Ipswich IPA
Mercury Brewing Co.
Ipswich, MA
Available: MA, NH, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA
Mercury Brewing Co. acquired the older Ipswich Brewing Co. in 1999 and continued production of the Ipswich ales, including this IPA, first brewed in 1994.
ABV: 6.1
ABW: 4.9
Color: 14
Bitterness: 60
Original gravity: 1057
Ipswich in New England takes its name from Ipswich in Old England, a port on the east coast from where the original IPAs may well have sailed. I like the beery synergy! The beer has a red/bronze color with a dense collar of foam and massive hop resins, cobnuts, grapefruit and toasted malt on the nose. Bitter hops, sappy malt and tart fruit dominate the mouth while the finish is intensely hoppy and bitter with lingering fruit and malt. A fine beer but my usual grumble — too dark for a true IPA: they really were pale, without colored malts.
The beer is surprisingly dark, amber trending into brown, and it lofts a fluffy tan head. The nose shows plenty of citrusy hops, an orchard of tangerines. The palate opens up with a minerally astringency, followed by snappy bitterness and a lingering finish. This beer starts and finishes well, but for me it could use a bit more in the center. For all the color, there’s very little malt here. Still, it’s nice and brisk and will stand up to those fajitas you had in mind.
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.
