OK, I’m slightly confused. I know that this was originally only released in the USA since the brewer thought that the best place for a large IPA to be appreciated would be on this side of the pond. The logic presumably being that a big hop bomb would be a little too much for contemporary English taste buds – OK, fair enough, it all makes sense so far, but when I taste this, that logic goes out of the window.
Don’t get me wrong, I love this beer, but because it was initially reserved for the “hop loving” American market I was expecting a West Coast style punch in the face. Instead I got what I know and love to be the English IPA style; subtle, loving, Fuggles and Goldings, and I could almost be in Kent! If my compatriots at home have abandoned drinking this kind of beer the end is nigh! Anyway, back to the drink. Cloudy amber, great head and lacing and big blunt, butter hop aroma in the style of a great English cask. Carbonation is low (after the initial mild bottle fizz) and it sits there looking majestic.
Low bitterness with plenty of malt, but the key here is/are the subtle tones. I’d be surprised if this appealed to the folks familiar with American IPA’s, but I would be equally surprised if the English BA’s thought this was too hoppy for their liking. Drinkability is beyond the scale and I love it.