IPA – Welsh: Tiny Rebel Urban IPA

This mid-week beer is from the Welsh Tiny Rebel – Their Urban IPA. I’ve always admired Tiny Rebel as a brewery and it’s nice to be able to include them in this blog – expect to see a few more of their beers soon as they do some good’ns! This is a 5.5% IPA which always seems to be on tap in my Local in Summer, so I thought it would be the best one to go for in the current season!

Let’s start with Tiny Rebel’s description of the brew:

A carefully-crafted intercontinental blend of hops helps us take traditional IPAs to the next level with Urban IPA. If you’re bored with soulless IPAs drunk by farmers in wellies, it’s time to go URBAN.

A nice, short description letting you into an insight on how they make the beer and a little joke about some of the blander IPA’s out there in the UK. There’s not really much else to say about this as it’s quite a short description. I must say that the little poke against a certain Brewery in Farm Territory made me crack a smile, though.

Let’s start with the Hops in this one, I think Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial and Citra have been used in this one. As for the Malts, we’ve got 2-Row, Caramalt, a touch of Golden Light and then a little Red Wheat. After this, it’s fermented with a nice San Diego Style yeast.

When you pour this beer, it’s a deep Orange with a thick White Head which has the best retention of the beers I’ve seen as of late. It eventually dissipates to a thin head and sticks around the entire time you drink, leaving foamy lacing around the glass. On the nose, there’s Citrus, Passion Fruit and some Floral/Rose notes which are interesting. When you taste this beer, you get a huge hit of Grapefruit, Citrus and Rose water. A nice, sticky Caramel backbone carries throughout, which is a great touch to this super-citrusy IPA. The body is medium, with medium carbonation. The beer has quite a creamy feel in your mouth and finishes dry.

You can buy Urban IPA at:

Tiny Rebel

Honest Brew

Amazon

Beer Gonzo

Beer Merchants

EST. CALORIES: 165   ABV: 5.5%

Anniversary Post! Double IPA – Firestone Walker Double Jack

Just to start this post off, it’s our 1st Birthday today! The response we’ve got from this blog over the last year has been incredible. We’ve got to try some amazing beers, go to some amazing events and meet some great people! Thanks for coming along for the ride, it doesn’t stop here so thanks for your support and lets carry on spreading the word of good beer! Speaking of beer…

(PS. Apologies for the cheesy edit, I couldn’t resist)

What better way to celebrate a First Birthday than a Triple Dry Hopped, Double IPA from Firestone Walker?! This week’s beer is Double Jack, and if you’re living in the UK there’s going to be a link at the end on where to buy this beer! It also arrived very fresh, I’m not sure how it happened but the fact is I can have a beer I’ve admired for a long time without going all the way to California and smuggling back a few bottles!

Let’s start with Firestone Walker‘s description of the brew:

A dangerously drinkable Double IPA.  Double Jack opens up with bright grapefruit and tangerine American hop aromas. Beautifully crafted undertones of stone fruit are revealed upon first sip, followed by the essence of blue basil and pine. A sturdy pale and crystal malt backbone brings balance to high hop intensity. Complex and aggressively hopped, and flawlessly balanced.

A to the point description with this one, almost like a wine description with the amount of flavours suggested in the brew! However, Firestone Walker are from the Wine region of California so it’s understandable.

Let’s get on to the recipe, as this is a Double IPA lets start with the Hops. In this one, the bittering Hops are Warrior and Columbus, the late Hops Cascade and Centennial. After this is the crazy Triple Dry Hopping with Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe for 3 days. As for the Malts, from the recipe it seems to pack a good Malt bill with 2-Row, Munich and Light Crystal. It’s fermented with a pretty Standard California Yeast.

This beer pours a lovely Golden colour with a Medium White head with great retention. Rings of lacing line the glass as you drink, making for a really attractive looking brew! On the nose there’s lots of Grapefruit, Orange, Pine, Caramel and that signature Firestone Walker Vanilla. On the Palate you’ve got a big initial hit of Tangerine, Mango, Citrus and bitter resinous Pine. This is all backed up by a fantastic Chewy Caramel backbone throughout which really carries the beer and makes it insanely drinkable for a 9.5% brew! This beer is very well bodied with medium carbonation and finishes quite dry.

This is one of my favourite beers, it’s been really hard not to fanboy during this one! As promised, you UK Visitors can grab this beer from: Bier Deluxe and grab a few other hard to get beers there too!

