Clipper City Reserve India Pale Ale

Clipper City Brewing Co.
Baltimore, MD

Available: MD, VA, DC, DE, NC, NJ

This India pale ale is brewed with pale, crystal and dextrine malts and Magnum, Cascade, and Centennial hops.

ABV: n/a
ABW: 4.7
Color: 20
Bitterness: 35
Original gravity: 1056

Good head structure and great hop aromatics, backed by a fine, well-balanced flavor. The hops come off as smoothly assertive and nicely balanced. The beer shows itself with hints of sweetness and mellowness on the palate. Refreshing, even on a cool winter day.
- Fred Eckhardt

This bottle-conditioned beer is a deep honey color with a slight haze and a pale head, which drops back quickly. The nose shows some piney hops and a bit of fruit, reminiscent of Ringwood yeast character (is it?). The palate is strangely structured⎯a bit sweet at first, then a broad, sharp bitterness jumps in, following through into the finish, lingering. I’d prefer some more malt backbone and find the hop attack too harsh, but die-hard hopheads might well disagree. Except for that yeast character, it is a rather northwestern beer from a northeastern brewery.
- Garrett Oliver

Dense, rocky, well-retained head. Attractive pinkish-amber color. Deep, dry, herbal, hoppy aroma. Starts dry and crisp, quickly yielding to soft, aniseedy maltiness, then rolls into rounded bitterness of finish. Very big flavors. Beautifully balanced. Very more-ish. Very appetite-arousing. More English than American (East Kent Goldings?), despite that lingering bitterness. I loved it.
- Michael Jackson

Fred Eckhardt
Fred Eckhardt lives, writes about and drinks beer in Portland, OR. He is the author of The Essentials of Beer Style and Saké.

Garrett Oliver
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.

Michael Jackson
Author of Ultimate Beer, the Simon & Schuster Guide to Beer and numerous other works on drinks, Jackson has created legions of converts to fine beer.