Mar

16

Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale

By Andy Murphy

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“Embrace your inner pyrate!”
– Clipper City Brewing Company

Clipper City Brewing Company’s Heavy Seas beers are all big, robust beers that have been bottle conditioned. They’re all quite high in alcohol content, but at 7.25% ABV, the Loose Cannon Hop³ Ale — an American IPA — proves that strength and restraint pair very nicely.

I owe a very special thanks to reader PFern for sending me a bottle of Loose Cannon — so tonight’s IPA Monday brew is sponsored by PFern!

The beer has a hazy, pale gold body. I gave it a rough pour and the resulting meringue-like head stuck around for a long time, decorating the glass as I drank.

Loose Cannon is a fragrant, herbal IPA. Nothing about the aroma could be described as a loose cannon; everything falls in line. The aroma is delicate and complex. There’s citrus, peach, honey, and pine. I imagine much of this comes from the hops — five different hops are used in Loose Cannon: Magnum, Centennial, Chinook, Amarillo and Palisade. But the aroma just gets you started.

The taste is delicious: oily hops, grapefruit, pine, and clover honey, all with a smooth, dry finish. There’s an herbal hoppiness that blends with delicate malt, striking your entire tongue. Somehow the hops seem to avoid the back of your tongue — and the result is a smooth, “sweet” hoppiness that finishes dry and fails to linger. Above and beyond the taste, Loose Cannon simply feels great to drink — it has a low carbonation despite the bottle conditioning, and a smooth and creamy, decadent mouthfeel.

From the Clipper City website:

Loose Cannon Hop³ Ale – called Hop 3 (hop cubed) ale to reflect the enormous amount of hops in this beer: over 3 pounds per barrel! Also the beer is hopped 3 ways – in the kettle, in the hop back, and dry hopped.

Loose Cannon has excellent balance — the flavors hit on target. Instead of attacking, they seduce. This IPA showcases hops in an entirely approachable fashion — beer drinkers who shy away from antagonistic hops can enjoy this beer while discovering much of what hops can add to a beer’s flavor. And there’s plenty of hop essense to keep hops heads from being disappointed.

Overall, this is a great showcase IPA. PFern, thank you so much for contributing tonight’s brew. I hope you kept a bottle for yourself and enjoyed IPA Monday with a Loose Cannon!

Related posts:

1. Clipper City Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning
2. Red Sky at Night – Heavy Seas
3. DFH Squall IPA
4. Two Brothers Hop Juice DIPA
5. Mayflower IPA

Rate this article: (2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Categories : Beer a Day, IPA Monday