Friday (cocktail?) IPA – Fiddlehead!

A detour from a cocktail (very rare!)

This brought on by a trip to Vermont this past week – no cocktails but Fiddlehead IPA (stands for India Pale Ale, originally brewed in Britain and exported to India “with high hop content and alcohol levels acting as preservatives to survive the long hot voyage from Britain”) which Brigid and I really enjoyed.Fiddlehead is brewed in Shelburne, Vermont.

It is a little milder then other IPA’s – here is an analysis by PerplexityAI.

Fiddlehead IPA drinks as a fairly dry, clean, citrus‑and‑pine focused American IPA with mellow bitterness, so it feels more balanced and less aggressively bitter or sugary-juicy than many modern hazies.

Core flavor profile

• Medium body with a light haze, not a thick, smoothie-like NEIPA.
• Hop aroma and flavor are dominated by citrus (orange, lemon, grapefruit), pine, and some “dank” resin, plus a touch of tropical fruit.
• Bitterness is described as “mellow” or moderate: enough to remind you it’s an IPA, but not tongue-scraping.
• Finish is relatively dry and snappy rather than sweet or sticky, which keeps it very drinkable pint-after-pint.

An easy way to picture it: think “Vermont-leaning New England IPA” that still carries some old-school American IPA edge—clean, citrusy, piney, and balanced rather than a pure juice bomb.

How it differs from many other IPAs

• Compared with classic West Coast IPAs: Fiddlehead has less harsh bitterness and a softer, hazier body, but still leans into pine and dank notes more than many NE hazies.
• Compared with modern NE / hazy IPAs: It is drier, a bit more bitter, and less intensely tropical-sweet; many hazies push mango/guava and very low bitterness, whereas Fiddlehead keeps more traditional citrus and pine structure.
• Compared with hype juicebombs (Tree House, Trillium, etc.): Drinkers often call Fiddlehead an everyday, “everyman’s IPA” that’s more restrained, consistent, and not as skunky or fragile as some hazies.