Meantime India Pale Ale

Brewed by Meantime
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
London, England

orange colored pour. malty smelling, not so much hoppy smelling as im used to from american ipas. taste is smooth and refreshing, very easy to drink. not too bitter, and just a downright good ipa. a starter ipa if you will. thanks for this one daniel. pretty underrated in my opinion.

Pours a bit cloudy, copper orange with nice sized white head. Aroma is first malty(sweet carmel) and then the expected hop aroma, although not the American hops that I’m generally used to in an IPA, because this is a British IPA. The flavor is nice and smooth, and there is really more malt at first rounded out by a balancing hop kick at the end. It’s not a bowl you over, in your face IPA like many American offerings, but a nice ballanced representation of the style. Nice sweetness and plesant European hop flavors that linger slightly. An apple cider vinegar fruit flavor comes later. It’s nice to ge away from the familiar once in a while and look at another take on a classic style from those who originated it.

(750 ml corked and caged bottle: Obtained in trade with iwantalambic, thanks Justin!) Big bottle, and an even bigger price tag, so I’m hoping the beer lives up to the hype. The sweet and very fruity nose shows honeydew melon in particular, with some light caramel in the background. The hops aroma is on the grassy side and offers a nice counterpoint to the sweet, fruity aromas. This doesn’t have the most aromatic of noses, but it does smell very nice and very enticing. But wow, the very tasty flavor is even more enjoyable, with elements that really have caught me by surprise. The flavor is very sweet and quite fruity, with a strong malt base that tastes like candy caramel. Honestly, my first impression was "dessert beer". The mild, grassy hoppiness stays in the background, but contributes a perfect amount of tart citrus and bitterness to break up the sweetness without taking away its focus. Body is medium-full and carbonation is light, so the mouthfeel is rich and luscious. Cloudy, translucent, golden amber colored body is capped by half an inch of rocky, white head. The head fades to a ring over time and leaves a fair amount of patchy lacing on the glass. Is it worth $10? Probably not, but I’ve really enjoyed this delicious beer, so if it were available in my part of the country, I wouldn’t mind splurging on this tasty, exotic treat every now and again.

Bottle from Total Wine, Cary. Pours hazy gold with little head. Aroma of fruity, hopcitric, feety hops. The taste is bready malty hoppy, biscuity, with some fruit and more piney hops. Very hoppy, with a fruity piney element.

Bottle poured a hazy orange caramel with big carbonation and a nice creamy head. Aroma is yeasty, citrus, ripe fruits. Flavor is a mellow yeaty citrus, oranges and hops. Smooth light hops finish. Easy drinking and smooth but not what I would think of when reaching ro an IPA. Not bad though.

Mouthfeel is this IPA’s best trait. It’s super smooth feeling and nice to drink. The hops are nice citrus flavors and aromas of fruits. One of my favorite IPAs from across the pond.

750ml bottle at Falling Rock - Denver. Nice hoppy flavor and malt/hop balance.

I have to admit, I bought this one for the bottle (just thought it “looked good”). 750ml. Deep orange color and minimal head on the pour. Light-med citrus and light –med malt. Very standard IPA but in a good way. While many brewers are going for novelty, this was just classic. Caramel sweet malt greats the first sip and are predominant but are followed quickly with well balanced blast of grapefruit and orange flavored hop bitterness. Lightly bitter finish that rides out on a nice malt body. Creamy mouth feel. This is simple and unpretentious. I think this is what I think of when I think about a generally good IPA. These guys nailed it and did not try to flower it up. Nice job.