The first of two canned offerings being released in 2010 from the folks at Crow Peak (the other being their Pile O' Dirt Porter). Not only is this the only canned craft beer from South Dakota but one of only a handful of breweries in the state. Love the design and colors on this can by the way...

From the Crow Peak site:

"Hop aroma and flavor dominate this IPA. However, the malt character of this deep amber colored ale nicely balances the hop component thus avoiding a harsh bitterness. A truly quaffable beverage!"

Here we go...

Pour - dark amber with some reddish highlights. The head is gone pretty quick and fades to some wispy clouds floating on top. This one sure settles down quickly.

Aroma - caramel sweetness upfront with some subtle lemon aromas. Not a whole lot of hop aroma coming from this pour. 

Taste - a bit of a surprise as the aroma is very subdued for an IPA. This one has a bit crisp, citrusy bite that will instantly numb your tongue with bitterness. Some pine comes through in the very dry finish. Not a lot of hop complexity but certainly something that will appease the IPA drinkers out there, myself included.

Overall -  decent IPA. If you like your IPAs on the very bitter side this will suit you just fine. Sweet, citrusy with a dry finish. This would do well on a hot summer day.

Would I buy more of it? - perhaps. There are a lot of other canned IPAs that have come out recently that I need to get my paws on first. Also, I am looking forward to trying Crow Peak's upcoming Pile O' Dirt Porter once it is available.

Note - it's great to see breweries take the leap of faith and go straight to cans and bypassing bottles altogether. Crow Peak should see a good deal of success with their canned offerings and I look forward to seeing what else comes off their canning lines in the future!