Greene King IPA Export (Filtered)

Brewed by Greene King
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Bury St. Edmunds, England

Serve in English pint

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bottle: What a pleasant suprise this was! First off, this is not an IPA as the labels says, it is a bitter so judge it on those criteria . . and it has it all. On pouring, you could immediately smell caramel and wonderful malts (how man beers can you rave about on pouring??) Some fruitiness, but great toffee or carmamel notes. Of course it is bitter (but not in a strong IPA way) so it is lacks the IPA style hops, but the flavours & malts make this a very smooth finish & amazing drinkability. As a ESB, this is really high quality. How the English make such amazing dark beers with so much flavour is pure genius! How they can mis-name it an IPA must be a cross cultural problem, throwing off all these North American reviews.

I like the normal GK IPA as it has a really good hoppy flavour, this is loads better, rich and fairly complex, with a delicious mix of malt ’n’ hops, refreshing and satisfying. Smooth and malty, there is a clean fruity acidity on the finish, a well balanced beer, very good IPA.

Clear 500ml bottle: 5.0% ABV. Poured into an ’Abbot Ale’ glass tankard to make it feel at home! Good solid amber body, clear and bright, looks inviting. A well formed, cream coloured, foaming head sat on top. What a pity the head had a retension span of a five year old. Expected a more pronounced hop nose, it is hoppy, but nothing like those monster hopped beers the US is currently producing. The aroma is of summer fruits, so the aromatic hops worked well. As the beer warmed a maltier smell began to eminate from the beer, making it seem sweeter in the nose. The bittering hops also do their bit, because the beer has a pleasing bitterness without going over the top. This isn’t all about hops though, the malts (hidden in the smell at first) are detectable from the first sip, or gulp. Caramel like molasses move the beer above a lot of IPA’s in my opinion. This is one of the sweetest IPA’s I’ve ever had and I like it, the hop bitterness stays longer in the mouth than the malty flavours and as the mouth drys the hops completely dominate. The combination of the two tastes compliment each other very well in this brew. Very drinkable indeed.

Alright so I have a bit of a bone to pick with you Yanks. I love you guys, but seriously? If it looks like an IPA, smells hoppy like an IPA, and tastes bitter like an IPA, well then, oddly enough, it’s probably an IPA. It is brewed to be an IPA by the Brits, don’t forget it’s a BRITISH STYLE OF BEER AND YOUR OWN INTERPRETATION OF IT IS NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT COUNTS. Great malt backbone, creamy mouthfeel, nice assertive bitterness from BRITISH hops, and the typical beautiful amber-ruby-copper IPA colour. I really like this beer. A milder IPA, but probably closer to what the original ones were like.

500ml bottle
5.0% ABV
I tried this beer on September 23, 2008 at "Smokeless Joes" in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The beer poured a translucent reddish gold with a thin white head. The aroma was a little malt, some piney scents, and hops. The mouthfeel was medium bodied, with medium carbonation. The flavour was a hoppish onslaught with a nice grapefruity finish. Very drinkable.

IPA Export: It is definately different than an American IPA, couldn’t say if it’s close to the original IPAs of those times, but this beer was pleasant and went down pretty fast, nice aromas of caramel, bread, and butterscotch from the malts and yeast and back up by a mild floral hop aroma... all around a nice beer that allows you to get a take on a non-American IPA.

From bottle: heavy carbonation, rich amber color with a thin, white head. strong inviting flowery hop aroma. light-medium mouthfeel. medium hop bitterness. very clean finish. Despite the reviews of many of the other raters, this is a solid pale ale. If looking for a true "hoppy" IPA though, look elsewhere.

500 ml. narrow neck bottle, blank lot number on the back label, sampled in a imperial pint glass. L: Clear reddish amber with a large off-white head of creamy foam. Good retention, light amount of ringed lace, active carbonation with a steady stream of micro bubbles going from the bottom of the glass to the top. S: Perfumy floral hops, a touch earthy as well, baked apples fruitiness, caramel and graham crackers, not a bad nose, appealing in its own way. F&T: Firm creamy crispness, smooth moderate body, this has a nice rounded malty feel in the mouth. Quite pleasant tasting, crystal malt flavors of buttery caramel and white sugar, becoming nutty at the end. Subtle berry fruitiness and a refined hoppiness, floral oily and earthy with a nice spiciness emerging in the dry finish. Whether you want to call this an IPA, Pale Ale, English Bitter or a ESB, I thought this was very enjoyable, light and refreshing.

Bottle: This is a good IPA from Suffolk. My first beer from Green King but surtently not the last! Darker in colour than a standard IPA, but smooth and creamy in taste with a touch of fruitiness about it. A little more bitter than your usual IPA.

Bottle. A very good session beer. Plenty of hops, good aroma and a really good aftertaste, smooth and malty. Not as good as Ddraught IPA in a reallly good pub.