Innis & Gunn Limited Edition Oak Aged IPA (Bottle)

Brewed by Belhaven (Greene King)
Style: English Strong Ale
Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland

Fabulous stuff. A nose rich and complex with toffee, oak, lime and leather. The forest oak bursts into the mouth, but quickly give way to the pale ale taste, which then turns a bit too limey. Such tartness is an unfortunate event to a near perfect start. For those who enjoy whisky, you will love this one. Many of the same characters that careful aging in oak will bring. So complex yet still crisp and refreshing.

[bottle from Waitrose, Marlow] "Only" 68,000 bottles produced of this. The attractive but unnecessary value-added packaging normally means this beer retails at 50p or so above the regular Innis & Gunn’s, but Waitrose had 25% off bringing it down to a reasonable £1.49. Pours amber with a moderate white head that is slow to dissipate. There is moderate carbonation that is well matched to the beer. Aroma is initially grassy hops, but is soon dominated by vanilla and wood. Taste is overwhelmingly of vanilla and cream soda and vanilla ice cream. There’s possibly (of all things!) some dolly mixtures in there, with oaky overtones; it put me in mind of some Glenturret 10yo single malt whisky I had recently (maybe they both use the same barrels or something?) Behind all this, there’s just a hint of citrus. It says on the bottle that it’s called an IPA because it’s made in the same way that IPA’s traditionally were - adding hops to the barrel before leaving it to mature. That may well be the case, but it certainly tastes nothing like a modern-day IPA. There’s no hint of bitterness here at all, in fact it’s one of the sweetest beers I’ve had. Despite that, it leaves none of the syrupy mouthfeel that strong and sweet beers often leave behind; instead it has a very clean, crisp mouthfeel - despite leaving you feeling like you’ve had a Mr Whippy Ice Cream! To be quite honest, I’ve never known another beer like this - as with most of the Innis & Gunn offerings, it’s very unusual, and very challenging - and I liked this one very much! Provided you think of this as a pudding beer (maybe you could use it as a sauce for your banana split?) and not an IPA, it’s superb!.

Bottle. Pours a toffee colour with a thin, short duration head. Nose is woody, toasty, and sweet. Flavor is very smooth, more wood, sweet caramel and maybe roasted nuts. This was very smooth and was more enjoyable as the beer warmed. Delicious, I would totally have this one again. Thanks to blankboy for the bottle.

BB 25 Oct. 2007, served cool in Innis&Gunn’s own broad-rimmed goblet. Appearance: bright orangey golden in colour; the carbonation comes pretty lively at first full of med. and tiny bubbles; a pillowy white head gradually settles to a thin carpet sustaining throughout the drink. Smell: the prominent scent of Goldings hops--juicy orange aroma--is noticeable even from a distance... a close sniff brings out Innis&Gunn’s hallmark note, the silky-smooth vanilla-ish oaky scent like lightly-toasted new oak barrels, balanced with a faint touch of honey, preserved plums, and surprisingly low presence of pale malts. Plus, although the aroma is very focused, not a single hint of alc. is there for this 6.4% offering! Very nice indeed, but I’m doubtful of the impacts of oak-ageing on the supposedly fullsome yet balanced profile of IPA b/w bold hoppyness and abundant malts--the oaky aroma seems to outperform everything else, or perhaps hops and malts are both aggressively softened by barrel-ageing? Taste: the bitter-sweet palate of tangy, orange-zesty hops with a healthy dose of sourness dominates from the very beginning, followed by spicy and floral edges of Styrian Goldings (just as what it says on the box!), softly sweet vanilla-ish flavour, plus bitter biscuity malts on the other hand. The dry-hopping in oak barrels seems to soak up the unique oaky scent, rendering a rather mixed, aromatic, vanilla-hoppy palate... the aftertaste sees more "flat-bodied" hoppyness in action (in contrast to US hops’ oily and vertical performance), in the form of intensifying and complex bitterness only Chinese herb-medicine soup could compare with... very dry, tannic and chewy hoppy finish. Mouthfeel: overall the mouthfeel shows slightly more fizziness than the others in Innis&Gunn’s range; the palate is colourful, starting from juicy orange’s bitter-sweetness through a short mid-palate of pale malts towards the ever-lasting bitter, zesty hoppyness until the dry finish. The style is IPA alright, yet distinctive from any other one on the market. Judging from its smoothness against 6.4%abv., and the impeccable dryish bitterness of hops, the drinkability of this beer is simply excellent. Recommended!!

330 mL bottle. Pours golden with a lacey head. Aroma is a very sweet buttery toffee, very similar to the normal oak aged beer. Flavour is quite nice, sweetness from the aroma is present, but it is balanced a bit by the more bitter hops, moreso than in the normal oak aged beer. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, but other than that, this beer is quite good.

330ml bottle from the LCBO. Pours a nice amber (clear bottles always take half the fun out of the pour, because you already know what it looks like) with a thick head that had good retention. Aroma of carmel and butterscotch, and flavours of vanilla and oak. I don’t know where they got the IPA designation from, but I think it’s the best "limited edition" I’ve had from Innis&Gunn.

Dark caramel red pour, nice sticky layer of white. Oak is definately there in the aroma--vanilla, sort of a soft rummy alcohol, rounded earthiness, floral/peppermint hops. Velvety mouthfeel, a toasted caramel flavor, hop flavor but very restrained bitterness. Low expections (something Greene King was associated with), but very pleasantly surprised. I’m hoping to get a few more of these before they are gone.

(Bottle 33 cl) Vintage 2006. Pours a clear, amber golden with an off-white head. Great aroma of oak. Medium body with lightly sweet caramel and distinct wooden, oaky accents. A light bitterness in the finish. Right up my alley. 151206