English Ales Dragon Slayer India Pale Ale

Brewed by English Ales Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Marina, California USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Cask @ Barclays, Oakland, CA. Pours a an amber color with a longlasting white head. Has a fruity malty citrus aroma. Slightly sweetish fruity malty hoppy flavor. Has a sweetish malty hoppy finish.

Tap at Ellas in Sacramento, CA. Pours copper with a foamy off-white head. Aromas of mild malt and citrusy hop. Med body; flat carb. Flavors of mild roast caramel with quite an amount of citrus/herb bitter. Mildly astringent. I like to think it reminded me a bit of England.

Cask. Rich amber-mahogony with a nice light beige head. Citrus hop aroma. Lots of smooth malts with character (roasty/chocolate/tons of caramel) backed by citrus hop flavors. Well balanced. I don’t normally like cask IPA’s, but this one isn’t trying to be really hoppy and it comes out just right. Judging by other’s notes, if you don’t want the bottle, find a cask.

12 oz bottle. Medium orange gold color. Medium sized white foamy head, with strong lacing. Aroma is caramel and sweet. A medium to lighter bodied IPA. Malts are caramel and sweet. Hops are VERY mild for an India Pale Ale. I can’t detect any hops at all in this beer. If I had to swear on a stack of Garret Oliver’s book I would say it was an amber ale. Bland and watery, touch of cardboard as well. Avoid this one. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

12 oz bottle a gift from Enniskillen! Nose is grassy hops with some caramel malt and a hint of background fruitiness. Clear orange amber with a small off white head. Flavor is lightly bitter with some fruity white grapes. Finish is slightly more bitter.

(12 oz bottle: Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, CA) Some definite off-aromas are already turning me off to this beer. It smells a bit malty, with no hops at all, but a shit lot of cardboard that totally dominate the nose, plus a slight burning sensation in the nostrils. And again, malt and cardboard join hands in the flavor, with the cardboard becoming overbearing in the finish, and especially as the beer warms up. I don’t taste any hops, per se, but I do get some citrus and a gentle hops bitterness in the finish. But let’s face it, even without the cardboard, this seems like it would be a pretty poor IPA. Medium-light body, lightly crisp on the palate in the finish, but the cardboard just sticks around forever. Medium amber color, fully clear in appearance. Off-white head is fairly small despite the significant CO2 release when opening the bottle. Retention is mediocre, quickly fading to a wide, thin brim. Several thin columns, or vertical streaks of lace, are left on the glass, so there, I can at least come up with something positive to say about this swill. And just think, I have 3 other beers from this brewery to sample. Gee, I can’t wait!

Bottle. A dark amber color with a laced tan head. A slightly fruity malty aroma with a distinct lack of IPA qualities. A lackluster finish but a nice medium malty body.

Draught at the brewpub. Gold with a lasting white head. Spicy and herbal hops in the aroma, rather forcefully, with just a hint of malt. The flavor is quite hoppy in a very English way, with some light malt coming through before a dry, hoppy, and pretty bitter finish. The malt is light for an IPA, but this thing screamed hops. I was digging it. Just don’t expect a big American IPA malt balance to those hops.

Something "soft" smelling in this. At first whiff you expect that normal hops aroma, but it is rounded and stands out far less than usual. Must be patterned after the old style English IPA’s more than the new American style ones. Transparent amber color. Couldn’t tease a head out of it. Much like the aroma hop starts off big but fades very fast to a watery crispness. Actually not very English like say Samuel Smith IPA. Just a watery American Style IPA. Still a decent enough flavor it just goes away too fast.

Draught. Not much of an aroma; perhaps slight hops. Clear amber in color with no carbonation. Small, off white head. Nice lace. Initial mouthfeel reveals flaws. Finishes better but clearly below average. With a beer like this, you always wonder if it is being hurt by dirty tap lines. Strangely, I enjoyed this more than the Fullers ESB I had at the Crown and Anchor down the street in Monterey, which clearly had something wrong with it.