Founders Centennial IPA
A 12 oz bottle from a November 2006 trade with czoch75. A: The IPA is a red-orange color, darker to the point that it could easily be confused for a brown hue. The head atop the beer is thick, near one finger and looks like it'll lace nicely. The ale appears to be a gelatinous suspension, full of sediment that does not move but rather remains mid-glass. S: This ale makes no mistakes about being an IPA. Big resiny pineapple aromas eminate from the glass immediately, mixing with some caramel malts. The nose has not lost anything over the past few months. T: The first impressions of the beer are a strong mix of both hops and malt. The citrus hops jump off the tongue, full of grapefruit and pineapple sweetness. The caramel malts provide a chewy base that has a tinge of brown sugar to lighten it up. The two, mixed together, are a nice pairing that keep each other in check. The hops manage to break away from the malts near the end, adding a flourish to the finish. M: The centennial hops are good here, even with a few months of aging. The citrusy grapefruit flavors are strong but nicely matched with the caramel malts. D: Few things beat a good IPA and this is a good IPA. Easy to drink with a nice hop bite.