Now we’re off to Celebrate our First Birthday in style!

EST. CALORIES: 285   ABV: 9.5%

1st July – IPA – Scottish: Brewdog Born To Die 04.07.2015

This week’s beer is Brewdog’s tribute to Stone’s Enjoy By, which I reviewed earlier this year. Although this beer is a tribute, it’s definitely Brewdog’s twist as it’s definitely a different recipe but with the same intention – to brew an IPA that’s not meant to last to drink fresh. It’s one for all you Hop-Heads out there!

Let’s start with Brewdog’s description of the brew:

This beer is Born To Die.

Savagely bitter, exceptionally dry, this IPA is born to die on a predetermined day. It proudly displays its short-lived life span front and centre.

There is no better time to drink this than the moment you get your paws on it.

Awesome bitterness backed up by unrelenting aromas of resin, citrus, and juicy fruit. Born To Die is a eulogy to the hops that sacrificed themselves in its creation.

An incredibly ambitious and satisfying small batch brew.

This is one of those Brewdog descriptions we’ve come to expect, brash, bold and tonnes of hints at the flavour. Although, it has been noted that Brewdog seem to have stepped down the comedy and over exaggeration in their descriptions lately. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing! In a way I miss their funny descriptions full of things against “the man” but on the other hand it’s nice to see a company evolving!

Anyway, let’s not get into politics! This beer hopped a lot, as it’s an Imperial IPA. The Hops in this brew are Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe. I hadn’t had a beer with Citra in for a little while, so this excited me. As for the Malts, we’ve got Extra Pale, Marris Otter and Pale Malts. Quite a similar Malt Bill to Enjoy by but with the added Extra Pale malt and lowering of the other Malts giving it a paler colour. I’d say that this beer is probably Dry Hopped with Citra and Mosaic and fermented with a San Diego style yeast.

When you pour this beer it’s Amber with a Medium White head, it dissipates down to a thin cap which stays on top of the beer for most of the time you’re drinking it leaving dotty lacing on the sides of the glass. On the nose we’ve got a little bit of Bready Malt, Lemongrass, Tropical Fruits and a splash of Pine. On the Palate, the Bready Malts come through first which is a nice surprise, these carry throughout the beer providing a backbone which the Hops shine off! First a big hit of Citrus and Coriander, then Pineapple and Mango with hints of Bubblegum. It finishes with a Resinous Pine kick. The beer is very well bodied, with quite high carbonation. It finishes dry. This beer is perfect for the summer weather, let’s hope Brewdog release another batch!

You can ask Brewdog to E-Mail you when Born to Die is back in stock or get down to somewhere like Bottledog, who might have a few more bottles left. Grab it before the 4th July! (I know it’s not long).

EST. CALORIES: 255   ABV: 8.5%

IPA – English: Brixton Electric IPA

This week’s beer is a great chance to show off one of London’s less-known breweries and to thank Alex from The House Of Belgium for my new Indestructible Duvel Glass made from Eastman Plastic. More on his awesome shop and website soon! When I first tried a Brixton Brewery beer it had all the great flavours of a Pale Ale, but there was just a strange taste lingering. Since then, Brixton Brewery have really stepped up their Quality Control and their Beer can most definitely compete with the other Bigger London Breweries! That’s why I was excited to review this one, as at the moment it’s my favourite offering from them.

Let’s start with Brixton‘s description of the beer:

Inspired by Electric Avenue, the beating heart of Brixton and made with New World hops, our full-bodied IPA is packed with energy and attitude. Electric perfectly balances malty sweetness and hoppy bitterness, with a floral, citrus and tropical fruit hit.

I like this description, the fact that their local area has inspired their beer is always a huge positive point. Craft Beer wouldn’t be the boom that it is without the respective breweries local areas spreading the word. Although there’s suggestions on the flavour, it’s short and sweet and there’s still an element of you working it out yourself.

As this one’s an IPA, let’s start with the hops! This one has Cascade, Centennial and Amarillo making for that Classic American IPA Hop Bill. As for the Malts, I think Brixton have got a little creative with 2-Row, Munich, Crystal but with a twist of a touch of Biscuit and Pale Chocolate malts. I’m pretty sure that this one is Dry-Hopped with Amarillo due to the flavour profile I picked up. But it could be a mixture of Amarillo and Cascade. Fermented with a nice, clean yeast like Wyeast 1450.

