Heavy Seas Loose Cannon

The fourth beer in my Heavy Seas sampler box was the Loose Cannon IPA.  They still aren't my favorite style, yet I seem to try more kinds of IPAs than anything else:

Vittles:
American IPA
7.25% abv
45 IBU

Score:
Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 19/25
Taste: 33/40
Mouthfeel: 7/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 7/10
Overall: 77/100

Impression:
There wasn't much of a head, but I wasn't at home, and the glass I poured into probably had head-killing soap residue on it.  I wasn't overly impressed by the aroma -- citrusy-grapefruit hops with a bready-caramel background.  It seemed on the weak side for an American IPA.  The flavors were a bit more pronounced than the nose was, but not by a whole lot.  The grapefruit flavors were joined by some resinous pine with a little stickiness, and a sweeter caramel came out on the tongue than I expected.  As the beer warmed, I tasted something akin to brown sugar, too.  The finish is mostly clean with a hint of spiciness, and the aftertaste lingers, but not as long as I'd expect for the style.  Overall, it was a decent IPA, but I got the feeling that the hop characteristics had already faded appreciably, even though I had it several months before the best by date (Nov. 2013).  On a side note, I'm not really one to talk about the importance of "fresh" hops -- this is the first IPA where I've really felt the aromas and flavors imparted by the hops were significantly weaker than I expected them to be.

Cheers!