Troebel donker oranje kleurig bier met schuim. Smaak is hopig bitter en fruitig, abrikoos, perzik. Fles heeft inmiddels een ander etiket waarop dit bier als een IPA wordt omschreven

Dubbed an ’India pale lager’, this is apparently a pale lager hopped in the same way as an IPA - which makes me wonder how this can be classified as a Zwickelbier, Kellerbier or Landbier, I’d rather place it under the new wave of hoppy ’boutique Pilseners’, to quote Martyn Cornell... Anyway, it shows a pretty, clear, deep ’old gold’ colour with quiet sparkling, under an irregularly structured, lightly lacing, egg-white head. Adding the deposit makes it completely hazy, I’m beginning to see the resemblance with a Kellerbier after all... Aroma has lots of citrussy hops, with impressions of mandarin, lemon zest, pink grapefruit flesh, bitter honey, hemp, white grape peel, tulips, white pepper, something faintly buttery and bread dough. Taste begins with a kind of ’malt fruitiness’, subduedly sweetish, minerally and slightly buttery, a bit metallic, with spicy hops creeping in already and increasing towards the finish, supported by a straightforward pale malt sweetishness, a little bit bready; the citrussy, spicy and leafy, fairly complex hop bitterness persists for quite a long time, drying the throat but still remaining relatively gentle. Very quenching and in any case more interesting than the regular pale lagers of Gulpener or any other Dutch brewery. Still, I miss the yeasty fruitiness of a top-fermented IPA so I am still unsure whether these new ’IPLs’, if they are to be considered as a subgenre of Pilsener or pale lager, really add something new to the world of beer styles...

0,33 l bottle from Albert Heijn, best before end of april 2015. Clear, golden orange with a small, frothy, slowly diminishing, white head. Typical IPA-ish, fruity aroma of citrus, tangerine and orange with a malty background of grains, bread and biscuits. Very interesting, sweetish and fruity taste of the mentioned fruits while the malts create flavours of grains, bread and biscuits. Good! Crisp, slightly bitter and fruity finish without the often harsh grapefruit attack. That causes a very smooth mouthfeel. Medium body, soft carbonation. Quite unusual but definitely worth drinking. Good balance between malts and hops. Fresh, not overly bitter and smooth.

Hazy golden colour, generous creamy off-white head, good retention and lacing. Aroma grassy hops, yeasty, citrus, lemon. Fresh medium bitter taste, just a hint of sweetness. Medium body, sticky texture, crisp bitter finish, very nice.

Bottled (from biernavigatie). Hazy orange colour, mediumsized white head. Aroma is grainy, bready and sweet maltiness with nice floral and herbal notes. All in a positive way this time. Flavour is sweet bready and grainy malts along with some floral, resiny and quite refreshing hoppiness to it. Very simplistic, and the grainy notes can be harsh to some, but I actually liked this beer a bunch. One of the surprises lately.

Malzig-süßlicher Antrunk. Etwas muffig-getreidig, aber interessant. Herb im Hauptteil und Nachgeschmack, diese Note fügt sich aber gut in den Gesamtcharakter ein. Blumig-frisch im Nachgeschmack, dabei leicht süßlich. Muffig (Was aber gut passt), malzig, frisch und durch die leichte Süße sehr süffig. Toll!

Imported from my RateBeer account as Gulpener Ur-Hop (by Gulpener Bierbrouwerij):
Aroma: 7/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 7/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 15/20, MyTotalScore: 3.6/5

11/VII/14 - 30cl bottle from Biernavigatie (webshop, NL) @ home - BB: XI/2014 (2014-787)

Cloudy orange beer, creamy irregular yellowish off-white head, pretty stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: grassy, somewhat fruity, hint of exotic fruits, sweet malts, grains, hay. MF: ok carbon, medium to light body. Taste: sweet malts, bit fruity, citrus, exotic fruits, nice bitterness, bit sour. Aftertaste: some citrus, exotic fruits again, soft bitterness, little sweet. Very nice beer, this one! The cascade is keeping this thing straight up!