McNeill's Brewery Dead Horse IPA

Dead Horse IPA

 

McNeill's Brewery in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸

  IPA Regular
Score
6.58
ABV: 5.1% IBU: - Ticks: 31
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7.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

From Aug 2008

I got this bottle in a trade with vermonthiker. Thanks Tom!

It's a nice deep amber pour with a 3 finger head of foam(cellar temp).

The smell is big on the hops. Floral plays it big here along with some piney notes but intertwined with the hops is a good malty sweetness. I like the nose.

The taste is quite bitter. The floral and piney hops make my mouth pucker a bit until some malt sweetness arrives mid palate but doesn't stick around long as the finish gets back on the hoppy and very dry side. Long bitter aftertaste here and it's nice. I'm kind of surprised that this is called an English Style IPA as the malt presence isn't nearly strong enough to hold its own with the hops but...whatever you call it, it's a mighty fine drop and really easy to put away as the abv is relatively low for the style.

It has a medium and oily mouthfeel to it, the carbonation is on the low side, and it finishes...err...I already covered that earlier. ;^)

Btw, awesome head retention!

Bottom line: This is an interesting and tasty and very bitter example of an IPA. It's my first brew from this brewery and I like what they've done here. I've gotta try more East coast IPAs...

Tried from Bottle on 07 Dec 2017 at 11:12


4.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4

Draft at the brewery bar. Pours clear gold with a creamy white head. The nose has some dusty pine, berries, vague citrus fruits. Medium sweet flavor with crackery pale malts, light grassy bitterness, hints of citrus, leaves. Medium bodied with fine carbonation. Lightly resinous on the finish, some further crackers, hay, rind. Not great.

Tried from Draft on 20 Sep 2015 at 13:35


6.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 5.5

This was poured into a nonic pint glass.
The appearance was a hazy glossed over orange color with a slim one finger white foamy head that dissipated decently in a nice way. Lacing was decently stringy and messy.
The smell started off with a decent earthy to semi-grassy sweet hops running into a sly caramel backbone.
The taste pretty much copied the smell and had a decent sweet malty backbone leading to the semi-earthy and becoming slightly citrus (and English-esque) in the aftertaste and finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a decent sessionability about it. Carbonation is sly and carries the harshness just enough but stays back to allow the bitterness to take the lead.
Overall, good as an English IPA, is that what its supposed to be????, I’m not sure....

Tried on 27 Jun 2015 at 19:19


6.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Dark yellow no nose. Esther’s and creamy yogurt. A touch of banana with a woody pine needle and clove finish

Tried on 07 Jun 2014 at 15:34


6.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle. Pours muddy amber orange with off white head. Nose/taste of citrus rind, caramel malt, earth and ripe fruit. Medium body. Finishes a bit grainy with some bitter overripe fruit. Very malt forward - a bit too malty/grainy.

Tried from Bottle on 28 Dec 2012 at 17:33


7.3
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Draft. Hazy golden color, thick white heaf. Aroma of grass and light pine. Taste is citrus, pine. Decent.

Tried from Draft on 27 Aug 2012 at 08:21


5.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5

Had a weird, almost smoky flavor that sort of killed my interest. Yes, there are the hop notes and citrus flavors, but they’re drowned out by this overpowering flavor of burnt grain. Don’t know if I got hold of a bad bottle or what,, but this isn’t the best IPA.

Tried from Bottle on 25 Apr 2012 at 14:47


8.2
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle: Poured a deep cloudy caramel color ale with a nice thick foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma consists of light bitter hops with light floral undertones with a rich caramel malt base. Taste is also a well balanced mix between some floral and lightly bitter hops with a rich caramel mal bill with just enough sweetness to balance the hops profile. Body is full with limited filtration and good carbonation. I understand this is not an IPA for hophead but the malt bill is quite incredible and I would love to have this more often.

Tried from Bottle on 18 Aug 2011 at 12:00


7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Nice crisp, slightly hazy copper coloured body with a nice tan head that fades relatively fast. Aroma of grapefruit, floral hops, light malt and a bit of a grassiness. Medium-bodied; Floral and grassy bite at first from the hops with a bit of grapefruit coming through afterwards and a good balance of malt, but a definite herbal kick from the hops. Aftertaste is a bit one-dimensional, but that’s fairly typical for the style and the tastes are squarely on the hops. Overall, a decent IPA, nothing spectacular, but not a bad example. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Liquor Outlet in Boonton, New Jersey on 08-May-2011 sampled at home in Washington on 05-July-2011.

Tried from Bottle on 05 Jul 2011 at 22:56


5.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 5

Nice surprise today at the store 3 new bombers to try. Pours a slightly cloudy amber color with a creamy white head that dissipates quickly. Smells of malt and butter, caramel and maybe some floral hops if I squint, close my eyes and inhale. Taste is sweet malts, caramel, toffee and butter. Very little hops in the aroma or flavor. I had to call my wife over to verify that I wasn’t nuts, but there is very little hops to be found. Medium body and carbonation, sticky mouthfeel. If they had called this a bitter I would have scored it much higher. An IPA this is not. Maybe there was some mix up at bottling time, but I have to assume that this is supposed to be an IPA. If I try this again I will re rate.

Tried on 24 Mar 2011 at 17:43