Dark Star Brewing Co Belgian IPA

Good evening all. I'm back again with another beer review, and this time it's a relatively recent offering from Dark Star Brewing Co (West Sussex, UK). It's their Belgian IPA, brewed with a Belgian yeast strain and US hop types in tribute to the La Chouffe brewery, creators of one of the best Belgian IPAs in the world today. Dark Star seem to have slipped off my radar in favour of other UK breweries in recent months, but hopefully this offering will change that! Review after the pic....

Belgian IPA (7.2% ABV) pours a copper colour with a short-lived white head that settles to a thin halo around the inside of the glass. There's some very light lacing in the early stages of the beer, but it's certainly not as carbonated as I was expecting. The aroma is very interesting and packs more of a Belgian punch, with  grapefruit, mango, phenols, spice, some light sweetness and a hint of acetone in the background. The hoppy fruits are pretty powerful at first, mingling with the sweetness and spicy yeast to give that characteristic Belgian IPA aroma you'd expect from something like Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel or even Duvel Tripel Hop, but soon retreats to the background, leaving the malt and yeast on show. Some acetone is noticeable every so often in the background, but this doesn't spoil the overall experience. The taste delivers much of the same, with grapefruit, phenols, mango, caramel and a nice bitterness after drinking. The fruits taste and feel quite juicy, whilst the sweetness continues on into the finish where it offsets some of the bitterness from the hops. This bitterness hits close to the end of drinking, mainly in the back of the throat with some tartness around the edges, and can cloy after a few sips. The mouthfeel is light and the beer is moderately carbonated- probably the only negative thing about this beer is the lack of carbonation, leading to the cloying bitterness and sickly-sweet background taste after repeated sips. Overall, this is a nice example of a Belgian IPA, delivering some fresh hop flavours and balancing them well with the Belgian yeast spiciness. If only it had the wispy, almost sparkling carbonation of the more authentic stylistic offerings, then it would be perfect. Recommended, but probably worth trying side by side with any of the aforementioned beers to see what it's missing.

Until next time....

Weyerbacher Brewing Co. Double Simcoe IPA

Good evening all. After a lengthy self-imposed hiatus I'm finally back! The exam season is over- along with my degree- so I'm now officially unemployed and awaiting the results of my finals. What better way to pass the time than by reviewing a load of interesting beers to make up for my recent lack of posting? Tonight's libation is Double Simcoe IPA, a Double India Pale Ale (DIPA) from Weyerbacher Brewing Co. (Pennsylvania, USA). Regular readers will know that I'm a big fan of IPAs and DIPAs, and when I saw this offering resting in the fridges behind the bar at the Cask Pub and Kitchen a couple of weeks ago, I had to purchase a bottle to see if it lives up to its reputation. Now for the familiar words that I haven't uttered in well over a week- review after the pic....

Double Simcoe IPA (9.0% ABV) pours an amber colour with a thick white head that dissipates to a patchy covering over the surface of the glass, accompanied by a lazy stream of bubbles rising from the bottom supporting the head nicely. The aroma is composed of tropical fruits, citrus fruits, resinous pine, earthy/herbal notes, a slightly vinous quality and some mustiness/funkiness. With this much Simcoe on show the hop becomes very reminiscent of Motueka and similar new world aroma types, with the citrus fruits taking precedence and the pine and herbal aromas lurking not too far behind. Probing the aroma further brings up barley wine-style sweetness (caramelised and hoppy) and an aroma not too dissimilar to BBQ sauce (more specifically muscovado sugar). Very interesting stuff so far! The taste delivers more of the same thing, with the resinous flavours dominating the palette and the citrus fruits taking a back seat, accompanied by a caramelised sweetness and a grape aftertaste. The finish is certainly bitter, which is to be expected from such a large dose of hops, but it's not too cloying and the dryness invites more sips to be taken (which is always a good thing!). The earthiness is also not as noticeable in the taste as it was on the nose, and the alcohol content makes itself known with an ethanolic flavour that lingers after the initial hop burst has diminished. The mouthfeel is slightly thick and the beer is well carbonated, which cushions the blow from the hops slightly and creates a more balanced, well-rounded drinking experience. For a 9.0% DIPA it's immensely drinkable, which was an unexpected yet very welcome surprise. Overall, this is a fantastic example of a DIPA that would serve as a perfect introduction to the style. It packs enough hops to clearly differentiate it from the comparatively subdued American IPAs, but it doesn't overload the tastebuds with bitterness and still lets some of the malt base flavours permeate through. Highly recommended, I'd happily get this beer again in the future.

