Pizza Port, Swami's IPA

There are very, very few US IPAs that make it over here in decent nick and those that travel in cans, have been, in my experience, the best of the bunch (i.e. Central Coast's Lucky Day IPA and Ska's Modus). This one from Pizza Port was brill. I like a bit of sweetness to my IPAs. The Born To Dies of this world seem to lack body to me. A bit of crystal malt can work wonders if used properly. Not sure if that is used i this beer, but I thoroughly enjoyed the bombastic hopping and the complimentary balance from the thick and chewy malting. It was only towards the end of the beer that the malt profile became a little too sweet (as it warmed up a bit I suppose), but the memory of a bloshy, yet very finely balanced IPA remained.

This will probably be my last IPA/Pale entry in this blog. I'm hoping to concentrate on sours, imperial stouts and saisons from now on.

Central Coast Brewing, Lucky Day IPA

Fabulous West Coast IPA. Unexpected gift from Vicky - lucky day indeed!

Anspach and Hobday, The IPA

Don't remember too much about this I'm afraid. Probably decent enough.

Crate, IPA

Disappointing drink from Crate. I think this may have been passed it's best. Hop degradation? Sugary nose, flavour was mostly toffee. There was some sort of cleanliness overriding those malts, but it was largely tasteless. A shame, as I sampled this on keg at Westow House and it was a cloudy and pungent delight. The last photo above is of the Crate Brewery beer garden from a series commissioned in Hackney Wick last year.

Ska, Modus Hoperandi

Cans, cans, cans. You know this one: this Colorado veteran is hard to beat. US IPA as it was meant to be drunk (i.e. canned and as fresh as possible from a trans-atlantic voyage). Used to be on the menu at Byron, had it once there I think. Currently a load around at the moment (Whole Foods for £3/can and in my local too). Deep red copper colour, nose is weetabix and caramel + freshly cut grass and sticky pine sap, citrus floating at the edges. Taste follows plus a savage bitterness. Brilliantly pungent drink this. It's very satisfying - absolutely love it.

Sixpoint, Bengali Tiger

Very solid US IPA from Sixpoint. Widely available in Wetherspoons (doing their craft bit to get young people back into their pubs? I don't know what it's like 'round your way, but when the 'old man' pubs in my neighbourhood got bought out and turned in to gastropubs for middle class gentrifiers, all the old geezers migrated into the Wetherspoons, presumably for a pint of something wet and cold that didn't cost a fiver).

I've had this a few times now - £1.99 for a 6.4% very decent IPA is possibly one of the best deals out there at the moment. I had one duff can the other day - tasted of dirty nappies and rotting vegetables. Otherwise, they've all been top notch (maybe a little thin if I was being uncharitable).

The Kernel Brewery, 2013

I try to keep the beer bottles I drink for photographing. They're rinsed and then they sit in a Sainsbury's bag under the sink until I get an opportunity to photograph them in a way in which I've planned out in my head. I shot a previous run of posts where there was a common theme and I'd hoped to continue it with this second batch of Kernel bottles. However, my mind is in clear-out mode at the moment, so I plumped for something quick and simple instead this time.

Kernel beers are very possibly the best in London, if not Europe. Quality control is obviously very high and it's rare to have a bad, even an average beer from them. (Going through these images for this blog has got me salivating for them at 8 in the morning. That's not good is it....) I know that it's largely redundant reviewing Kernels but sod it: I'm a completist so indulge me.

Imperial Brown Stout

Version photographed is obviously not the 1856 version (I suppose they're not too dissimilar from one another). Smell of raisins, oil and booze in the gob, barely carbonated and heavy coffee flavours. I find that when this is chilled, I get more of the grassy/freshness element of the hops which I really like. Drunk at a warm room temperature, this is a very imposing drink which really oughtn't to be drunk after a night out.

I've got a stash of bottles of the 1856 version which were bottled in Jan 2103 - they're more or less perfect for me: very smooth (unctuous) in the mouth and highly drinkable. There was a batch which was bottled over half a year later in October 2013 and I remember them being quite harsh by contrast. Not unpleasant by any means, but there was certainly a sort of mild 'stripping' effect on the palate and throat whilst drinking. Anyway, left to condition for a year or more, this impy is rivalled only by the De Struise Black Albert. I've got a weird (and slightly sad) OCD thing that I can't not know that I have at least 2 bottles of this in the flat at all times.

