Pride Of Romsey I.P.A.
Hampshire Brewery Ltd

Pride Of Romsey I.P.A.Pride Of Romsey I.P.A.
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From:
Hampshire Brewery Ltd
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English IPA
ABV:
5%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.77 | pDev: 15.65%
Reviews:
40
Ratings:
41
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 19, 2008
Added:
Sep 02, 2001
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Ratings by bobbyc881:
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Reviewed by bobbyc881 from South Carolina

3.69/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours out a slightly cloudy orange/copper color. Low-medium carbonation. Thin white head. I don't detect much in the way of smell - some hop aroma. I don't smell things all that well though...

A touch of a sweet taste up front, followed by some moderate bitterness. Slightly fruity...maybe oranges and lemons. Lingers nicely. Nothing too in-your-face, which isn't bad: sometimes.

This beer drinks fairly well. Nothing exciting, just a nice mellow IPA. I need to add that the more of this I drink, the more I want to drink. It's almost thirst-quenching.
Jul 15, 2005
More User Ratings:
Photo of wl0307
Reviewed by wl0307 from England

3.85/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This is my 2nd time to taste the bottle-conditioned version. BB 15/04/09, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.

A: bright dark-orangey golden, topped with a pillowy off-white head with decent retention; carbonation comes moderate, mixed of large and tiny bubbles. Slightly murky due to the yeast sediment, but overall looking very healthy.
S: tangerine, light caramel and longan-fruits, and a touch of prune are blended very well; a touch of yeastiness at the back goes with semi-fragrant hops and a deeper layer of biscuity malts and residual sugar-ness. Overall, quite juicy and fruity with more hops than malts on the balance, showing signs of US fragrant hops like Cascade as well as English Goldings. But the more I sniff it, the sweeter it gets.
T: juicy citric hop, thick-honey-ish malts, and leather-ish+phenolic yeastiness with a spicy kick combine to dominate the foretaste; quickly evolving towards a deepening impact of chewy-bitter and dry-ish aftertaste of hop fragrance, longan-fruit's undertone, licorice-like bitter-sweet herbal flavour...also constantly chewy on the mouthfeel, while a light wave of alc. is radiated in the very end.
M&D: soft in carbonation, very smooth and lubricating in a sense; while it's just medium-bodied for the flavour profile, the malt backbone provides the gravity for the flavoursome hops to dance freely. This bottle shows very decent bottle-conditioning, a world apart from my last bottle of this very same ale and also many previous Hampshire bottled brews. A tasty English IPA overall!

Tasting Date: 04/01/06.
BB 21/10/06. Served cool in a goblet.
3.5 A: very light amber hue with some chill haze; the beer head is loosely-formed and fluffy, against a very gently-carbonated body.
2.5 S: sourly-sweet fruity note dominating the nose, consisting of prunes, star-fruits, fermented pear juice, a lightly stinky note of scrumpy cider, and faintly citric aroma. The maltiness is overpowered by the sour fruitiness of hops. Overall off-balance--a bit weird...
2 T: gosh... it tastes like this beer is almost off!! Sour and thin maltiness on top of a soapy and damp flavour of... hops(?). The balance is lost as the sourness simply is too strong for a beer in reasonable health, and the aftertaste only avoids further humiliation by retaining some bitterness...
1.5 M&1.5 D: thin on the mouthfeel and no body at presence at all. I'm quite sure there's something wrong with the handling process of this beer but I feel obliged to record how I feel about it anyway. I'm angry about this beer right now, even more angry than bumping into a not-so-fresh barrel of real ale at my local pub!! Darn!
Jul 19, 2008
Photo of GreenCard
Reviewed by GreenCard from Maryland

3.85/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: orange-copper, slight haze, frothy off-white foam, OK head retention

Aroma: orange marmalade, iron, soap, caramel

Flavor: balanced malt sweetness; grassy hop flavor with hints of orange peel, mold, and leather; finishes semi-dry with a scrumptious, smooth grapefruit bitterness

Mouthfeel: medium body, terse carbonation, slight astringency

Other comments: A very tasty, balanced IPA with an American IPA aroma, but not an American IPA flavor/bitterness explosion.
Jun 22, 2008
Photo of sacfly
Reviewed by sacfly from Maryland

4.19/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours a slightly hazy amber. Inch thick head of medium bubbles. Hops are evident in the nose. Sweet, herbal aroma.

