Adnams Innovation

Brewed by Adnams
Style: American Pale Ale
Southwold, England

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker

UPDATED: JAN 12, 2009 This is a beer that looks good. Stylish box and bottle, environmentally friendly or not it looks damn good. The Bugatti Veyron is another example. The colour that exudes from the bottle is something else. Full golden, refractive and glowing - a lively colour that makes your stomach settle and your heart lift. Aromas of floral, citrus, peachy hops and a glimpse into that grain that provides Adnams classic malt base, firm and assertive - a platform for all the rest of each beers flavours. And so it is, bursts of hops and malt, citrus flavours, earthy flavours and a hint of warmth; a slight sweetness of honeyed toast leaves for a dry, bitter end, the finish is poised and well timed, yet could last a little longer to be right up there with the few beers of noteworthy comparison. Serve in a riedel pilsner glass to garner even more sense of occasion at about 8/9 degrees. Price tag justified, it seems we are starting to have good bottled beers worth paying money for popping up all over the UK at the moment. Some really should be left in cask though - just as others shouldn’t be put into one. And it’s damn good with belly pork.

Bottle. A - Golden orange color with a decent sized, foamy off-white head. Recedes fairly quickly. Very limited lacing left over. Sl - Both malt and hop scents are full and jumping out of the glass. Good amount of citrus hops. Decent amount of caramel and apple. Candied fruit kind of smell. T - Nice balanced caramel malt and apple taste. Also a little honey. Faint hops (probably due to age). They provide a bit of citrus and pine/floral flavors. Had a caramel apple and autumn taste. Really well balanced as a whole between the caramel malt the fruitiness and the slight citrus. The caramel/apple dominate but the slight hop flavors come in at the end, usually on the back of the palate. M - Medium body with adequate carbonation. Quite smooth and somewhat drying. D - Superb aside from the ABV. It is very well balanced and goes down smooth. The problem is that it has more of a taste of a session lower ABV beer but the ABV is a bit too high to be that kind of beer. Notes: Ok so apparently my review may be slightly skewed in that it is an older bottle (reviewed in Feb. 2010), but the best buy on the neck says 06 Feb. 11, however other reviews say their best by was in 08, so take this for what it is worth. Would have loved to try this fresh as it is still good with a bit of age (albeit probably not what the brewer intended). Really good and balanced beer, but the ABV is a little high to be a session beer (although the alcohol taste is not present). All that said, like one of the reviewers before me said, this is quite possibly the last review of this beer. That is quite a shame. It was a good beer from a good brewery. If there are any odd bottles left over or they brew it again pick it up (although the odd bottles may be going bad sometime soon?).

Bottle at chris o’s teabag for 2009 tasting. Alround rating: Wow totally unexpected here. Great hoppy ale, citrusy, awsome stuff, and very very drinkable. I heard they are making more since we took to it so well, so thats good news, as id like more!

(bottled) Ohh yeah this is good shit; An American interpretation. the nose is cool , with fruit zest , yes orange zest ,wet leaves.some biscuty malty richness .Christmas tree pine needles ... Presents bright amber with flakey cream head
Vibrant hoppiness in the flavour profolio. Zesty again , with a fleshy orange like bitterness, lovely biscuty sweetness unites very well with the hop florals. Really good expereince, this is excellent.

Bottle. The hops hit you hard an full on.Some floral flavours are also present. A bit if adventure from Adnams,Very impressive.

Bottled, 500ml from The Cellar & Kitchen, Southwold, Suffolk, very fancy Dan bottle & labelling. Orange gold with white head. The aroma is wonderful, zesty, grapefruit with a promising alcohol note, lovely. The flavour has a lot to live up to, it does fall a little short, but again it is zesty and fresh, with a light pine wood astringency running through, the malty body and alcohol match nicely, there is fresh hay in the finish. It was pricey, but worth it.

UPDATED: JAN 6, 2011 Bottle # 740. A clear gold coloured beer with a minimal head. Easily the hoppiest beer I’ve ever had from Adnams, and really good for it. Delicious orange and grapefruit notes in the nose. and the same citricity in the mouth together with a gentle stinging spiciness and a good malt backbone and decent bottle. I don’t know if Adnams have ant intention of repeating this beer. They really should, although as Craig says, leave out the unnecessary cardboard packaging and drop the price a little.Score 4
Subsequent ratings scored 3.8 and 4.2. Score unchanged

one of the best american IPA-esque beers brewed out side the US. I am pleased this is more available, it’s become more of an everyday beer. and, what makes me more happy is that it’s from one of our family brewers, having a go! good on ya! Sherbetty, citrus hops, little earthiness, lovely quaffable body, slightly rough raspy middle hops witha dry finish. cracking!