3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20I’ve had this on the hand pull, where it made a lovely smooth summer afternoon ale, now trying it with carbonation, from the 500ml bottle. Pours rich brown with a full head, from which the predominant aroma are the Riwaka hops. Full and bitter in the mouth, but with a lovely smoothness from a nicely balanced malt. The sprucey notes of the New Zealand hops is probably a bit too overpowering, especially on the after-taste. It’s a typically New Zealand IPA, which is fine, but not quite capturing the British heritage I think they may’ve been going for.
That aside, this is a lovely sprightly drop.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle from LCBO. Pours mostly clear amber with a thick white head. Aroma of pleasant English hops. Taste also has English hops, with pepper and marmalade, and a good malt backbone, giving way to a big bitter finish. Good English IPA.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Ok, but I’m struggling even to remember anything about this beer the morning after I had it, which means it really made little impression. Pours orange with ok head and lacing. Some hops on nose with a lot of malt. English-style light-style IPA. Finishes a little bitter. Bottle.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
500ml bottle from the lcbo. Deep orangish brown with a tan head. Overly malty English ipa. Not my preferred type of ipa but still a pleasant brew. I won’t purchase this again.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
500 mL bottle. Coppery brown with a small, off-white head. Quite a nice aroma, with some spicy/floral hops, but also a very distinctive malt note. The malt is thinly present in the flavour as well, to go along with the hops. While it is pleasant, it is also unremarkable.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
500 ml bottle from the LCBO. Deep amber pour with a fast fading, bubbly white head. The aroma is lightly fruity. A touch of spice and some gooseberry hop aroma. There’s a touch of pale malt and a bit of lightly estery character. Some soft berry esters with a touch of light bitterness. It has a softly bready malt base. Not terribly punchy though and the hop character seems a little bit muted. Decent, but not terribly good.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle 500 ml
Aroma: quiet malty up front, slight tartness, caramel with creamy backing. Bit more fresh on sides but not much.6+
Appearance: poured as amber gold, clear with lighter fizzy top.
Taste and Palate: medium bodied. Good balance btw. malt and hops. Some peppery leafy hints. Hint of nuts. Sweeter finish. Fairly straight and satisfying. Expected bit more from brewery that can make great stuff.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
1/2liter bottle - opened with a geyser - when it final settled down I got an orange-amber ale with a massive white cap. Impressive nose - spicy floral, sweet malt, some grassiness, citrus, fruity. Fairly well balanced between the spicy bittering hops and the sweet pale malt - clean bitter finish. Very drinkable and a top notch IPA - I was just turned off by the way the bottled version geysers into the glass.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
500 ml bottle from LCBO. Pours a clear orange/amber colour with small near white head. Aroma is caramel, biscuit, fruit and floral hops. Flavour is caramelly and biscuity malt, light tropical fruit, modest floral hoppiness, with just a touch of pepper. Gently bitter finish. Pleasant.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
500ml bottle from LCBO. I hope this one isn’t a gusher or nominally infected like the American Pale Ale. Here goes. Clear coppery amber with a large fizzy off-white slow-dimishing head. Smells good - clean, not sour - light biscuit malt, a little plum, plenty of acidic lightly funky floral bitterness. Taste follows, less malt, more floral character - really more like an ESB. Chewy, average body, sweet but off-set by a nice low-level funky acidity from that hop combo - quick finish and a pleasant floral/grainy aftertaste. Not an IPA as I would normally expect, but tasty. Not big alcohol at all, either.
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
500ml bottle. Pours a hazy medium amber, with a smallish off-white head, which lasts reasonably well and leaves a little lacing. Caramel and biscuit malt notes dominate the aroma, with some mild floral and fruity hops in the mix. Kiwifruit, melon and floral hops up front lead into a blend of biscuit and nutty malt notes in the mid-palate. Nutty malt and floral hops make up the finish. This is quite a nice beer, with some very pleasant hops flavours. To my mind, however, the hops need to assert themselves more to really make this feel like an IPA. Enjoyable as it is, it feels to me more like a hoppy bitter than an IPA.
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