Beer Review: Red Leg Brewing Company’s Doolittle IPA

Doolittle IPA, Red Leg Brewing Company, Colorado Springs

Style: IPA

Serving Type: 12-ounce can

ABV: 6.9 percent

Malt score (1–10): 8

Hop score (1–10): 3

Reviewed: July 2015

With so many breweries in Colorado, it is hard to find a biz angle to grab drinkers’ attention. That hasn’t been a problem for Colorado Springs-based Red Leg Brewing Company, which opened in 2013. The brewery is a veteran-owned operation with a historic moniker (during the Civil War, field artillery soldiers wore pants with red stripes, earning the “red leg” nickname).

We’ve written about the brewery before (it won “Best Tank Name” last year for its homage to a fallen soldier), but thought it was high time to review one of its brews. This being Colorado, we opted for their Doolittle IPA. We’d heard good things about it from beer aficionados, but mostly we wanted to see if this version would stand out in Colorado’s over-saturated IPA market (too many IPAs is a good thing, in my humble opinion).

(Read more beer reviews from 5280 editors)

This brew comes out swinging with a big, bold hoppy punch. It has a super clean nose (not too citrusy or grassy) and the first taste hits with bitter hops. On second taste, though, I started to get more malt flavors, which helped balance out the brew. The color is lovely milky amber and the head stands up much longer than I’d expect for a canned beer.

While this is not as a bombastic as other Colorado IPAs, this also isn’t a brew for someone who doesn’t already like the style. Which I do, very much, as do so many Coloradans—it is the state’s defining beer style, after all. All the more reasons why this brew will have staying power in Colorado’s craft beer market.

The ideal drinker: Anyone planning a BBQ on a patriotic holiday.

(Check out 5280’s comprehensive guide to Colorado’s craft beer scene)

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