Rocky Mountain IPA

The Rocky Mountain India Pale Ale is my first review here with Beer Genius, so bear with... wait, you don't even know who I am. Well, in that case, let me introduce myself. My name is Jeffrey Ward, friend and fellow drinker of fine beers to Jameson. I went to and graduated from University of Kansas with a degree in Genetics and have plans of going back, shortly. Anyways, we here at Beer Genius will strive to bring you news and reviews about all things beer. Thank you and on with the review.

Now, before I get anywhere in this review about the Fort Collins Rocky Mountain IPA, a big “Thank You!” to George Hodgeson, because without you, we never would have had the recipe for a fantastic beer, which would henceforth become known as an India Pale Ale, or IPA for short.

The IPA style was created in the mid 1700s for the sole purpose of getting fresh beer from England to India around the Cape of Good Hope (75th Street Brewery, you will get your review soon enough). The first official IPA was “Hodgeson’s India Ale”, a variation of his pale ale recipe from the 1750s, and was brewed and shipped around the 1780s, and it set the market on fire with other breweries, like Bass, attempting recreate it for the locals. They never achieved the same flavour of Hodgeson, due to the 6-month fermentation process the beer took in the barrels during the voyage.

Modern versions of the IPA recipe have been done by many of craft breweries in United States, but do not reflect the Hodgeson recipe, and are classified American India Pale Ales. Anchor’s Liberty Ale or Victory’s HopDevil Ale, are some of the more notable forms of the American India Pale Ale. Hops used in American IPAs are citric in nature and are most commonly the Cascade, Chinook, and Columbus varietals. The focus on the hops for IPAs is to give the beer that strong bitter start, with a crisp finish.

Fort Collins Brewery, located in Fort Collins, Colorado, is your typical microbrewery. They brew 6 year-round beers (Major Tom’s Pomegranate Wheat, Rocky Mountain IPA, Kidd Lager, Z Lager, Retro Red, and a Chocolate Stout) as well as 3 Seasonal Beers (Spring: Spring Bock, Fall: Doppelbock, Winter: Big Shot Ale). Some of these our in our fridge, waiting their time in the spotlight to be drank and reviewed by the team here at Beergenius. FCB has a fairly wide distribution range, predominately in the mid-west, but can be found on the east coast in states like New York and Pennsylvania.

Body: 16. A golden, amber ale that presents an excellent color at first pour. Head dissipated fairly quickly leaving a very floral beer to drink.

Nose: 18. First whiff of the beer, you will get a very floral nose and a wonderful aroma.

Character: 19. First quaff of the beer, an intense hop flavour kicks you in the mouth, as most IPAs will give you. The flavor of the beer has edge to the hop bitterness over the malt sweetness. A lingering finish and mellow aftertaste stays with you long until your next drink. Because of the mouth-feel of this (and most) IPAs, solid cleansing of the palate is recommended if you will be sampling other types of beer.

Originality: 15. IPAs have a deep back-story as told in the article. Now, Fort Collins Brewery does their best at replicating a fantastic recipe for beer, but I have certainly had better IPAs.

Versatility: 15. IPAs tend to have higher alcohol and are a lot busier on the tongue than your traditional pilsner or lager, drink this one (and other IPAs) if you can stand the bitterness that the intense hops give.

Overall: 83/100. The Rocky Mountain IPA from Fort Collins Brewery was good beer to be challenged with for my virgin review.


Beer: American India Pale Ale
ABV: ~6.2%
Brewer: Fort (Fun) Collins Brewery (Fort Collins, CO)
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Ward