First sip is interesting. The hoppy herbal quality from the nose comes out in the flavor and is nicely balanced by the malt. Smooth bitterness in the aftertaste. Very good. A solid English IPA.

I was a bit leery of this one. I love American double IPA’s and this was a 5% British, which normally leave me wanting. Nothing too complex, but this was an easy drinking satisfyingly hoppy, bitter IPA that was a change from the citrus/pine high alcohol American hop bombs. Will drink this again.
Sep 23, 2005
Photo of maxpower
Reviewed by maxpower from Missouri

3.26/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Hazy copper-orange color with a large frothy off white head that leaves a some lacing in my glass, citrus and fruity aroma. Apple, pear and caramel flavors with a mild hop bite, medium body with a creamy and soft mouthfeel, finishes on the sweet side, a decent session IPA.
Aug 07, 2005
Photo of Gagnonsux
Reviewed by Gagnonsux from Texas

3.71/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Best before date is 27/06/03, so I'm basically two years late. However, Pride of Romsey has held up very well. Appearance is great, the color is a brilliant copper with just a little bit of haze. Plenty of carbonation that lasts throughout the entire pint. Head is above average in size and somewhat thick and creamy. Retention is excellent and leaves nice lacings. The aroma has suffered from age and is weak. Light malt smell is noted alongside a mild citrusy hop. Pride is still very flavorful after a couple of years. Taste consists of a light malt body overpowered by citrusy English hops. Flavor is nicely balanced and an interesting alternative to the super hoppy American IPAs that I'm used to. Definently not as bitter as expected, but still very tasty. Mouthfeel is good, but just a touch more watery than I would like. Drinkability is very good, this is the type of IPA of which I could spend a long session.
May 24, 2005
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.63/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Tangerine peel orange with multitudinous fine specks, capped by a lovely looking cap of ivory foam that is firmsticky in consistency. The bubbly surface gives up the ghost grudgingly and maintains a slightly humped profile as it does so. Cheese grater-like lace sticks to the glass in fairly heavy, intermittently broken, sheets.

The nose is acceptable, but would benefit from more power and more personality. Citrus zest (sweet lemon especially) is the dominant member of the nasal profile, but it's too subdued. I'll have to keep reminding myself that this is an English IPA and not an American one. Other fruit peeks through as well; tart apples lightly sauted in butter?

Pride of Romsey is very English on the palate, but it isn't all that IPA-like. Pale ale I could buy. I know that it's a fine line sometimes between the two styles and that it comes down to, for the most part, the degree of hopping, but this beer doesn't deserve the IPA appellation even when taking its country of origin into consideration.

It's acceptably malted, which is the only thing that saves it from underhopped hell. The semi-firm malt backbone could withstand much more of a hop load than it has been provided with. I hate to beat a dead horse, but some dead horses deserve it. What hops are present convey a bitter lemon flavor that is more bitter than lemon.

Mildy sweet in the beginning and middle, things take a turn for the puckeringly bitter and dry by the finish. Maybe there are more hops here than the flavor would suggest. The body is on the light side of medium and the carbonation is on the low end.

Pride of Romsey is one of those beers that grew on my as I got deeper into the bottle. The hops seemed to assert themselves much more with warming, but this ale still fell short in the all-important arena of flavor. 'Pride' may be a bit of a stretch, but 'We're Not Feeling Too Bad About Ourselves In Romsey IPA' probably wouldn't sell very well.
May 01, 2005
Photo of cracker
Reviewed by cracker from Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours a golden orange hue with a frothy head. Aroma is of pine trees and oranges. Much more of a pronounced hop bitterness that sneaks up on you and lingers in the mouth long afterwards. Lacks a malt backbone...very little caramel and roasted qualities. Does however, have a fruity,flowery taste but is overshadowed by the lingering hops. Very drinkable British IPA but not sure if worth the $5 a bottle.

