Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company Country: USA ABV: 7.25% Style: American IPA Other Notes: San Diego-style India Pale Ale
Brewer Description: (from can) Our hometown of San Diego is considered the epicenter of its namesake style of India Pale Ale – extremely crisp, highly drinkable beers brimming over with hop aromas and bright yet not overly bitter hop flavors. AleSmith IPA is the progenitor of this rightfully popular style. A bright bouquet of grapefruit and tangerine aromas gives way to an abundance of fresh piney, tropical notes on the taste buds with lingering resinous sensations in the finish for quintessential San Diego IPA experience showcasing the versatility of American hops.
My rating: 4 My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35 My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2
Intro: A 12 fl oz can, canned on 5th October 2016. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass. Appearance: A lightly hazy, light copper orange colour with a nice two finger off white head with good retention and great lacing. Aroma: Tropical pineapple and apricot with citrus orange, pine and sweet biscuit malt. Taste: Citrusy and bitter orange peel, mandarin and grapefruit followed by sweet-ish pineapple, biscuit malt and pine. The finish has a nice long resinous bitterness. Mouthfeel: Crisp, dry-ish, medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall: A wonderfully tasty and balanced West Coast IPA. Also loving the cans!
Brewery: Stigbergets Bryggeri Country: Sweden ABV: 6.5% Style: American IPA
Brewer Description: Could not find any information on this beer in English on their website or on the bottle.
My rating: 4 My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.26 My ratebeer.com rating: 4
Intro: A 330ml bottle, batch 579, with a best before date of 10th July 2017. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Appearance: A hazy darkish orange colour with a one finger white head that had pretty good retention and left nice lacing. Aroma: Strong pineapple and papaya with hints of mango, grapefruit and pine here and there. Taste: Pineapple and mango tropical fruit starts and ends quickly, followed by a long lemon peel, lemon tea, pine and grapefruit bitterness. Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation. Overall: What I liked about GBG and Amazing Haze was the tropical fruit flavours. With this West Coast IPA, the tropical flavours were there, but only for a second; they disappeared too fast. Having said that, it is still a very nice and enjoyable IPA.
My rating: 5 My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.65 My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4
Intro: A 330ml bottle, batch 583, with a best before date of 17th July 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass. Appearance: A hazy darkish orange colour with a just over one finger white head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma: Strong tropical and citrus fruits. Mango, pineapple, apricot, grapefruit and orange rind. Taste: Blast of mango and pineapple sweetness balanced with grapefruit and orange rind bitterness, for some bittersweet goodness. A dry and long bitter finish. Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall: In my opinion, although not quite as good as GBG Beer Week 2016, this was another home run by Stigbergets. It’s got the stunning aromas, and the wonderful juicy tropical and citrus flavours that I enjoy, on top of the nice lasting bitterness. Brilliant stuff.
Brewery: Goose Island Beer Co. Country: USA ABV: 4.3% Style: English Bitter Other Notes: 30 IBUs. An English-style Bitter inspired by trips overseas. Combines a fruity hop aroma with a rich malt middle
Brewer Description: (from bottle neck tag) Golden sunset color, fruity hop aroma, biscuit malt flavor, soft body.
My rating: 3 My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.2 My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1
Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle, bottled on 18th November 2016 and best before 18th November 2017. Poured into a Mikkeller pint glass. Appearance: A nice clear copper colour with a one finger off white head that slowly dissipates to a nice thin creamy layer while leaving curtain like lacing. Aroma: A bit light, but what I do get was grassy, nutty, sweet malt and hints of toffee. Taste: Toasty biscuit malt, caramel, nuttiness with hints of orange citrus. Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall: Not my favourite style, but this is easy to drink.
Brewery: Goose Island Beer Co. Country: USA ABV: 5.9% Style: English IPA Other Notes: 55 IBUs
Brewer Description: (from bottle neck tag) Fruity aroma, set off by a dry malt middle and long hop finish.
My rating: 3 My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.31 My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3
Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle, bottled on 18th November 2016 and best before 18th November 2017. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Appearance: A clear golden copper colour with a close to three finger white head that had good retention and left great lacing. Aroma: Piney with citrus lemon and lime followed by a light sweet malt background. Taste: I’m not getting much in the taste. Some sweet and grassy malt and something along the lines of a bitter lemon tea. Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall: It looks great and its aromas were quite nice. Taste was a little too light and one dimensional with just a combination of sweet and long lasting bitterness.
words of another dreamy traveller 