United Nations of Beer

Little Scrapper IPA

by Dallas Reimer
(Beer Delegate, MB, Canada)

Little Scrapper IPA
Half Pints Brewing, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Francis, the bartender at the King’s Head Pub, doesn’t like the taste of Little Scrapper. He likes Guinness and Swithwicks.

He does, however, like it when somebody orders it. He likes yelling "Little scrappah!" in his loud, ragged voice. He also seems to enjoy having his picture taken by drunken members of the UNOB. But, since I was the member was taking the picture as well as gauging his enjoyment, my judgment could be off.

We arrived at The King's Head via bicycle towards the end of a Friday night after I had consumed two Alexander Keith's IPAs, four Labatt 50s, one Standard Lager and one shot of bourbon. We had just sat down on the crowded patio when I recalled seeing Half Pints Little Scrapper IPA on tap last time I was here.

We ordered pints and they arrived, yellow and cloudy as a faded wedding ring. The head was almost non-existent. It looked like it had been poured out of a boot.

Everyone else around me had cold-filtered, pasteurized, bright golden beers in frosty mugs sporting inch-thick heads. I picked up my pint and felt almost ashamed. Was I driving a beat-up Ford when everyone else was in Corvettes?

I was nervous about my choice, but regardless of the liquor-induced wagging my tongue had been through so far that night, the Little Scrapper nailed it to the roof of my mouth the moment I took a sip.

The first thing I noticed was the strong, bitter, citrus flavour. Three sips in, I began to appreciate all the time and effort (and hops) this beer took to create. IPA is supposed to be bitter and strong (regardless of what some breweries seem to think). Little Scrapper IPA, at 6.0% ABV and 50 IBU, seems to fit this profile rather snugly (regardless of what some beer snobs seem to think).

Reading back over our previous Bulldog Amber Ale, Stir Stick Stout and Phil's Pils reviews, it seems as though Half Pints Brewery has one mission: To destroy taste buds.

Two or three pints in, you lose the citrus and start to really get into enjoying the hops. To switch to a macrobrew now would probably incite arguments with your Bud and Blue drinking buddies about what "real" beer is. Most of Half Pints' brews are so strong-tasting that they border on novelty, but are relieved of that label by superb execution.

To order a mass-market beer when a Half Pints is on tap is akin to watching New Year's Eve on television. Sure, you're celebrating, but what's the point?

Slightly reeling from the burly pints, we wheeled back home in what seemed to be a straight line. Again, my judgment could be off, but, we are still alive and the bikes are undamaged so I would consider the night a success.

Now I know that the next time my mouth is giving me sass, I'll throw another Little Scrapper IPA in it and show it who's boss.