Note: Freshness date on the bottle says 6/27/03. Perhaps it is somewhat past it's prime now???
Feb 27, 2005
Photo of CAMRAhardliner
Reviewed by CAMRAhardliner from Canada (ON)

4.87/5  rDev +29.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
This is a great beer, and also the hoppiest I came across in the UK.

Pours a bright orange color with a big fat head with moderate retention. Beautiful wisps of lace are left on the glass.

The aroma is full of fresh citrus hops, with perfumey and bitter notes as well. Theres also malt in the nose.

The taste is full of pungent, oily hops. With massive lemon and grapefruit notes. There must be a lot of cascades in this beer. Theres also a clean bitterness and a restrained maltiness.

The mouthfeel is very smooth and satisfying with very minimal carbonation. This beer is eminently drinkable, and thirst quenching. With a great hop profile and a clean finish, this is is definitely one of my top five English brews.
Aug 28, 2004
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Light copper body with a nice head; good lacing

Smell: Heavy citrus nose; lemon and grapefruit

Taste: Just a smidge of malt on the front of the tongue; quickly subsumed by the citrus hops; long finish of bitter hops; not overwhelming like some American IPAs

Mouthfeel: Relatively full-bodied; nice carbonation

Drinkability: A nice IPA with some pleasant, well-rounded attributes
Aug 21, 2004
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Reviewed by PorterLambic from Florida

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A nice orange-gold color with at big 1 1/2" head that subsided to 1/4 " that stayed almost to very bottom of the glass. Good lacing.
Smell was hops and citrus.
Taste followed: hoppy with a hint of grapefruit. The label suggests orange, grapefruit & lemon. I wasn't able to pick up the orange at all or the lemon enough to be cretain it was there.
Medium-bodied with a nice astringency and lightly effervescent all over the tongue. Nice complexity for an IPA, quite drinkable.
One sidenote: the label listed a "best before" date of 6/27/03. I drank it on 8/6/04. The ABV seemed a bit higher in this bottle-conditioned brew than the listed 5%, no surprise, but the beer did try to rush out like it was champagne, so watch out and have your glass really close by so as not to waste any.
Aug 07, 2004
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Reviewed by edchicma from Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Bottle--BB date of 6/27/03. Excellent appearance...light copper with nice head and lacing. Smell is sweet, yet citrusy. Taste is unusual. Early bitterness lingers, but leaves a plastic like quality that finsihes in a very strong bitter quality that stays..not overly great. Mouthfeel is too dry, even for this hophead. Drinkability suffers due to plastic quality, over bitterness and extreme dry quality. This sample had a BB date that was over a year old so I might try a newer sample at some point..
Jul 14, 2004
Photo of Afterburner
Reviewed by Afterburner from Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
Appearance: Rich copper-orange color with a small, crackly eggshell-colored head. Minimal retention and lacework, but nice collaring.

Smell: Citrus-y and pine-y hop character, in roughly equal measure. Moderate malt backbone. Faint spicyness, akin to allspice or perhaps cardamom.

Taste: Strong citrus character on the attack, followed by -- holy crap -- BIG, exceptionally aggressive hop character. I feel like my tongue has been sandblasted. Malt backbone is barely noticable on the first swallow, and completely overwhelmed on subsequent sips. Long, dry finish with hints of orange.

Mouthfeel: Moderate bead, moderate carbonation. Medium bodied.

