Scotch Irish Sgt. Majors IPA

La dernière fois que j’ai bu quelque chose de bon de l’Ontario est il y a deux ans avec le stout impérial de Wellington. Belle orange foncé avec un petit collet qui dure. Bon arome florale et de caramel. Goût amère plaisant, un peu doux et sucré.

Bottle thanks to HogTownHarry. Hazy dark amber pour with a little head. This is quite nice, the aroma is very powerful with all the floral hop. There’s a good amount of floral and bitter hoppiness in the taste too. I wouldn’t call it "west-coast" style, but it’s pretty close to some of the great IPAs i’ve had from out there.

Bottle acquired in trade with blankboy (thanks!). Poured a deep orange color with an averaged sized lighlty off white head. Aromas of citrus, wet grass, and and light pine. Tastes of pine, citrus and grapefruit. There are some malts in there as well.

Bottle: Courtesy of HogTownHarry via trade. Aroma is very hoppy with mostly citrus, some moderate grass, and hints of floral. Pours a transparent amber with a moderate off-white/yellowish head that lasts a minute or so. Flavor starts hoppy with mostly citrus and hints of grassiness. There’s an underlying sweet orange flavor throughout that actually overpowers the hops. Rather sticky mouthfeel for an IPA.

Bottle 341 ml. Appearance: Ruddy orange with white head. Aroma: toasty, sweet grassy, hoppy. Flavor: grapefruit, hoppy. Thank Harry.

Bottle from blankboy. Ruddy orange body, medium-to-thin off-white head. Toasty aroma with bitter earthy hops notes. Rather light body with earthy, bitter piney hops and a light toasty, biscuity body. Bitter but light finish. No apparent alcohol. A decent IPA, but nothing out of the ordinary.

(341 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with Rastacouere on 25-Jan-06, thanks David!) Is this beer or a fruit drink? Wow, the nose is intense fruity like peaches, white grape juice, litchis, sweet citrus, and tropical fruits. Only a mild hint of grainy malt in the background. Doesn’t smell like an IPA, but damn, this is intoxicatingly aromatic. The gregarious aromas can’t help but influence the overall flavor since the two senses are so inextricably linked, so while the flavor is very fruity, the moderately bitter, grassy and slightly piney hops and the sweet, grainy malts frolic quite playfully amidst the fruitiness. Medium "plus" in body, and the dusty and chalky flavor in the finish lends substance and intrigue to the well-carbonated mouthfeel. Golden amber in color with a sufficient amount of haze to make objects appear fuzzy and nebulous through the glass. The off-white head pours to a good inch or more and never settles to the point of filminess. The curtain of lacing is fairly dense on most of the glass with some areas able to repel the clinging foam. For an IPA, the beer shows excellent complexity and balance, so while it’s not hugely hoppy and is different from the hundreds of more generic IPAs out there, this one is far more interesting.

Tarnished gold colour. Lasting thin foam head. Strong peppery hop nose. Interesting flavour combination of grapefruit, spruce, vanilla and icing sugar. Unfortunately I found the beer lacking in excitement. It seemed flat or muted. I prefer my Hop Head or the seasonal IPA from Brewsters.