When you pour this beer, it’s an Amber/Orange colour with a Medium White Fluffy head. The head retention on this one is great, especially for an unfiltered, unfined beer! Once it dissipates slightly, you’ll notice the sticky lacing on the sides of the glass. The head remains throughout drinking. On the nose there’s a big Citrus and Tropical fruit hit with some Pine and Caramel/Bread notes in the background. The Aroma on this one has been done really well! When you first taste this beer, you get a huge Orange Peel Citrus note, then the Grapefruit and Tropical fruit flavours come after. There’s a nice Bready malt backbone backing this one up throughout, which is always welcomed! The beer is Medium-Bodied with High Carbonation and finishes quite dry. This one is a definite for the summer, and at 6.5% it’s most probably one you can session during those sunny BBQ’s!

You can buy Electric IPA at Brixton’s Online Shop

EST. CALORIES: 195   ABV: 6.5%

Triple IPA – English: Beavertown, American: Boneyard Brewery Power Of The Voodoo

This Friday’s beer is claimed to be the UK’s First Triple IPA, which means Triple the hops and Triple the Malt making a beast of a beer. It’s a Collaboration between Tottenham, London’s Beavertown and Bend, Oregon’s Boneyard Brewery. It’s always tricky to make one because the Malt bill cannot be too heavy to create a smooth mouthfeel but generally Triple IPA’s are 10% ABV and over.

I first met Tony, Clay and Melodee, the trio behind the awesome Boneyard Brewing from Bend, Oregon in 2014 at the Brewers dinner after Mikkeller’s CBC. We sat next to each other after an amazing two days of serving our beers in Copenhagen. By this point we had hit some amazing wine and laughed and talked a lot about life and beer. A friendship was formed and good times planned! Roll on 11 months and Tony the Boneyard brewmaster was coming to the UK on his way into Europe. “Let’s brew!?!” Oh yes!! So I asked Tony if he had any dreams of what to brew. Tony said “I like hops!” Well, so do we! Tony and I got chewing over the malts and hops…a lot of hops!!! And how we attain a kick ass, smooth, dry, sessionable 10% triple IPA?!? Easy right! DIPA and TIPA are really tough brews to nail. To create that ultimate high ABV monster that drinks with easy and finesse is a true art form. Take Vinnie’s ’Pliny’s’ and Tony’s ’Notorious TIPA’ as examples. Such well considered and brilliantly executed beers. So it’s our pleasure to give you ’Power of the Voodoo’ Triple IPA. As Tony explained about Boneyard’s Notorious TIPA “Wherever that beer goes, it takes names!” We feel that at 10% ABV, ’Voodoo’ is up there and taking them too. Watch out, Voodoo’s about!

Quite a long description, but it’s got a story in which I’m always fond of. No hints at how it should taste, which is good, with a Triple IPA so many people taste so many different things. I like how they’ve listed Pliny the Younger and Notorious March of the Pigs as influences which are both very well renowned Triple IPA’s. I’m excited for this one, so let’s move on!

As this is a Triple IPA, let’s start with the Hops! Judging by the flavours and influences stated in the description, I think the Hops in this one are Columbus, Simcoe, Centennial, Zeus, Amarillo and Cascade. There’s also a lot of Dry-Hopping with most of the Hops used, just to get as much Hop flavour in there as possible. As for the Malts, I think Carapils, 2-Row, Vienna, a small amount of Vienna and a small amount of Caramalt are used. This is then fermented with a very clean yeast that can stand up to the eventual high alcohol percentage.

When you pour this beer, it pours a Caramel colour with a Medium white head. The retention is quite good, but it eventually fades and ends up as a Thin head on the beer for the rest of the time you’re drinking. On the nose, there’s Grapefruit, Passionfruit, Citrus, Pine, Pineapple and Orange. Underneath this there’s some Biscuity and Vanilla notes to break up the Hop bomb on the senses. When you taste this beer, you get a big initial hit of Passionfruit and Grapefruit, then there’s a wave of Orange and Pineapple followed by the Pine and Resinous Hop flavours. Again, the Vanilla/Biscuit backbone carries through while drinking. The Mouthfeel is surprisingly Crisp and Smooth with good Carbonation. It finishes quite dry with an extremely subtle Alcohol kick. This is such a dangerous brew at 10%, but still so sessionable! But I really do recommend trying this, it’s one of the best I’ve had so far this year!

