Wooden Ship A Normal IPA IPA

Wooden Ship A Normal IPA IPA.

6.3 % ABV. Wooden Ship Brewing, Minneapolis, MN. 

Linden Hills is an old-fashioned neighborhood. I'm sure many of the ale afficianados who congregate  at Wooden Ship might see a Hazy IPA, the kind all the kids are into, of course, and wonder, "don't you have a normal IPA?" You know, not a milkshake, not a hazy, no lactose, or cotton candy, or marshmallows, or this fruit or that fruit, just a normal IPA? I'm glad that they got one. 

I also imagine that this must happen when these gentlemen or women strain to scan the beer list, traipsing through the various variations on farmhouse ales and such, and just want a normal IPA, dammit, do you have one of those? 

Clear, bold amber color, slim white head. 

In the nose: Bright, beautiful citrusy notes, with a dash of pine. Orange, lemon, grapefruit rule the roost. 

In the mouth: More brightness and boldness. Starts out a little juicy, quickly turning dry. Ample malt keeps it sweet and holds down the fort. Fruit flavors unfold upon the palate, accompanied by bracing bitterness, everything I look for in an India Pale Ale. Flat out Yum a Dum Dum. Lightish bodied, easy drinking, containing all the hallmarks of the style. 

This hits it in the right ways, brisk, crisp, refreshingly bitter, expertly consumable, pleases the palate, while never quite challenging, quite easy to pass down the throat and accompany pleasant times with happy company. That's what a good ol' normal IPA is all about.