IPA Export
(has 2 batches)

50 cl bottle thanks to Micke (not on ratebeer), sampled on June 23, 2012Clear copper color, off-white head. Malty, caramel, butter scent. Typical (for me) brittish malt character in taste. Medium mouthfeel and bitterness.

Den vanliga Green King IPAn på 3,5% var i lättaste laget. Den här är istället en ganska malttung sak. Green King har sin egen syn på vad en IPA är. Skummet försvinner fort och lämnar inga spår. Maltig doft av karamell, bröd och blommig engelsk humle. Lite kraftigare humlebeska och lite alkoholtoner, mycket maltsötma men ändå en hyfsad balans. Lättdrucken och helt okej.

Förmodar att det är så här det ska smaka när vi talar om traditionell engelsk IPA. Beghaglig beska, lagom sötma. Maltig, karamellig, fruktig och humlig. Lite väl tunn för min smak och hade önskat mer tydlig beska och en aning mer kolsyra.

Clear 500ml bottle: 5.0% ABV. Poured into an ’Abbot Ale’ glass tankard to make it feel at home! Good solid amber body, clear and bright, looks inviting. A well formed, cream coloured, foaming head sat on top. What a pity the head had a retension span of a five year old. Expected a more pronounced hop nose, it is hoppy, but nothing like those monster hopped beers the US is currently producing. The aroma is of summer fruits, so the aromatic hops worked well. As the beer warmed a maltier smell began to eminate from the beer, making it seem sweeter in the nose. The bittering hops also do their bit, because the beer has a pleasing bitterness without going over the top. This isn’t all about hops though, the malts (hidden in the smell at first) are detectable from the first sip, or gulp. Caramel like molasses move the beer above a lot of IPA’s in my opinion. This is one of the sweetest IPA’s I’ve ever had and I like it, the hop bitterness stays longer in the mouth than the malty flavours and as the mouth drys the hops completely dominate. The combination of the two tastes compliment each other very well in this brew. Very drinkable indeed.

Brewed exclusively for the 2011 Wetherspoon Spring beer festival, according to the blurb in the tasting notes: which is when I took these notes. Challenger and First Gold hops give this beer a great hoppy aroma and taste. The clear amber body and thin white head look good and the dry aftertaste and bitterness given by the aforementioned hop content produce a very fine beer indeed. I am not a huge fan of this brewery in general, but this and some other beers they brew are in fact very good.

Bottled 500ml (Stockmann Tallinn, BB 06/2012)
Deep amber color, small beige head. Light toffee and nutty notes, prominent English hops. But also some cardboard. Light to medium-bodied. Dry, almost astrigent minty flavor in front. Harsh bitterness, wood and nuttyness. Caramel maltyness in the back. Aftertaste is nutty-hoppy. Unbalanced and restless.

Bottle. Nose is a bit skunked from the clear bottle...otherwise light malts, a bit of carmel, touch of cinnamon, hay. Rther unexciting nose. Deep orange-amber color with a low, thick, head. Rather pretty. Light malt, mineral flavor, somewhat sweet, caramel, bit of vanilla, slight touch of earthy hops. Slightly peppery finish. Dull.                          

Cask at pub in London. A pretty decent beer. Nice dark golden colour, and a good head.

Red brown colour. Flavour is predominantly bitter with a little bittersweetness coming from the strong flavoured malts. General lack of hoppiness is the critical failure of this IPA.