Aiken English India Pale Ale

Brewed by Aiken Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Aiken, South Carolina USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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UPDATED: MAR 27, 2010
Name: English IPA
Date: February 26, 2010
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Appearance: clear amber, frothy beige head
Aroma: sweet caramel malt aroma, nice bready character, floral hops
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, nice and bready, floral and woody hops, lingering bitter finish
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ** /4

Growler. Beer poured amber with a big off-white head. Nose is sweet caramel, floral (fuggle?) hops. Taste is similarly malty, with some bready notes, and hops are not overly bitter. Overall, a decent brew.

Draft at brewery. A light hazy amber pour with an off white head, nice lacing. Scent of malts and caramel with light hops. Taste is earthy hops with a hint of fruit. Dry finish. Won’t please the hop head, but it is good drinking.

Growler from the brewpub. Pours clear amber color with beige head. Caramel and floral hop aromas. Flavors of caramel and biscuit malts with some mild hop bitterness. Medium body with average carbonation.

Light copper pour with creamy off white head and lace. Earthy hoppiness and semi-sweet malt on the nose. Light/medium semi-sweet maltiness. A bit thin with good carbonation. A nice EIPA.

on tap-pours an off white head and amber color. Aroma is medium malt, earthy hops. Taste is slightly sweet medium malt, earthy hops. Nice balance. Well done, easy. Medium body.

6.9% ABV. The beer exhibited an earthy hop presence with some caramel malt and a bit of a tropical fruit presence. The beer arrived lightly hazy golden amber with a wispy off-white head which coated the glass from top to bottom. The flavor was slightly sweet with pineapple and some tropical fruit character. The earthiness from the aroma carried through into the flavor but the hops seemed a bit citrusy. The malt sweetness was kept at bay by the bittering which caused the finish to be dry. The body was medium with a low level of carbonation and a creamy texture on the palate. A bit sweet on the front end and in the middle and more American than English, but still a nice pint. Pint at Aiken.

Draught. Pours red with a small khaki head. This is reasonably aromatic and leans heavily on the fruity side of an English IPA. I get some bread, caramel, ripe fruits, and not much bitterness. The finish is fruity with berries, apples. Some wood comes out. It’s not as bitter as I’d like, but is clean and relatively complex. It’s considerably juicy for the style.

Tap. Orange/apple blossom and light hops aroma. Medium amber color with moderate head. Creamy malt flavor with a fairly light hops finish particularly for the style. Nice drinkable IPA but probably not enough hops for the true IPA lovers.