Freestyle
Hafod Brewing Co. in Mold, Flintshire, Wales 🏴
IPA - West Coast Regular|
Score
6.77
|
|
Hugely fruity IPA dry-hopped with Mosaic for a sweet berry flavour.
Like Pilgrim, Freestyle was inspired by visits to California in 2011 & 2013 and the highly bitter yet fruity pale ales we tasted. Using a base of US and European hops to create a stronger pale ale with the characteristic bitterness of a West Coast IPA we then added a lot of Mosaic hops after brewing into the conditioning tank. This dry-hopping creates a more pronounced hop profile in the finished beer.
Like Pilgrim, Freestyle was inspired by visits to California in 2011 & 2013 and the highly bitter yet fruity pale ales we tasted. Using a base of US and European hops to create a stronger pale ale with the characteristic bitterness of a West Coast IPA we then added a lot of Mosaic hops after brewing into the conditioning tank. This dry-hopping creates a more pronounced hop profile in the finished beer.
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6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Cask at The Albion, Conwy. Clear dark gold. Thin foamy white head. Aroma has light fruit and a hint of bitterness but ultimately fails to leave an impression. Flavourwise it is woody, slightly herbal and has peripheral citrus. Gains sweet citrus. Underlying dusty malts. Light-medium bodied. Slick. Soft carbonation. Long dry somewhat astringent finish. Old school IPA aka a hoppy Gold. Poor show. My score is overly generous.
Tried
from Cask
at
The Albion Ale House
on 27 Jul 2025
at 20:03
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
500 ml bottle, online from Stori, Bala. Pours light hazed dark gold with white foam. Malt, light caramel, some fruitcake, grass/pine. Light sweet & light to medium bitter, grapefruit, grass. Medium body with soft carbonation.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Jul 2024
at 19:22
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
500ml bottle. Generally clear gold with a white head. Red ale malt, some fruitcake with a piney west coast tangent.. decent hoppiness coming through. Nicely done.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Jun 2023
at 11:11
6.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
500ml bottle delivered from the brewery and drunk at home. Dark gold, clear with a tiny ring of white head. Apple and pink grapefruit in the aroma sitting alongside light notes of toffee. Balanced taste, noticeably malt-led with an astringent in the finish. More apple and some tannic iced tea in the aftertaste. Soft to medium carbonation. A little bit messy, and not very hop-forward, but refreshing enough on a hot summer night.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Jul 2021
at 22:56
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle from Stori. Appearance - golden amber. Generous fluffy head. Nose - dried orange and cake. Taste - more fruit cake notes, with some citrus in there now, probably lemon rather than grapefruit. Palate - close to medium in body. Dry finish, but not as zesty as expected from the style. Overall - quite like the Bitter, I've just tasted. Not sure I get IPA here.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Jul 2020
at 08:05