A Quartet of International IPAs
Odell (Colorada) “Good Behaviour” Crushable IPA 4%, 355mls can Bradley’s
Light gold colour, good mix of hop and fruit flavours. Very pleasant beer. Crushable, you may know (I had to look it up), is beer aficionado’s argot, meaning an easygoing, super-drinkable beer.
Odell say: “Both sessional and bursting with flavour. Good Behaviour is built like an IPA with bright hop flavours and tropical fruit, yet balanced with a light body, slight haze, and crisp finish that’s truly crushable!”
Unusually, the calories (110) are boldly printed on the label.
“Unlike many low-cal beers and hard seltzers, Good Behavior was brewed without extracts or artificial sweeteners. All of the tropical fruit and peach flavors come from specialized brewing techniques with a blend of nine hop varieties, including Odell’s current favorite experimental, HBC 586.”
Sierra Nevada (California) Tropical Torpedo IPA 6.0%, 355ml can Bradley’s.
A little darker in colour than the Odell and also slightly more hoppy but there is a lovely twist of the tropical fruit in the aroma and on the palate. Virtually no indication while drinking that this Nevada is some fifty per cent stronger than the Odell.
They say: “Inspired by the island life, we created an IPA completely disconnected from the mainland. We used our one-of-a-kind Hop Torpedo to deliver an intense rush of hop flavor and the lush aromas of mango, papaya, and passionfruit with every sip.”
Garage Beer (Barcelona) “Ocata” IPA 5.4%, 440ml can Bradley’s
In a distinctive black can, this Session IPA, made with Mosaic and Palisade hops, is easy drinking and juicy with hops asserting themselves in the finish. Another well-balanced beer from the quartet. Colour’s close to the Nevada but cloudy. Add this to your crushable list!
Garage Beer Co is the “hottest micro brewery to come out of Spain” and is based in central Barcelona. Founded in 2015, after a successful crowd-funding campaign, they are already making waves in the craft beer community via their collaborations with established breweries such as Cloudwater. By the way, if you find yourself in the Catalan capital, be sure and check out their downtown brewpub.
Samuel Smith (Yorkshire) India Ale 5%, 550ml bottle Bradley’s
If the Garage Beer Company is the new kid on the block, Samuel Smith, established 1758, is the old reliable.
This ale comes in amber, darker than the other three. And it’s hops all the way in the aromas. And rich fruity hops too in the mouth. By the way, the malt is not found wanting either. Reckon a couple of these would have made life in Lahore or Lucknow or Secunderabad tolerable for a hot hour or two. Not bad either for those of us in Cocoonabad these days.
The label on the bottle is based on Samuel Smith’s Victorian letterhead when the brewery was a contractor to Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s forces.
They say: “Brewed with well water (the original well at the Old Brewery, sunk in 1758, is still in use, with the hard well water being drawn from 85 feet underground); best malted barley and a generous amount of choicest aroma hops; fermented in ‘stone Yorkshire squares’ to create an exceptionally full-flavoured complex ale with an abundance of maltiness and fruity hop character.”
* Our next beer post will take a look at a bunch of Irish IPAs.
* Our next beer post will take a look at a bunch of Irish IPAs.
