Scuttlebutt Brewing Company -- Gale Force IPA

Scuttlebutt Brewing Company's Gale Force IPA is brought courtesy of my neighbor, Dave, who was kind enough to give me a six pack.  Dave loves IPAs and discovered this beer while on a business trip to the Seattle area.  Luckily, Total Wine and More sells it in 10 states including California so he was able to pick up some down here.  Thanks Dave!

What's scuttlebutt?  According to the brewery's website it means several things: a drinking fountain on a ship, gossip, a nickname of Cynthia L. Barrett, and a microbrewery started as a second career.  Scuttlebutt Brewing Co. is located in Everett, Washington which is just north of Seattle.  It all started with home brewing in 1990 to opening a brew house with a 20 barrel system in 1996.  After consistent growth, in 2007 the company moved into a bigger space where they are poised to keep growing.

Gale Force IPA is an IPA with plenty of body and enough maltiness to help support the strong hop flavor.  It's a golden hazy color.  When it was poured it looked like it wouldn't have too much head, but then the head kept getting bigger to what you see in the picture.  It smells floral and has the hop flavor you expect in an IPA, but it is not too overpowering.  It still clocks in at 96 IBU's so it is pretty bitter, and it's 5.25% ABV.  For me, I feel like a lot of brewers are missing or overdoing something with IPAs and its hard to find a good one.  But this IPA is bitter but not overdone so you can enjoy the hop complexity while still enjoying an easy drinking beer.  Cheers!