You can buy Power Of The Voodoo at the Brewery, Mother Kelly‘s in Bethnal Green and various shops and bars around London. Get it before it’s gone! If you don’t live in the UK, try to get your friends to send you this. It’s a must try.

EST. CALORIES: 300   ABV: 10%

Smoked Rye IPA – Welsh: Celt Experience Celt Brigid Fire

This week’s beer is Brigid Fire, brewed by the Celt Experience. I haven’t featured a beer from Wales before, and I’ve heard good things so I thought I’d give this one a go! The beer is brewed in South Wales in a town called Caerphilly. Smoked Rye IPA sounded like something I would definitely like – and I never post beers I don’t like so this seemed like the one to try!

Let’s start with Celt Experience‘s description:

A gripping spice backbone held by a piney bitterness. Brewed with oak smoked wheat and borrowed Biere de Garde yeast.

Through eternal flames, wisdom has become conscious. St Brigid was seen as a rousing healer.

I like how the Brewery named the Yeast they’re using, a lot of Breweries keep their Yeast secret when in actuality you can get it from any Homebrew shop. Hints at the flavours and the recipe too, which is always nice when you’re shopping for a beer you want to clone at some point. It seems all the Celt Experience Beers have the mystical names, which is understandable seeing as Wales is full of Celtic history and legend. Afterall, their Flag even has a Dragon on it!

Let’s start with the Malts in Fermentables in this one. I’ve managed to get hold of some of the recipe, but other parts I’ve put together judging by taste. There’s the Oak Smoked Wheat and Rye as Fermentables, on top of this I think 2-Row and a touch of Carapils Malts are used. As for the Hops in this one Brewers Gold, Citra, Marynka and Nelson Sauvin (Dry Hop only) are used. This is then Fermented with a yeast from Flanders, often used to ferment Saisons which is quite interesting!
When you pour this beer, it pours a Cloudy Dark Orange with a Medium bright white head. It dissipates quite quickly leaving a white ring around the glass and a thin White Cap on top of the beer that lasts the duration. There was quite a lot of Lumpy sediment in my one, so be sure to pour this carefully! On the nose hints of Citrus, Toasty Rye and a little bit of Smoke from the smoked Wheat. On the finish there is a slight hint of Pine. On the palate, you get a big initial hit of Smokey Wood flavour and toasty Rye. After this some Spicy hop notes and Citrus. As the hop flavours come through, the Smokey and Toasty malts carry them throughout. It’s well carbonated and Medium-Bodied. It finishes Dry. I can imagine this beer would be a perfect companion for some slow cooked Steak on a Wood/Charcoal BBQ, or indeed any BBQ’d meats. I definitely recommend you try this one during the summer!

You can buy Brigid Fire in the UK at:

Eebria

Beer Gonzo

EST. CALORIES: 189   ABV: 6.3%

IPA – American: Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter IPA

This week’s beer is one of Sierra Nevada’s latest offerings – Hop Hunter IPA. I was lucky enough to try this beer whilst in California, and knew I had to feature it on here. Hop Hunter is apprently coming to the UK soon, and I’m personally looking forward to it a lot.

Let’s start with Sierra Nevada’s Description of the brew:

Hop Hunter IPA harnesses the complex flavors of just-picked hops through an all-new method of steam distilling wet hops before they even leave the fields. This revolutionary technique captures and intensifies the natural flavors, creating a unique and intensely aromatic beer. Our custom process gathers pure hop oil which, when combined with traditional whole-cone hops in the brew kettle, makes for an incredible IPA experience.

I like how this description focuses on the process, as far as I know another brewery haven’t attempted this feat yet. The hops are grown in Sierra Nevada’s farms, which is a nice touch. I think the description really understates the process utilised to get the Oil out of the Hops and distilled. The brewery use a piece of machinery previously used to extract oil from Mint leaves, the Hops are put into huge trailers and the machine steams them, collecting the vapour, cools it and distills it. The process captures the pure Hop Oil. Five Thousand Pounds of Hops go into just 100 litres of Hop oil. Impressive!

So, with that lets get onto which Hops are used. In the kettle we have Bravo, Cascade, Crystal and Simcoe. The Hops used to make the Hop Oil are Cascade, Centennial and CTZ. The Malts and Fermentables in this brew are interesting, I haven’t seen Flaked Oats used in an IPA in a while but they are in this one as well as 2-Row and Caramel Malts. This is then fermented with Sierra Nevada’s house Ale yeast.