Simcoe IPA

I went a bit silly with this one and bought quite a few. Ultimately, I think I preferred the Mosaic version, but I came into a bit more dosh around the time this came out so I indulged. Archetypal cat piss IPA this one, with stupid tropicalness and stratospheric drinkability.

Mosaic IPA

As above but better.

CREAM IPA

There's this cool game that you can play with the Kernel brews - "Guess The Acronym". Actually, it's not that cool (Chinook, Riwaka, Ella, Ahatanum, Moteuka). Anyway, this Wu-Tang inspired IPA was actually not so much to my tastes. Which is annoying as it makes me feel that I'm one of those lupulin idiots who's only impressed by hop IEDs. Anyway, in some (very probably) psycho somatic way, this IPA tasted like cream soda with a little tangerine on the edges. Hoppy obviously, but quite a mild drink in terms of overt flavours, much like their subtle Ella pale ale that came out around the same time iirc.

Double 4C

4C? Chinook, Columbus, Centennial and ummm....hang on...err...is it...maybe...Cascade? DIPAs (or imperial IPAs or whatever) from Kernel are rare. This was one of only 2 (I think) from 2013, the other being their Double Citra which was bloody brilliant and won the CAMRGB best of 2013 award. the Double 4C wasn't as good. Thick mouth feel, foam sweets etc but it was a bit flat and lacked something, not sure what though. I'd love it if the Kernel did more DIPAs. Maybe a DBIPA would be nice....(please..?)

Barrel Aged Stout

Noteless for this one. I imagine it was a bit like this one. In a world of almost parodical beer label blurbs, this one makes me laugh.

Imperial Brown Stout, London 1856 B.A. Glen Spey

Sensational BA impy. Heavy whisky nose and taste with a viscous booze at the end of each sip. £6/bottle is about right, I bought a few and I've got one left. Good until 2020 apparently.

London Fields, Bottlegger Double IPA

This was a top draw US style IPA (single 'I' for me) from London Fields. Bought from Oddbins in Balham. Bootlegger series is 2 for 2 for me (really enjoyed their porter).

Siren, 10 Finger Discount

I think this was my first Siren? Collab with To Øl. Fabulous beer. Brown and cloudy = tick. Citra heavy aroma (not so much cat piss) off the bottle neck = tick. Pineapple etc = tick. According to the blurb on the label: white pepper (yes) and tobacco (just about). Strong mouthfeel. Not dissimilar to Great Eastern IPA. Bought a couple of these.

Redemption, Big Chief IPA

North London IPA from Redemption. Hazy and dark orange, medium to high tropical nose + cat piss/basil. Hoppy flavour, mostly grass I think. Malt = Organix Ginger Bread Men? Not dissimilar to the 500ml Kernels, maybe lacking a touch of their body, but not by much. Medium bitter after, dry and gum coating. A little ethyl acetate (?) towards the end of the bottle. Most of the yeast stuck to the bottom so was happy to be able to drink almost all of the 500ml without pouring in any yeast. If I ever see this on cask I'll get it.

To Øl, First Frontier

My cold had come back when drinking this, so my taste buds weren't working too well. West Coast IPA from To Øl. Quite fresh tasting (I assumed it would have been quite old), not as gloopy as the DIPA. Oozing pine sap taste, Warrior, Simcoe and Centennial hops, according to the label. Drank it back in December last year, bought it from Beers Of Europe.

Victory, Hop Devil IPA

Victory make alot of different beers! At first glance, there seems to be at least 4 types of +6% hoppy ales. Fair enough! Their flagship (I think) IPA pours very red, stinks of sticky and resinous pine sap. Very pungent up your nostrils and in your gob. A little sweetness on the edges which is ok. Little bit of spice (pepper perhaps) in there? Very full bodied and very bitter.

