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.

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).

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.

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.

Bear Republic, Racer 5

Fantastic tropical nose on this classic bottle conditioned US IPA from Bear Republic. Seamless flow from fruitiness into bitter pine sap, followed by a tongue chewing bitterness for ages afterwards. I can't believe it's taken me so long to get around to blogging this beer, I used to drink it ages ago. Pretty cool that you can get this served in a frosted glass from Byron.