When you pour this beer, the first thing you notice is the Golden colour of the brew and the excellent Clarity it has in the glass. A nice Medium White head forms and sticks around for most of the time you drink this one. The lacing drips down the sides of the glass whilst you drink and does not stick. The nose of this beer is incredible, Floral notes combined with big juicy Citrus and Tropical notes with Pine lingering in the background. On the Palate, you get an initial hit of bitter Pine coupled with nice Bready malts, there’s also some big Citrus notes in there. The Malt backbone carries this IPA well throughout, but the Hop notes are definitely not understated. Seeing as there is Flaked Oats in this one, the mouthfeel is quite light for an IPA. It finishes Crisp, Bitter and Dry.

I can’t wait until this one is available in the UK. Until then, ask your American friends to send as many to you as possible!

EST. CALORIES: 186   ABV: 6.2%

IPA – English: Hawkeshead IPA

This weeks Beer is brewed in Cumbria, more notably the Lake District. Hawkshead are an independent brewery in the Lake District and today I’m writing about their great IPA. I first discovered this beer on a trip to Keswick, which is a fantastic place that I recommend. The beer market is actually pretty booming in Cumbria, with a lot of traditional and craft breweries making amazing beer.

Let’s start with Hawkshead‘s description of the brew:

A modern IPA, amber in colour, with huge, complex hop flavours from a blend of American and New Zealand hops, including Cascade, Columbus and Motueka, and balanced by sweet malt. India Pale Ale is a classic British beer style, traditionally brewed strong and well-hopped to survive the voyage to India. This IPA takes well-hopped to a new level by using some of the finest, most flavoursome New World hops now available.

This description gives a lot away about the Hops, which I really like as it appeals to the Beer Geek in me but if someone was picking this up as their first beer they wouldn’t know what to expect. What an interesting Hop concoction though! It made me really look forward to this beer when I read it. After this, the usual India Pale Ale story that we all know. The IPA’s that passed through the sea to India were much different though, but that’s a conversation for another time!

As the Hops have been revealed in the description, let’s start with the Malt! I think the Malts in this beer are Crisp Maris Otter, Caramel Malt, 2-Row Carapils and a touch of Biscuit Malt. A very English IPA base, but the Hop bill makes you think differently – Cascade, Columbus and Motueka, what a fruity mix!

This beer pours an Orange/Amber colour with a thin white head which sticks around for most of the time drinking, it leaves some nice dotty, sticky lacing on the glass which is very welcome. On the nose, wow! Those Hops really come out, lashings of Citrus, Tropical Fruit and Orange Peel, it’s like a New Zealand summer in a glass. The palate brings out a nice, sweet Malt backbone with a touch of biscuity, bready flavours that carry through the entire time. On top of this you get the choice of Hops working their magic, lots of Tropical Fruit and Citrus to start, a touch of Pine and then on the finish you get a delicious Summer Fruit flavour lingering in the back of your tongue. The beer is well-bodied and has medium carbonation. It finishes Medium-Sweet. I really recommend this beer as the weather gets better, although I had my first one in a Rainy, November Lake District I can tell that this is going to be one of those quintessential Summer garden brews – even at 7% which is quite undetectable whilst drinking.

You can buy Hawkshead IPA in the UK at:

Hawkshead Shop (Out of Stock, 6 Bottles Minimum)

Amazon (In Stock at time of writing!)

Hippo Beers (In Stock at time of writing!)

EST. CALORIES: 210   ABV: 7%

IPA – American: Stone Enjoy By 4/20/15 IPA

This week’s beer is something I picked up whilst in California. Stone’s Enjoy By series is quickly becoming a very sought after beer, and I was happy to sample a few and bring a couple back.

Stone’s idea was to make an IPA that doesn’t really last, which means you definitely need to drink it by the “Enjoy Date.” What better way to advise people than to plaster it on the front of the bottle as part of the name? I picked up the Enjoy By 4/20/15 (20/04/15), also lovingly called “Enjoy by 420” by lover’s of Hop’s naughty cousin.

Let’s start with Stone’s Description of the beer.

You have in your hands a devastatingly dank double IPA. Freshness is a key component of many beers – especially big, hoppy IPAs – but we’ve taken it further, a lot further, with this one. We brewed this IPA specifically NOT to last. We’ve gone to extensive lengths to ensure you get your hands on this beer within an extraordinarily short window, and we’ve sent a very clear message in the name of the beer itself that there is no better time than right NOW to enjoy this IPA!

