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Beer Review: Jailhouse Brewing Co., Insanity Plea Ale

Dec 10, 2011

Ding Points: 68.00

Pour: 70.00, Nose: 70.00, Palate: 70.00, Mouth: 70.00, Global: 60.00

Tasting Notes:

More Jailhouse goodness? I hope so. Not sure if ‘plea ale’ is a play on words (pale ale), but from the tap handle it looks like this might be branded as a ‘fresh/wet hop’ IPA, well see.

Jailhouse taps at Taco Mac Metropolis, Atlanta, GA - Insanity Plea in the middle

Jailhouse taps at Taco Mac Metropolis, Atlanta, GA - Insanity Plea in the middle

All the initial indications suggest that is the case, with a orange, golden crystal clear body and a small, creamy looking head. Atttractive no doubt, with a little lace, but fairly thin and not really especially sticky. Hop nose is clean and fresh but in no way large – at least not in the American, hop forward manner for this type of beer. I take that to be More evidence of the relatively reserved nature of the Jailhouse stable of beers.

Jailhouse Brewing Co., Insanity Plea Ale

Jailhouse Brewing Co., Insanity Plea Ale

Carbonation is quite low and I think this adds to the edgy character of the beer – not something I was expecting.

There is very significant bitterness here – very significant. It’s metallic initially and evens out to be quite aggressive in the back end; outer extremities of the tongue feel it quite sharply. It lingers (as it should), but it turns out to be a little more aggressive than, (a) the nose would suggest, and (b) is typical for Jailhouse; in those respects it’s a pretty interesting beer and not quite what I thought it might be.

Malts are largely absent in terms of them manifesting themselves in the immediate tastes, or at least they are swallowed by a very large hop presence. The hops are certainly clean in as much as they don’t really present an oily, viscous or pine element, but they still bring a substantial aggression. To me the beer seems a bit clinical.

In the end this seems a little harsh, and a bit of a departure for Glenn. On the plus side it’s clean, but it is unquestionably more astringent than has been typical for Jailhouse. In that light I am a little taken aback. Not my favorite Jailhouse effort by some distance, but perhaps that’s because I am surprised by it, I guess I should visit again to form a more balanced opinion.

Jailhouse Brewing Co, Insanity Plea Ale

Jailhouse Brewing Co., Insanity Plea Ale

Other: Taco Mac menu says 6.5%.

 

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