Fuggles IPA

Bottle. Slightly cloudy golden beer with a very strong head. The aroma is mildly malty and hopped, and the flavour is very deeply dry and bitter with a long hopped finish. Overall a basic but very reasonable American IPA. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle from Kris Wines, London. Drunk on thanksgiving. Light amber pour with a medium white head. Insipid nose of vague hop and sweet malts. Flavour was watery and really lacked any balls. Very lacklustre hop bitterness. Disappointingly average.

Brown bottle, 355 ml, best before February 2012, savoured December 5 2011; eye: amber, clear, light effervescence, tiny sheet of off-white head, no lacing; nose: malt, grain, English hops, slight fruity, leafy; mouth: malt, grain, English hops, slight fruity, leafy, slight caramel, aggressive finale in malt with presence of English hops, medium body, average carbonation, mildly bitter, light astringency, slightly sweet, grainy texture; overall: ordinary FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 355 ml, meilleure avant février 2012, savourée le 5 décembre 2011; œil : ambrée, limpide, légère effervescence, petite couverture de mousse blanc cassé, pas de dentelle; nez : malt, grain, houblon anglais, feuillu; bouche : malt, grain, houblon anglais, très léger fruité, feuillue, très léger caramel, finale agressante en malt avec présence de houblon anglais, corps moyen, carbonatation moyenne, moyennement amère, légère astringence, très légèrement sucrée, texture granuleuse; en résumé : ordinaire

Clear amber-gold pour with a medium thin ivory white head that recedes steadily. Top ring of lace with spots underneath. Aroma of herbal hops and malt. Light to medium body with flavors of hops, slightly sour fruit and malt. The finish is short and lightly hopped. Slightly below average overall.

Bouteille 355ml. De couleur cuivrée-dorée et claire. Nez fruité (agrumes, léger de fruits tropicaux sucrés), malté de caramel sucré, moyen de houblon herbeux (herbes fraîches, notes de feuilles de thé), floral et aux petites notes terreuses ainsi qu’avec des notes de biscuits. Mince-moyenne en bouche avec un pétillement moyen-bas et une texture aux notes huileuses et crémeuses. Goût fruité (agrumes, léger de melon de miel, traces d’abricots) avec une moyenne amertume de houblon floral aux faibles notes citriques (une amertume présente en arrière-goût toute la gorgée) lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un moyen goût malté de caramel doux, léger de biscuits avec des notes de pain et des traces de butterscotch puis en finale l’amertume de houblon reprend le dessus en étant asséchante, herbeuse (herbes fraîches et léger de feuilles de thé) et légèrement terreuse. Post-goût moyen et moyennement sec, moyennement amer de houblon herbeux, floral et légèrement terreux avec un léger goût fruité zest d’agrumes).

A golden amber IPA with a thick collapsing frothy and lacing white head. In aroma, sweet caramel, chemical berries, light solvents, herbaceous hops. In mouth, a decent biscuitty malt, with roasted character, British hops, but a rather cloying butterscotch. Bottle from SAQ Complexe Desjardins, April 2011.

A serviceable but boring IPA. I’m never going to prefer English-style IPAs to American, but this is pretty blah from any perspective. It looks fine - deep amber body with a foamy white head. Unfortunately, it goes right downhill when you smell it. There’s an almost cloyingly sweet medicinal note that really spoils things for me, but I’m not a big fan of their yeast. The Fuggles are musty, mineral-ish and floral. There’s a fair bit of butterscotch malt, as well. The flavor has good bitterness, but the hops are rather bland. There’s a metallic tinge to the odd toffee/butterscotch malt. This beer combines some things that I don’t much like, namely Ringwood yeast and Fuggles. It’s not terribly hard to drink, but there’s very little to recommend it, particularly over other IPAs.

Tastes more like a lager than a traditional IPA in my opinion. Almost no bitterness to speak of. Very flat. Rated 2/6/03

Bottle. Not the type of IPA to which I am accustomed. As an American IPA, this is nothing special. If you consider it as more of a British-style IPA, you might think its pretty darn good. The beer seems to wander somewhere in between copper ale, pale ale, and IPA. Pours a bright cold hue with a creamy, off-white head. Aroma of light malts but very little hops or florals. Flavor is earthy and mildly bitter, more so on the finish. Light to medium carbonation and just a tad metallic. At times it struck me as a little watery. Drinkable.