Dix India Pale Ale

Pale amber with moderate head. Good lacing. Medium body with average carbonation. Moderate bitterness with citrus flavour. Tasty IPA. Hope it’s a regular feature. Rerated because new version has Simcoe hops. Very unigue spicy flavour.

Olde 77 - The first solo brew from new brewer Derek Franche continues the excellent tradition of Dix IPA. Rich piney, grapefruity, orangey hop notes, clean pale malts. Being a much bigger brew than Tony’s IPAs, the malts are a bit chewier, the hops a bit more resiny, and there is a splash of alcohol in the finish. Still, excellent IPA and one of the PNW champs. The next batch will be a bit lighter, with different hops due to the hop shortage.

It’s been a while...Derek 2, keg. Bright amber with rich, lasting head. Aroma is woodsy with some pommelo. The flavour is rounded - abundant pommelo, wood, pine, breadcrust. Wicked balance, rich lingering bitterness, cutting edge...and everything is just nailed right on. Lately, since Gillian 2, this has been the best in the PNW. May it survive the transition...

Gillian 2 version, cask. This was probably the best Dix IPA, maybe even the best IPA ever in BC. Truth, it was a Simcoe bomb but that’s only part of the story. The malts were minimal, pale and clean as befits the PNW style. The hops were bright, fresh and bursting from the glass. Not only was the balance bang-on for a hop-first style like IPA but the brightness, the brashness, the refreshing quality were all in line. At the top of the pile. Already a go-to IPA, seeing this version even once a week will make mandatory drinking. Approximate score would be 4.4

The summer 2006 edition was promised to be the hoppiest yet, and it delivers. Amber colour with a big woody, citric aroma, almost reaching Washington-State levels. The flavour is quite bitter, with lots of Columbusy (tastes like it, I didn’t ask) goodness, wood and citric notes. The malts are still there in a backing role and the yeast is clean. Dry and quenching, if lacking in brightness (hey, it can always get better!)

This possess a big floral hop aroma with some English hops. The body is a bit thin but yet some earthiness shows through along with rich, resiny hops. A chewy take on the style.

Golden colour. Minty-citric hop aroma. Flavour is crisp, hoppy, with a toasty maltiness fading into a dry finish. Ar 7 Ap 3 Fl 7 P 3 O 14 = 3.5

On gravity from cask "Gillian 2" version at Dix. Hazy orange gol with thin of white head. Intense grapefruitcitrus hop aroma. Grassy rather than piney. Good biscuity malt underpins the hop. Well constructed. Then a rather fabulous hop finish. Alcohol is fine. The hop on end is really astringent, flowery, intene, grassy, grapefruit. Malt carries some juiciness. Hop finish really puckers the gum. Is the hop too much on the finish? Yes just a bit too much for me.

After Oakes told me of this great beer I finally headed three blocks down the road to try it. This really is a great IPA, one of the best. The hop and malt balance is bang on and it finishes with such a clean dryness. A beauty.

This is no longer a seasonal at Dix according to the brewer Tony Dewald. The beer I sampled was a dry-hopped cask version of the product regularly on tap. Very floral hop aroma. Light amber. Good balance.