This juicy, or New England-style, IPA pours a murky golden yellowish-orange. The head is a frothy off-white color composed of small to medium bubbles.
First smell is grapefruit and citrusy hops. Behind that are some hints of grain and, rather distinctly, corn kernels.
Sipping from the glass reveals bright citrusy hops with hints of orange peel and grapefruit. As the beer warms I’m getting more of that grain / corn aroma and flavor. It’s not overwhelming or off-putting but it’s definitely there.
This beer is thick bodied and almost pulpy with the occasional hint of some grit in the finish. There aren’t huge pulpy particulates in it, it’s more like a thick orange juice.
Other Specs:
- ABV: 6.5%
- IBUs: 61
- Available in the tap room as snifters, 32oz and 64oz growlers.
- No brew date was easily visible in the tap room or on their site.
- Growler consumed day of purchase.
Why That Glass?
Cold Harbor serves this beer in tulip glasses at the tap room so we decided to follow suit. Because of the visual aspects associated with this beer I think either a seidel or a pint glass would also work well. Both provide a good look at the beer’s thick, dense, haze and showcase it’s rather frothy head.
About this Juicy / New England Style IPA
Indian Summer is brewed by Cold Harbor Brewing Co. in Westborough, Ma. Cold Harbor dubs this a Juicy IPA on their website but in their tap room they list it as a New England Style IPA. Given its relative newness I believe that either of these terms applies. I’ve also seen them referred to as Hazy IPAs, Hazy Pale Ales, and Milkshake IPAs.
Cold Harbor sells pints in their tap room along with 32 & 64 ounce growlers. (I had a pint and brought a 32 home.) I couldn’t find any reference to whether it was a seasonal, special or year-round offering.
Other Notes
Cold Harbor’s Indian Summer IPA is kind of serving as my introduction to this particular style. As a result I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect. Standing in the tap room, sipping a pint and chatting with friends I found it to be a really interesting beer. As the smell of fresh BBQ wafted in from the food truck out in their parking lot I was quite content.
Getting home and tasting the beer in a more controlled setting I was still interested by the beer but was also slightly surprised by what I was tasting. Still an intriguing brew, but less inviting and kind of leaning towards “not my style.”
Not bad, just maybe not for me. Of course that’s kind of how I felt the first time I drank a beer or had coffee. Of course I’m still intrigued by this style, though, and am looking forward to finding more AND trying more of Cold Harbor’s Brews.