Drinkability: This beer may be brewed in England, but it's an American-style IPA. Unfortunately, it's a fairly unbalanced IPA. Like so many other heavily hopped brews, it's basically a hop tea. Nothing whatsoever to balance out the hops. If you're a serious hophead, give it a try. If you lean more towards the malt side of things, I'd say to avoid it.
Jun 06, 2004
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Reviewed by feloniousmonk from Minnesota

3.15/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Clear, bright amber color, capped with a fresh layer of 1/2" chalk white froth on top. Aroma: citric, grapefruit, lemon, orange,pineapple, piney, shades of Cascades, but mild and mellow.
Taste: hops come a bit soapy on first entrance on the palate, but his washes away rather quickly, though it returns with eac h sip. Still fruity and refreshing, but a bit too thin and watery. Good malt, light bodied, and weak in the finish.
A mild IPA, and I usually yearn for a little oomph and tingle. If you like your ales on the disposable side, by all means.
Mar 11, 2004
Photo of oberon
Reviewed by oberon from North Carolina

4.29/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a deep orange with a light head that dissapates pretty quickly,aroma is nutty and very herbal nice and appetizing.Hints of brown sugar and minty flavors hit my taste buds right away with some resiny hop flavors come thru in the finish.I really like the flavors in this beer like the minty touch,a great beer would love to have again.
Mar 10, 2004
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Reviewed by mikeys01 from Colorado

3.97/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served from a brown squat imperial pint bottle, acquired from Mancheste rWine & Liquors for $3.99 I believe. Pours out a just slightly hazy orange/amber color, with a generous white head that dissipates quickly to a nice lacing that remains through the drinking. Aroma is sweet and fruity, detecting apple and raisin as well as some citrus, not overly hoppy at all but more malty in character. Taste is remarkably balanced for an IPA, a refreshing change from our typical American IPA. A good amount of bready yeast and pale malt flavor is ever present, with some soft citrus hops making an appearance midway and developing into just a bit of bitterness that quickly buils and then fades back to malty sweetness and caramel in the finish. Body is on the lighter side of medium. Very smooth and drinkable traditional IPA, alcohol is not noticeable at all.
Feb 24, 2004
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Reviewed by StevieW from Florida

4/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Solid brown euro 550 ml bottle. Shiny medium copper color, very clear body with a sticky, crusty white head. Initial smells of citrus and freshly chopped hop leafs. Taste was tangy, bitter, lots of grapefruit and resiny, but smooth and not overpowering. Hints of oily malt underneath, some toasted biscuit flavors way underneath. Hop presence is there, but very different from an overpowering hoppy American IPA. The IPA flavors are there but more subtle, and maybe even more flavorful. Light to medium bodied, certainly refreshing. Paired this with grilled chicken and vegetables. Very good.
Feb 19, 2004
Photo of genaro
Reviewed by genaro from Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This bottle -conditioned IPA came in a sturdy brown bottle. The color was a cloudy gold with a nice small bubbled sustaining head. The aroma was citrusy (grapefruit and orange peels) with some floral bouquet. The taste was citrusy (orangey and grapefuity) with elements of caramel and some sweetness. It had a very good hop bite and good carbonation. The finish was fairly bitter. Overall, a pretty good beer.
Feb 12, 2004
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Reviewed by RoyalT from Michigan

3.32/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Appearance – Dark orange and cloudy in color with a decent head.

Smell – The citrus hops are supercharged with a big infusion of grapefruit. There’s also a malty base to this one, but it’s hard to find underneath all of that zesty grapefruit.

Taste – Pink grapefruit dominates this bitter IPA. The doughy yeast comes out much bigger at the taste, and the endive at the finish will leave you dry.

Mouthfeel – This one is dry and bitter with a medium body and well-balanced mouthfeel.

Drinkability – A little too much grapefruit for me, but this was a nice one nevertheless. I’d like to get a hold of this on-tap.
Jan 24, 2004
Photo of DrewBeechum
Reviewed by DrewBeechum from California

3.43/5  rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Sampled from an imperial pint brown bottle and poured into a new style fluted English imperial pint glass.

Beer pours in the glass with a low white head that sticks hard to the glass with a beautifully clear and bright orange beer.

Aroma is fruity with red rusty sweet apple character and a small bit of butter that starts running the edges with a growing medicinal pheolic

Flavor is bitter and tannic apples with a caramel base malt that quickly leads to a drying and growing hop bite with a slightly metallic finish.
Jan 16, 2004
Pride Of Romsey I.P.A. from Hampshire Brewery Ltd
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 41 ratings