For Father’s Day I got a bottle of Big Daddy IPA from Speakeasy Brewing in San Francisco. It’s got a great bottle (picture at right is so-so, but you get the idea). Straight to my notes!

Appearance: Not-quite-clear and orange in color. Fluffy white head started out promising but fell quickly.

Smell: Hops—slightly citrus-fruity, remniscent of Cascade (or Simcoe these days…). Clean, not as fruity as I’d expect though.

Taste: Malty and hoppy—strong Simcoe? like hop without the fruitiness. Mt. Hood hops? Tasty, but bitter in the back, which lingers. Malt is rather neutral, but it’s there. Definitely hops.

Mouthfeel: It’s a little on the thin side of medium-bodied. I think I’d like to see it a little thicker for an IPA.

Overall, a good beer, actually. I think the hop bitterness could have balanced the malt a bit more… but I won’t quibble. It was tasty!

On BeerAdvocate it racks up a score of 84, with 92% approval. RateBeer ranks it at 3.5 out of 5, in their 83rd percentile.