Adnams Innovation

Brewed by Adnams
Style: American Pale Ale
Southwold, England

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker

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Pours golden with a small white head; aroma is hoppy, fruity in both citrusy and apricot or mango sort of sweet sense, with a biscuity malty backbone; flavor is moderate bitter, mostly sweet fruity with also hints of pine in the aftertaste, in the background biscuity malty and slightly caramelish; body is medium - quite smooth with low to moderate carbonation, but in this case a bit crispier mouthfeel would probably have made a better impact. This could really be the beer to bring together the best parts of English and American brewing, but ultimately it leaves you wanting a bit more.

Marks and Spencers branded "Southwold Winter IPA" bottle. Golden with a fast-shrinking white head. Smells metallic and grassy with some sweet malts. Taste is like copper pipes, but theres some fruitiness - a little stewed pear and raisin. A nice amount of bitters and malts make the finish really pleasant and long lasting.

Orange with small white head. Bit bitter here, bit fruity there. Can’t remember much to be honest but I was disappointed.

Bottle from Marks & Spencer, London. Aroma hints of caramel and grass. It pours a golden yellow with a white foam that disappears almost instantly. Taste is medium bitter and medium sweet. Quite ordinary mouthfeel, regular carbonation.

0,5l bottle. Murky golden color, small head. Nose is refreshingly hoppy with a slight honeyish sweetness to it. Flavor is very nice with floral hops dominating the palate. Very well balanced.

500ml bottle cool. Golden with a thin white head. Crisp and spicy, citrus fruit flavour. Deliciously balanced between sweetness and hop bitterness. Highly recommended.

Bottle @ Irish Österhof. Golden colour with a small white head. Fruity aroma. Fruity sweet flavour.

As M&S Southwold Winter IPA from M&S in Brentwood. Bottle at home. Pours a light orange / amber with about a fingers worth of slightly off-white head. A heady grapefruit aroma dominates with hints of pine and resin underscoring this gently. Surprisingly smooth and light across the palate there is just the faintest touch of oiliness. There is a big oily grapefruit bitterness in the taste, with bready malt and pine playing very minor supporting roles to add some balance. The grapefruit resonates long into the finish before finally collapsing into quite a harsh dry and rough bitter aloes flavour. This beer has a real grapefruit zest punch that never quite becomes overwhelming because of the subtle background flavours. I don’t know what makes this a Winter IPA but when I first had this as Innovation bought from the Adnams shop in Southwold it was so good aand different at the time I went back and bought a case.

Bottle 500ml from Waitrose, Christchurch. I had bottle number 01472 of this limited edition brew. Pours an orangey amber colour with a medium lasting white head. The aroma is citrussy and floral. This ale can certainly be described as full bodied, but not particularly refreshing. The citrus notes are in there, as are some good hops, but I found it too syrupy and sweet for my taste. It also seemed unnecessarily highly carbonated, which detracted from the character of the ale. It is limited edition, but it is nothing special and is certainly over-priced, at around double the price of a standard bottle.

Incredible smell, probably the best I’ve had in a beer. Sweet caramel, totally gorgeous. But the sweetness is not balanced out enough in the taste.