Darwin Rolling Hitch

Brewed by Darwin
Style: American Pale Ale
Sunderland, England

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tulip

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UPDATED: MAY 20, 2005 slightly citrus hoppy nose. lively mouthfeel. bitter hopped finish. good stuff.

Certainly not as bitter as normal IPA’s but a classic in the making. The rich aroma leads into a smooth hoppy mouthfeel with hints of malt. Thankfully the heavy bitterness that often spoils this style of beer is missing and the beer remains first class throughout.

Poured an amber color with a good size white head which lasted. Interesting aroma of a smokey floral pine with some herbs. If that makes any sense at all. I also noticed some papery-skunk. Flavor is a smokey, pine and charcoal flavor with a bitter finish. The flavor really grew on me, I like it. Nice creamy texture with a metallic finish. Very fun to try from the bottle a traveling friend brought me.

Bottle from Asda. Mustard gold, with a big white head. Great US aroma of oiley resin hops. Different flavour than expected; burnt, slightly smoked hops, plus some crusty citrus mixed into a murky mush. Refreshingly dry. Not enough hops, and a bit too much malt which sneaks towards choc at one point. Nice, interesting, but not the APA I was after.

Bottle. The really interesting thing about this beer was the aroma. Some wild farmyard stench and aromatic hops. As soon as it touched my tongue it was a bit dissapointing. It was malty and sweeter than i expected., with a light hit of those amarillo hops in the finish. Theres a bit of pine/lychee/citrus, but not as much as i like, nor even enough for the style. I found it a bit sweet at times and almost void of any interesting flavours, which is weird, coz everyone seems to think this is a winner. I was really dissapointed.

Nice coloured beer but not hoppy enough for me ( sooner have a Sierra Nevada or Hop Devil ) but on its own a nice drinkable beer. Picked this and a....get this.....Duvel gift pack ! ! ! up from Asda. Yup rauchbier worthy of us, not the usual tracky wearing Asda dobbers.

Bottled. Copper coloured beer with a thin white head to start with. The aroma is slightly hoppy but not as much as expected. In addition there is a smokiness which carries on into the flavour. It is a pleasant smokiness but one which detracts from the amarillo hops which should be much smoother. I am not getting any of the citric qualities I was hoping for. A drinkable beer but one which unfortunately failed to live up to the hype of being RateBeer’s current English cult beer and at the same time my 1000th rating.

Bottled. Nice looking dark amber beer with a smooth fruity and hopped aroma. The flavour is slightly caramel, smokey, dry and fruity. Overall a good complex beer.

Bottled, from Asda. Gold, thin but lasting white head and moderate condition. Excellent hop resin aromas, with hints of grapefruit, caramel and possibly some cow dung (but in a nice way). Good solid blend of nutty malt and peppery hop resin in the mouth and a long lingering sweet hoppiness and retronasal raw barley malt in the finish. This beer deserves a more discerning audience than the chavs who shop in my local Asda.

Clear amber appearance, excellent head formation. Piney citrus aroma, spicey lemon and grapefruit. Spicy, woody, dry but fruity hop palate, fairly light in body. Good level of complexity.