Until next time....

Collaboration Video Reviews- BrewDog IPA Is Dead Range

Good evening all. In my last review I alluded to a special blog post that had been taking up a fair bit of my reviewing time, and now the moment has come to unveil the contents of that post to you lucky readers. On Tuesday last week I decided to do a series of video reviews with a good friend by the name of Jamie "Bidds" Bidwell, author of the increasingly popular film blog Talk Films (http://talkfilms.blogspot.co.uk/). Over the course of one evening (and the early morning of the following day!), myself and Bidds worked our way through the entire IPA Is Dead range from BrewDog, recording our live reactions and thoughts. The videos are interspersed with our own humour and occasional unprofessional conduct, but all in all it was a very fun exercise and I hope to repay the favour with Bidds in the form of a film review on his blog in the near future. As  mentioned before with my first video review post I apologise for the speech disfluency on my part; it genuinely can't be helped but hopefully it won't detract too much from the viewing experience. Now without further ado let's get on to the reviews, which are also available in full HD if you're willing to wait a bit longer for the video to buffer and you've always wanted to see two people on a sofa in 1080p....

BrewDog IPA Is Dead Galaxy

BrewDog IPA Is Dead Challenger

BrewDog IPA Is Dead Motueka

BrewDog IPA Is Dead HBC

Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed the experience! Until next time....

Great Divide Brewing Company Titan IPA

Good afternoon all. Last night I had two rather special beers, the first of which came all the way from Colorado, a state renowned for its brewing prowess with the likes of Odell, Left Hand, Avery and countless other big names all based there. That beer was Titan IPA, an American IPA from Great Divide Brewing Company. This is my first beer from Great Divide- despite having a number of their beers waiting patiently in the cellar- so hopefully the hype will be justified. Review after the pic....

Titan IPA (7.1% ABV) pours an amber colour with a thick white head that settles to a thin halo around the inside of the glass. Because of the bottle-conditioning, there is some lacing present during the first half of the beer. It does look great though, the picture doesn't do it enough justice. The aroma is more subdued than I was expecting, with piney/resinous hops, plenty of tropical fruits, a vinous quality, malt and some sweetness in the background. The resin comes through every so often, but the predominant hop aroma is definitely the citrus/tropical fruits. The taste is composed of citrus fruits, pine, malt and grapes, with the finish delivering a slight bitterness but nothing overly offensive. The mouthfeel is slightly thick with moderate carbonation. Overall, this is a very well-balanced IPA that delivers plenty of characteristic flavours with a pleasing yet assertive bitterness in the finish. It's not particularly "aggressive" as billed in the bottle description, but frankly the flavours and aromas will leave even the most ardent hophead pleased. Definitely recommended, I'm more tempted than ever now to reach into the cellar to try the other offerings I've got from Great Divide, so expect more appearances from these guys in the future!

Until next time....

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Good evening all. It's time for another review this evening, with a beer from one of America's oldest and most influential "craft" breweries. That beer is Torpedo Extra IPA, an American IPA from Sierra Nevada. Nothing more to say about that really, so as usual the review is after the pic....

