An American style pale
ale coming from 'the destroyer of Young's ales' doesn't really sound
like it's going to be anything great but I'm all for trying something
new and setting differences aside.
What appears to be a
collaboration between the Charles Wells Brewery, Bedford, England and
the Dogfish Head Brewery from Milton, Delaware, USA. According to the
label, it claims to be a 'reduction' of the Dogfish Head 60 Minute
IPA whatever on Earth that is supposed to mean. I've since seen a 120
minute IPA too, I think I'll have to do a bit more research on this
matter later another time.
Once out of the bottle,
the beer is a rich dark chestnut brown colour. It has the distinctive
floral hoppy aroma of an IPA with an ever so slight note of something
I'm not too sure how to describe. Not quite verging on vinegary but
slightly more than the yeasty fermentation smell, don't get me wrong,
it isn't at all unpleasant, in fact it is a delicious beer. I tried
one last night and have already recommended it to people in and out
of the pub. When I finished work, I cracked open another bottle to
help wash down my dinner.
At 4.5% it isn't a
strong one allowing it to be consumed like a session beer, drinking a
lot of it in a single sitting. The flavours are well balanced with
none of the overpowering bitterness of some American IPAs I've tried.
The bottle has a very
distinctive label with florescent greens and pinks and yellows with
DNA in big type across the middle. Some might argue that it looks a
bit tacky, I think I fit into those some. There isn't anywhere on it
that tells you anything about the beer, which is pretty crap but then
it makes it more of a gamble when you open it up and take your first
sip.
I hate to admit it
since the severity of my dislike towards Wells & Young's is in a
constant state of evolutionary change but this beer is actually
bloody marvellous.
See below links to both breweries
No comments:
Post a Comment