Beer Reivew: Clipper City Loose Cannon

Clipper City Brewing Company Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale

This is my first review for the Clipper City Brewing Company. They are still pretty hard to find here in northern New Jersey but I am glad to get to try what I can. This is part of the Heavy Seas line that they released to cater to the fans of big beer. This beer is touted as being "a hop shot across the bow!" with 3 lbs of hops per barrel. That is impressive to me, I usually don't add any more than a pound. Very good aroma, sweet and caramelly with some hop spiciness. The head is a bit lackluster. Goes away after a minute or two. I expected more retention from a beer this hoppy. They definitely bumped up the malt to compete with the hops which I like. A sign of a true big beer.

The flavor is surprisingly sweet. This to me tastes like they went light on the bittering hops and used the three pounds for flavor and aroma. The result is a sweet hoppy beer that doesn't overpower in any way. The 7.25% ABV will creep up on you though. The flavor really hides the potency very well. I do find myself missing some of the bitterness that seems to be left out.

This is a good IPA but it isn't one I would go to often. I do however think it is a good addition to the heavy seas lineup and serves to round out the malty collection. The sweet malty hop flavor is very nice but I would find myself seeking an IPA elsewhere.

Final Score: 73% (Unusual for an IPA. Still Average.)