Torpedo Extra IPA (7.2% ABV) pours an amber colour with a white head that settles to a patchy covering over the surface of the beer. The aroma is surprisingly sweet, with candy floss/caramelised sugar, resinous hops, malt, citrus fruits and a slightly vinous quality. This vinous quality is very reminiscent of Mikkeller's barrel-aged beers, and works very well with the fruity hops. The taste is composed of malt, citrus fruits, resin/pine and a caramelised sweetness, with a pronounced bitterness in the finish. At first the bitterness was quite subdued, but as the beer warmed up it became more noticeable. The impact of the resinous hops was also more subtle than I was expecting from this beer style- it's still quite a hop bomb, but in the context of bitterness rather than fruitiness. The mouthfeel is not overly thick and the carbonation is quite low. Overall, a good American IPA from Sierra Nevada, although it was definitely not what I was expecting. The alcohol is well disguised and the flavours and aromas are rather moderate, with a significant bitterness but nothing significant beforehand to ease the palate into this sensation. Definitely not as well-balanced as it could be, but still worth a try. I wouldn't get it again though as there are much better examples of this style for the same price (Stone IPA, Bear Republic Racer 5, any IPA from The Kernel, etc).

Until next time....

Mikkeller Citra Single Hop IPA

Good evening all. Apologies for the fairly lackluster review this evening- it's been a less than ideal week so I'm not completely committed to hop-related prose at the moment. The show must go on though, so let's delve into the cellar and pick something interesting. It seems it's time for another single hop IPA from the gypsy brewing supremo Mikkeller- in particular, an offering centered on a hop type that garnered a lot of attention for its tropical fruit flavours and dual-purpose nature when it was released in 2008. The hop in question is Citra, and you can expect the review after the pic....

Citra Single Hop IPA (6.9% ABV) pours an amber colour with a white head that retains itself well during drinking. The aroma is resinous and piney, with some floral character and a background sweetness. These are all quite subtle though, and don't become pronounced as the beer warms up. The taste is composed of citrus fruits, malt, flowers, caramelised sugar and a grassy character, with a subdued bitterness in the finish and a candy floss aftertaste. The mouthfeel is quite thick and well carbonated. Overall, a solid single hop IPA that demonstrates the versatility of Citra very well. It can impart a surprising amount of citrus/tropical fruits with a pleasing yet noticeable bitterness, and produces a very decent IPA on its own. I wouldn't get this beer again but it is worth trying once, even if the only purpose is to increase your understanding of what different hop types can contribute to a beer.

Until next time....

Mikkeller Sorachi Ace Single Hop IPA

Good evening all. I had this beer last night after purchasing it from Beers of Europe (http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/) about a month ago, and at the time I was surprised to discover Mikkeller had produced a single hop IPA utilising this particular hop. As I've mentioned before, last year I managed to purchase 14 out of the 19 single hop IPAs that Mikkeller produced, and each beer provided an incredibly useful insight into how certain hop types contribute to the flavour and aroma of a drink. However, I didn't know at the time that one of the five I missed out on was made using Sorachi Ace, a Japanese hop type that came out around 2007-08 that I happen to be quite a fan of. A couple of days after visiting the website, I had a bottle of it in my hands, along with a bottle of the Citra Single Hop IPA as I missed out on that one too! I was looking forward to this one so much that I couldn't resist making it my mid-week beer. Review after the pic....

Sorachi Ace Single Hop IPA (6.9% ABV) pours a hazy dark amber colour with a thick white head that settles to a thin coating over the surface of the beer. The aroma consists of resinous and citrus hops, bubblegum, caramelised sweetness, a hint of lemon and some background funk. The overall combination is very reminiscent of a saison, with plenty of musty, earthy tones and some fruity esters. The taste brings out more of these esters, with malt, bubblegum, citrus fruits, piney notes and some grassy flavours. The finish is only slightly bitter, with a grape-like aftertaste. It's actually more tart/sour than bitter, but not as excessive as a lambic or a wild ale. The mouthfeel is quite thick with a decent amount of carbonation. Overall, this beer is a very good showcase of the Sorachi Ace hop type. Reading further into Sorachi Ace, it seems that it's famed for its lemony aroma and flavour, but I was only picking up very subtle hints of this every so often. For me, this hop is all about pine flavours and subdued earthy funkiness. A very interesting beer- I probably wouldn't get it again but it's definitely worth a try. 

Until next time....