Well would you believe it, the weekend is here once again! That’s another week done and dusted and certainly another week where we can say we are moving ever closer to coming out of this pandemic.
As I stated in my previous post, I am now ending the first part of my journey of finding some of the most amazing beers from my hometown Burton Upon Trent, the brewing capital, I have now realised its now time to move onto new places!
The microbrewery that I am finishing with is a brewery that is unique in so many ways, it’s one out of two breweries in Burton which are family-run only, plus the brewery has also been built inside the former Walstich Maltings which was once owned by Bass Brewers.
Personally, I feel bad for not doing enough blog posts on this brewery, I mean if Brews Of The World in Burton, didn’t stock their beer for takeout, I would be in some trouble, because I’ve searched everywhere to find the brewery’s beer and each time I’ve struggled to find them.
Anyway, hopefully, soon I’ll be able to sample the beer at the brewery’s home which I am extremely looking forward to.
I did personally, enjoy the Tower Bitter that I sampled last week, but unfortunately there was something small missing inside the flavour, I was expecting a really sweet and fruity taste, but instead the beer just felt more bitter than anything, however as I did mention, I will certainly still recommend you to sample this beer.
Right, let’s move on to today’s post which is based on this outstanding ale called Imperial IPA (5.0% ABV)
History
In beer there are certain factors we have to take into consideration when sampling beer, there are four factors altogether and throughout this history section, I am going to tell you why it’s important to use these factors when it comes to sampling beer.
The first factor is appearance, which is certainly important when it comes to sampling beer, appearance means the colour and clarity of the beer. In other terms, if a beer is golden and clear your beer is perfect, one way to see if your beer is clear is to hold it up to a light and see if you can see the light shining through the glass.
But what happens if appearance goes wrong!
Let’s use an example: One day you walk into the pub and order a pint of beer, you notice the colour is perfect, but the clarity of the beer looks cloudy, this can lead to a number of reasons for a beer being cloudy, either the barrel has been disturbed in the cellar or the lines which the beer flows through are dirty. If a beer is cloudy, I would personally advise not to drink it and make the bar staff aware so they can sort out the problem.
A beer can only be described as cloudy or hazy, if it’s mentioned on the bar pump clip or beer bottle!
The second factor is aroma, this is also important, aroma refers to the smell! When your about to sample your beer you’ll want to give it a good smell and if you find any signs of a beer smelling vinegary this will be an indication of the beer being off. To find out if the aroma of the beer is correct, I would suggest referring to the tasting notes.
The third factor is flavour, just like appearance, this factor is really important as you’ll want the beer to taste beautiful. A way of finding out if the beer tastes horrible is if your mouth feels a disgusting sour texture, this can result in the beer being off, on the other hand if the beer is stated as being a sour then you’ll be fine. As I mentioned in the aroma stage, all you have to do is refer to the tasting notes to see if the flavour matches.
The final factor is after taste, this refers to flavour that is left on the palate once consumed, you’ll often hear a lot of beer/whisky connoisseurs talk about palate flavouring, I tend to find the aftertaste quite appealing because usually the flavour is surrounded inside your mouth for minutes until it finally disappears.
If your like me and really into your beer or whisky, I sometimes make notes on certain beers to keep hold of for future references, I really hope this has given you a fantastic insight into the judging of beer, I shall now proceed onto the tasting notes and then the review of this outstanding IPA.
Tasting Notes
The Imperial IPA, is a traditional and premium India Pale Ale which is extremely light in colour which has a pleasant and floral hoppy aroma. The taste is rich with a citrus and fruity flavour, this beer is deceptively quaffable.
Review
On the same day I went to collect my takeout of Tower Bitter from Brews Of The World, I stumbled across Imperial IPA on another pump, on this very day, Brews Of The World had a massive triumph, they were celebrating having all four cask ales on and all twenty craft beers on the back bar, it certainly was a fantastic achievement!
Anyway, back to the beer, I noticed it on the other pump and as Brews Of The World don’t actually stock any of Tower Brewery’s bottled beers, I decided to purchase a pint of the Imperial IPA, just like the Tower Bitter, it was retailed at £2.50 per pint, fantastic price, especially for being a 5% ABV beer!
As evening approached it was the perfect time to sample my latest beer, a new beer as well, one that I’ve never sampled before so I did have some very high expectations and it all truthfully paid off.
This beer was amazing, it was really sweet and completely full of flavour, the hoppy aromas were very welcoming indeed. The overall appearance of the beer was tremendous, I mean just look at the picture above, crystal gold I would say!
The taste was spectacular and certainly delivered what it said on the pump-clip! It was very fruity and sweet, a beer that I would suggest that tasted more like a 4.0% ABV beer! I really enjoyed this beer and I just didn’t want the flavour to end. My palate ended up being full of rich citrus flavours which was perfect.
If I compared this beer to the Tower Bitter, I would have to say the Imperial IPA is the overall winner, I couldn’t fault it one bit!
On that note, I want to finish this post and say these last few words, if you are wanting a beer that is sweet and refreshing and has a gorgeous hoppy aroma, I recommend you all to try Tower Brewery’s Imperial IPA!
Cheers to that!
This is a collaborative post with Brews Of The World, all beer review posts are subject to my own honest opinion.
3Comments
March 7, 2021 at 5:59 pm
This actually sounds like something I would really enjoy — thanks for the info!
March 9, 2021 at 11:52 am
I really enjoy IPAs that aren’t too bitter, so this one sounds great! Love the tip about cloudy beer too, I will have to remember that!
March 9, 2021 at 3:34 pm
Yes this beer was really good, it’s always key to check the appearance of the beer, unless stayed cloudy beers are a no no!!