Review of New England Brewing Co. Sea Hag IPA
Posted By Ken Monday, 26 May 2008 13:10
Saturday night before the Indianapolis 500, getting ready to go partake in some activities around the speedway with a group, an eclectic mix of beer before we go, and one of them turns out to be New England Brewing Company's Sea Hag IPA. Zach had decided to try this first, but I had to try some of it as well, not wanting to risk being responsible for an entire can of possible swill getting pitched in the garbage--or worse, being forced to drink it. Is that how it turned out? Read on and see!
Ken's Review
Taste: C As far as IPAs go, of which I am a fan, Sea Hag is about as delicious as the name makes it sound. The initial first second it hits your mouth it is fine, but rapidly sinks into an abyss of terrible after taste. The after taste, which in my opinion is complete bullshit for an IPA, comes across with way too much of a malt after taste. There really should be more hoppiness to it or something.
Packaging: B+ Sea Hag comes in a black can with an ominous looking figure coming at you above the words "Sea Hag" in some cheesy font. I give the packaging a decent score because the dark can and the ominous figure does do a good job after the fact of making you realize this should have scared you away from ever trying it.
Value: ? Since this was free, I have no reason to complain from a value standpoint, other than it almost made me wish I could send in the can for a rebate.
Drunkeness: B+ Sea Hag IPA comes in at a whopping 6.2% alcohol content, which is a good way to get you to a quick buzz without paying liqour prices. If you can muster the sub-par taste, and want to get bit quick, then this may not be a bad choice for you. Based on what I tasted of it, this stuff will probably be an interesting mess coming back up if you aren't careful.
Overall: B- If you are like me, and a fan of (real) IPA, and can do so for free, then I would recommend giving the Sea Hag a try but not too much more. In my opinion she should either stay in the sea, or we need to send some whalers after her to put a nice harpoon through her so the possibility of Sea Hag IPA disappearing may be all but realized.