | More by donmonkey1

scruffwhor

Illinois

3/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Clear, light copper color. Quick, nright white head with a little film o'foam after a few sips. Then nothing. A few sluggish bubbles rise to the top.

Mild, earthy hops aroma and some faint toasted malt smells.

Astringent palate from start to finish. Slightly lemony and mineral earthy hop bite. Some mild toasted malt jumps in the middle of teh palate, but thats it. Pretty simple, easy IPA. Nothing special or bad really.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2012 21:15:00 | More by scruffwhor

doucmehu

Wisconsin

2.9/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Received in trade from Jpvw, thanks.

A: Pours a crystal clear straw/amber with one finger of white head

S: Mildly sweet and fruity pineapple, with a hint of grain. Smells muted but pleasant.

T: It fails to follow the nose. The bittering hops overpower the flavoring hops, and it is not particularly enjoyable. The expected fruitiness was nearly nonexistent, with some dry floral hops instead. Some grainy malts round things out.

M: Average all around, but a bit more creamy than expected. Finish is very bitter and dry.

O: As an IPA, I would rate this a 1.5. Style aside, it's more of a 3 beer. I would have guessed this was an English Pale Ale or possibly even a hopped up Cream Ale. This is not as advertised, and is very forgettable.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 00:59:33 | More by doucmehu

DIM

Pennsylvania

2.78/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

a: This was a bright, clear coppery golden color. It poured with a short lived, medium sized head.

s: Mild mineral-y hops and sugar cookie malts.

t: Sugar cookies up front before a mildly medicinal but largely flavorless bitter finish.

m: Crisply carbonated.

o: Kind of a meh IPA.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2012 19:47:45 | More by DIM

rwrk42

New Jersey

3.88/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a nice golden color with a decent head with some lacing on the way down.

Smell: Malts, caramel with some citrus and a nice hop aroma

Taste: Light malt taste, decent amount of hops with a faint citrus flavor. Finishes very nice and smooth. Nice hop balance and not overwhelming

A very good IPA which I recommend.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2012 03:28:49 | More by rwrk42

rangerred

Tennessee

3.88/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had on tap.

Arrived a clear medium gold with a small head. Pretty good lacing.

About the only smell I could detect was citrusy hops notably orange and grapefruit.

Strong hop bitterness takes hold from the first sip with citrus hop flavors being predominate. there is some light bready grain towards the finish but hops take center stage.

Overall a middle of the road IPA. One I would have again but not necessarily seek out.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 01:20:16 | More by rangerred

AgentMunky

Alabama

3.25/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a cervoise glass.

A: Light head, clouds of bubbles inside a perfectly clear, light yellow beer. Generally unimpressive.

S: Skunky. Some hops, but grassy and not entirely pleasant. Slight citrus.

T/M: Fortunately, it tastes pretty good. A substantial, almost creamy mouthfeel complements a lightly sweet body counterbalanced by lemony, herbal hops. Aftertaste is only lightly bitter.

O: I enjoyed it, but it's a fairly mediocre IPA. Quite drinkable. Not particularly recommend. I might drink again, but probably not if I had other options.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2012 23:18:32 | More by AgentMunky

cosmicevan

New York

3.83/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

picked this up the other day in NC.

a - opened the bottle and filled my duck rabbit snifter. brew poured pretty straw yellow that settled in the glass as a lighter shade of apple juice. thin ipa head, not all that frothy and pretty slippery lacing.

s - soft grapefruit with a hint of orange peel and citric, but not a citric blast. actually kind of reminds me of apple juice.

t - nice bitterness with a subtle hoppy flavor. much like the nose, i get grapefruit and orange peel without the citric blast. very tasty, but muted.

m - relatively thick and full/medium bodied. gentle carbonation. a bit watery

o - overall a tasty ipa, but rather muted all around. the flavor is nice and it is a good beer, but when looking for a knock out ipa, you should check elsewhere...however, the label describes the beer as a brilliant pale ale with an aggressive hop character. that kind of sums it up really well (but not like a sierra nevada pale ale, but a really great pale ale). as a pale ale, this is a better beer than as an ipa. kind of like a jai alai light? i have kind of mixed feelings on this beer since it is enjoyable, but i wouldn't reach for it when craving an ipa, but if i was craving a pale ale...this one would be way up there.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2011 02:19:41 | More by cosmicevan

BeerNoobNC

North Carolina

3.33/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is an alright beer; I'm not going to pour it down the drain after taking a few sips, but I'm probably not going to jump to buy more of it. Of all the beers I have tried from Highland, this is my least favorite. It is labelled as an IPA, so I am judging it based on that. To me, there are not enough hops in this. When I am opening an IPA, I expect a fair amount of hops. This beer did have a good balance and a nice citrus flavor, but just not what I wanted in an IPA, which I was actually pretty excited about beforehand. I would say overall this beer is about average and would recommend other selections from this brewery before this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2011 23:06:00 | More by BeerNoobNC

NuclearDolphin

Minnesota

3.78/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a 12oz Pilsner Glass. Another Beer Mail Review!

Appearance - Very hazy Golden/Orange in color; it's awfully bright for an IPA, looks almost like a Belgian Pale Ale. Head pours around a 2 finger width with an aggressive pour. Leaves behind quite a bit of lacing as well!

Smell - Floral Hops, but not overtly pungent. The main smells here are sweet yeast/malts and sweet orange, with the former being a little more powerful.

Taste - Much like the smell, the flavor is mild citrus with sweet malts. The floral hops are still there, but they tend to blend in more with the overall components of the flavor as opposed to standing out among them. The flavor tends to remind me of a Belgian Pale Ale more so than an IPA.

Mouthfeel - It's got a pretty light body and it's not too thick The carbonation is moderate so it feels just right.

Overall - It's by no means a hoppy IPA, in fact, I'd probably classify this more along the lines of a Belgian Pale Ale. However, for what it is, it's pretty good. The flavor, while nothing too spectacular is pretty good and it's fairly easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2011 03:10:53 | More by NuclearDolphin

LaCoursiere

Minnesota

3.48/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to mecherd for this extra. 2011 b2, not sure how to interpret that in terms of date. Poured into a NB globe.

A - Pours an impeccably clear orange amber with 1/2-finger off-white head. The head disisipated to a thin layer. Not much visible carbonation other than a little coming from the etching in the glass. Nice lacing.

S - Not a very strong aroma on this one. I'm getting faint citrus and malt hiding in a hay field. Grassy and herbal notes dominate.

T - Slight carmel sweetness and malt up front that is taken over by mostly grassy hop flavor in the middle. The grassiness fades leaving a moderately bitter finish that lingers.

M - A light body that is nice and creamy right away but quickly breaks into fine carbonation that lasts longer than your average beer. There is a hint of alcohol warmth.

O/D - This is a solid beer in terms of looks and feel. To me, I would appreciate a bit more aroma from an IPA than this one has. The hop profile was a bit grassier than I prefer as well.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2011 22:10:23 | More by LaCoursiere