Darwin Rolling Hitch

Brewed by Darwin
Style: American Pale Ale
Sunderland, England

Bottled at Stockholm Beer Festival. Clear golden, small head. Sweet and softly malty. Medium bodied and fruity with lots of grapefruity hops. Gold balance between American hops and creamy malt. Long bitter finish.

Bottle (500ml). From Waitrose. Bubbly gold pour, slightly oily-looking, average creamy-frothy beige head. Dry APA aroma - slightly sweeter malt than expected, a hint of citrus in with the fresh grain, very light amarillo presence (7-). The taste is nice and grainy, enough hop to keep it from seeming just another fresh golden, nice bit of acidity in the finish - just a hint of metal, though. Average, slightly slick body, fairly still, a hint of acidic bitterness in the aftertaste. Good, but certainly not great - subtle everything, rather than lack ...

Bottled from ASDA. Straw coloured with a small white head. This beer really delivered on the hops front. Aroma packed full of floral notes, grass and grapefruit. Tastes of citrus with a bit of malt in the background and a dry finish. A very good, easy drinking beer.

Zesty! Less sharp and bitter, more tangy than the typically ’English’ IPA style, very tasty. Body light, golden and well carbonated with fast disappearing head. Very hoppy, refreshing, delicious dry hoppiness. Some light creamy malt flavours adding balance. Finish dry, fruity and very refreshing. Good stuff - thumbs up!

Bottled. Same lagerish golden pour as the Wild Hare, but a much more accomplished specimen. Refreshing creamy malt and crisply leafy green hop balance. Slightly butterscotchy on the nose. Crunchy hop fnish. Fresh and succulent. Hop salad. Listen to it. Not quite as sublime as I’m making out, but a relief after the last beer. Hoppier than the Hare, or a litter tray of 2 week old baby hares come to think about it (got one in my kitchen), but without being oppressively bitter and one-dimensional. A lesson in balance, but lacking greatness.

LCRBM2. Amber, blanket head. Nutty malt, piney hops, light minerals. Lightbodied, but good balance. I most of all got the sense of it being a english IPA - what happened to those Amarillo?

Sweet fresh, fruity aroma with a slight scent. Great clear golden appearance, thin head with a medium carb. Lovely fresh taste of fruit and flowers. Great beer for the summer. Very enjoyable.

A mid to light golden brown coloured beer with a thick white head. The nose is strong and hoppy, there is a touch of ripe fruit, then a hint of sweet malt. A full mouthfeel, the taste is smooth, malty, sweetish then a dry, zesty, citrus fruit, hop flavour comes through to give the finish a tangy flavour. (Bottle - £1.95 from The Beers of Europe, Setchey, Norfolk).