New Belgium - Ranger IPA

Well, I'll be honest, I've never "disliked" New Belgium, per se..... I have just thought a number of their beers (of all styles) have been a bit dull and watered down. None of them are bad-tasting or anything of that nature, but just a bit dumbed-down and made "easy to drink". I went into this one thinking the same thing, and while I've had it on tap before and was underwhelmed, I figured I'd sit down and give it a good taste, and ultimately a second chance. While still not amazing, it was a touch better than I remember.

I picked this up at Friar Tucks in a build your own six pack. As it is a New Belgium product, I imagine this is available at most liquor stores and probably a ton of super markets in the St. Louis area, as well as all over Missouri for that matter. You'll probably see it for around 8 bucks for a sixer.

12oz bottle in this case, poured into a basic pint glass. Bottle says it's 6.5% abv. The bottle also says it's 70 IBUs (that's a measure of the hop-bitterness) and that it's brewed with a combination of simcoe, cascade, and chinook hops. I'm a beer nerd, but I'm still not down with the specifics of what hops have what characteristics.

Pours a fairly clear rosey/amber/brown. A good amount of carbonation gives a pretty significant 2 finger head after a somewhat aggressive pour. A good amount of foam remains after a minute or so, and I will have to say that there was some pretty solid lacing during the entire drinking session. Looks a *touch* light for an IPA, but we'll see. Remember what I said in my previous post about tasting your beer, and how lighter colored beers might be lacking malt? Well, that will come into play here.

The smell is on the sweet side, but not a heavy sweet. This is a citrusy-grapefruit kind of sweet. Very floral, leafy, piney as well. There is definitely a bitterness there (with the pine) and you can get a bit of the alcohol in the nose, also. I'm not getting any sort of malt notes here, just a light, leafy-floral thing. It's a good smell, no doubt, but I'm not sure how it will translate to taste.

The first drink brings a big bitter bite right up front with a somewhat astringent finish. A little warmth and a few more sips allows the grapefruit notes to shine through. As it gets warm the grapefruit notes are extremely present, and the bitterness is toned down just a touch. The finish is still bitter and dry with the pine and leafy-ness that I picked up with the first smell. All this is somewhat mellowed out and dulled with a bit of warmth, but it never turns to a heavier sweetness that would make me assume any sort of malt significance. It's fairly light on the tongue. I guess I harped on the grapefruit in it enough, but it's a pleasant presence.

It's not a bad taste, it's bitter like you'd expect out of an IPA. The grapefruit and pine aren't extremely overpowering, and are typical of this style, but it needs a touch of malt to bring everything together and not have the bitterness sit on your tongue as long as it does. I kept waiting for something else that just never came. And while this is a touch better than most New Belgium offerings this is the ultimate issue with their beers, in my opinion. Let's say there are 4 characteristics that make a certain beer a great version of a certain style, but NB always seems to be missing one or two of those characteristics. They'll take 2-3 characteristics and do a good job with them, and make it taste good, but it will be like they left out something else completely. I understand that an IPA is about the hop-presence, but a top notch brew still achieves that balance. The grapefruit and the pine in this brew are good, so is a not too overpowering bitterness. But without the sweetness of some malt to give it some balance, and a bit more weight on the tongue, the bitterness lingers until it turns into an unattractive astringent, chemically quality. Now, it's not, like crazy harsh, just a bit more than it should be.

Overall this is still a good beer, and something I wouldn't mind drinking again. I just get disappointed that NB never seems to be able to take that extra step that makes their beer well rounded and complete to the point where it is a "very good" beer. As usual, this is a "good beer" that is just missing something.

Verdict: 6.5/10