I’m enjoying the Stone bravado on this description and the fact they changed “fresh” to “dank” in the description. Dank is a word that’s used to describe Hops as well as the “other hop” so it’s a good play on words. As I said, the date is plastered on the front of the bottle as part of the name, and I don’t think another brewery could do it and get away with it like Stone do.

Let’s start with the Hops on this one, as there’s a lot! Centennial, Warrior, Amarillo, Northern Brewer, Simcoe, Cascade, Motueka, Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy are used. It seems like Stone threw their whole store of Hops at this one, excluding a couple and it definitely shows. As for the malts in this beer, we’ve got 2-Row and Maris Otter Pale. A nice basic base for a lot of hops. After this it’s Dry hopped for around 7 days whilst it ferments with a good, clean, hardy yeast like San Diego Super.

This beer pours a nice translucent Orange with a Medium white head. The retention on this one is great, especially for a 9.4% brew. When it starts to dissipate, it leaves rings around the glass as you drink down. On the nose, wow, you can really tell there’s a lot of hops in this one. Mango, Pineapple, Orange and Tropical Fruits hit first, with a touch of Pine and Sweetness from the Malt on the finish. Whilst drinking this beer, the first thing you’ll notice is the bitterness from the word go. On the Palate lots of Pine, Citrus Peel and Tropical Fruit. This is definitely an IPA for warm weather, although it could also work in the colder months as that Alcohol is detectable but not overwhelming. On the finish there’s a few Grapefruit notes and a touch of sweetness from the Malt. The beer is surprisingly smooth, and although starts bitter and dry, finishes sweet with good carbonation. If you can get your hands on this one, I really recommend you do!

Your best bet to find Stone’s Enjoy By IPA’s in the UK are in Brewdog bars across the country, you could always import from Quality Liquor Store or Craft Beer Kings if you really want it! Alternatively, if you have friends in California, ask them to send you some of the next iteration!

EST. CALORIES: 282   ABV: 9.4%

IPA – American: Rogue Brutal IPA

I just wanted to start this blog to let you know I’m off on some travels over the next couple of weeks, so whilst there will still be a post every Friday the Wednesday ones will resume once I’m back. I’m over in California and Arizona and I’m hoping to bring back some exciting stuff to write about!

Now, on to the main thing. The beer! This Friday’s beer is Rogue Brutal IPA. Rogue products have been popping up everywhere in the UK recently, so I thought I should go ahead and review one. I’ve had a couple of their beers in the past, but this IPA stood out because of it’s title.

Let’s start with Rogue‘s description of the beer:

A non-traditional India Pale Ale with big citrusy, hop flavor and intense hop aroma. Medium-bodied with a vibrant lingering hop-bitterness that is anything but brutal. Enjoy!

Short but sweet on the description here, but with hints at how it should taste. When you read this, you really do hope that this is a Brutal IPA and they aren’t just stating that fact. We’ll find out about that a little later on! Apart from that, there’s not much to this description really, but as I always write – it’s better to let your drinker decide how the beer tastes!

Now, onto the recipe. The malts in this beer are 2-Row, Carawheat, C15, Rogue Farms Dare and Risk. Quite a lot of malts for an IPA, but I’m not complaining! I like how Rogue have their own farm and try to include ingredients from it as much as possible. As for the Hops, we’ve got Rogue Farms Alluvial Hops, exclusively. Another reason to try this beer. After this, it’s fermented with a yeast called Pacman.

This beer pours a Cloudy Amber with a decent sized White head with good retention. It dissipates leaving rings of lacing around the glass as you drink. Probably one of the best IPA’s I’ve had for a while for looks! On the nose there’s some Apricot, Mango, Pine and Citrus fruits. I’d love to get my hands on the Rogue hops. Now for the palate, loads of Mandarin and Marmalade, Citrus fruits, peach, a little pine and floral notes. The malt backbone rides at the back of your mouth throughout with Caramel and slightly bready notes. Well balanced. Full body for this style, finishing surprisingly sweet for something called Brutal IPA. One I’ll definitely drink again, and one I recommend. Unfortunately there’s an Adnams version in the UK being sold in Wetherspoon pubs, but it’s different compared to this one and a little bit more toned down.

You can buy Brutal IPA in the UK Online at:

Beers of Europe (in Stock at time of writing)

Beautiful Beers

EST. CALORIES: 180   ABV: 6%