New Belgium's "Beer Rangers" are their field staff and sales crew all over this country, well all over about half of this country. This was a beer produced in their honor and done so with a boatload of hops per the request of the Rangers in the Pacific Northwest. I went in thinking this was going to be a decent beer but I walked away quite impressed by both the quality and the intensity of all those hops! Also, you've got to love the graphics on this can. Simple but artistic. 

From the New Belgium site:

"So, here it finally is – New Belgium’s foray into the true American India Pale Ales. Bring out the hops! This clear amber beauty bursts at the starting gate with an abundance of hops: Cascade (citrus), Chinook (floral/citrus), and Simcoe (fruity) lead off the beer, with Cascade added again for an intense dry hop flavor. Brewed with pale and dark caramel malts that harmonize the hop flavor from start to finish, Ranger is a sessionable splendor for all you hopinistas. Thank your Beer Ranger!”

Here we go...

Pour - a nice looking golden color with a great head on top. Another great example of how beer from a can looks just as good in a glass as any from a bottle.

Aroma - a sting of citrus and pine in the nostrils along with powdered sugar and toast. I'm enticed so onward we march.

Taste - a nice dose of all that is amazing about fresh hops. Citrus, orange peel, pine and floral flavors upfront and all over your taste buds. This is then followed up by a caramel-y, malty finish that is just plain delicious. Some toasty flavors meld so well with all that hop intensity. This could be a go to beer for me that is for sure. 

Overall - balanced with a really nice malty finish that really clears out those hops just in time for your tongue to be numbed again by the next barrage. I was really impressed by the Ranger IPA and I am pretty excited that I've got one more to enjoy in the near future. 

Would I buy more of it? - absolutely. This is a very tasty IPA with the perfect amount of balance that would bring me to crack open another can just as I am taking the last sip (from a glass of course) from the previous one. 

Note - New Belgium cans three of their beers. The Ranger IPA is probably the one you'll have the hardest time finding as it is a limited run can. The others, Fat Tire and Sunshine Wheat, are much more widespread.