Amager Bryghus, Sinners Series: Envy

For a birthday treat last year, my wife accompanied me to the Craft Beer Co in Brixton. As I drank some overpriced BIPA from Evil Twin, she drank an equally overpriced half of Envy from Amager, which she loved. I had a little sip: big orange Fanta, fresh and morish. Quite wonderful. The bottle didn't hit as hard and there was more grass/pine in it. Good body, decent mouthfeel, pleasing but shortlived bitterness. Reminded me of a stronger version of Fyne's Hurricane Jack.

Boatrocker, Hop Bomb

2nd in a triplet of Australian beer write-ups, c/o Kon. Beginning to think that the Ozzies aren't the most creative when it come to naming beers. I reckon Sly Fox has been done a few times and I'm almost certain that 'Hop Bomb' has been used before...

Anyway, this beer is Melbourne brewery Boatrocker's IPA. Malty (cereal, bread etc) aromas off the bottleneck and maybe a bit of lemon. It was a drink of 2 halves. Mostly the first half was sweet, almost honeyed malts, then a big, big bitterness waded in. Nothing original here as such, but I liked it. Not dissimilar to a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (on keg, not bottle) I think. My bro lives in Melbourne currently and gets to drink their stuff fresh on tap, bit jealous of that really.

Red Hook, Long Hammer IPA

Ubiquitous (at least on tap) IPA from Red Hook. There seem to be a spate of these bottles about. I bought mine on reccommendation from Simon at CAMRGB. He describes it as "really good". I can't quite agree with him 100% on that, but I did enjoy this more than the Fourpure. Rainwater nose and an easy drinking IPA that to my mind is loads better than similar offerings from Sierra Nevada. A pleasing recurring bitterness that seemed to return long after the sip. No stand out flavours, but a nice sense of a good overall IPA. I understand Red Hook have been in the game for over 30 years? Makes my 'review' seem just a touch frivolous and inconsequential...! I won't pass this up on tap again, a cheeky half I reckon.

Fourpure, IPA

I didn't do the bottle + glass photograph for this particular bottle from newcomers Fourpure - I thought: it's ok, I'm bound to get another (these bottles are currently all over the place), so I'll procrastinate and do it another time. However, it turned out, unfortunately, that I don't really plan to get this again. All the tastes were muted somehow and there was this overriding oiliness, almost greasy, which for me really wasn't right. Sorry about the photo above - I think there's a human poo in it.

Weird Beard Co, Holy Hoppin' Hell Part 3

Stale hops with minimal citrus sniffed off the bottle neck. Taste is overwhelmingly solvet - nail varnish remover. (Excessive ethyl acetate as a by product of aggressive (too warm?) fermentation of the yeast? Have I got that right?) A chewy, grassy hop bitterness, which was great, but the chemically edge still lingered for most of this. The gentle caramelly malt profile came through as my glass warmed. The after-bitterness lingered but it wasn't that strong. Overall, a slightly disappointing instalment in the Holy Hoppin' DIPA series from Weird Beard.

Nøgne Ø, IPA

IPA from Finnish brewers Nøgne Ø. Hops over malt, slight burning bitterness in the aftertaste. Umm, that's about it on this one. A decent enough drink, ticks all the boxes, but not much else to say about it really. Probably wouldn't go to it again unfortunately. Picked this one up from the friendly and helpful chaps at the Greenwich Union.

Buxton, Axe Edge

Synchronicitously, I actually blogged my last Buxton IPA this time last year (I drank this bottle in April last year). This is the old branding, before they ditched the 500ml bottles. Buxton are ace - top collaborators (Wyoming Sheep Ranch and Carnage were big beers) and purveyors of silly, modern ale types. I made a yeast soup out of this Axe Edge, but it remains a solid US style IPA. Picked this one up from Mr Lawrence blooming ages ago.

Dark Star, 6 Hop

6 hop from Dark Star: dewy grass nose, wet leaves, mulch and a fleeting caramel tinge - almost brandy? Taste is instantly bitter - mulchy, dank hops (probably pine - not overly citrusy). Minor booze around the gums when you purse your lips. Great stuff. Bottle drank in August 2013.