Hazy IPA
Stewart Brewing Ltd

 

my least favorite of the handful of beers i had from these guys, odd one really, berry forward but sweet and sort of detergent-esque, oddly gluten free too, lots of that in scotland, maybe different standards for claiming that, i dont know, this didnt feel reduced in any way, and actually has pretty good body and heft and frothiness in texture for its lower abv than has become common in these, at least in the states, but the beer overall doesnt totally jive for me, less good on the fermentation side than their others. not super hazy or thick, but it looks the part well enough, average white head on it from the tap. aroma here is sweet, red candy and sweet orange and lemon to me, relatively fresh, but it turns slightly chemical in the flavor and as it warms, dish soap or wood polish or something, artificial lemon, a weird almost terpene intensity, and a fair bit of residual sugar, its not bad, and the hop part of this is somewhat unique even, but the ferment is stressed and weird and there is some sharpness, almost laundry left in the washer too long character, and linger that are unflattering, and it does not at all stand up against better examples of the style we had in the same session. these guys were at their best in my experience when they were doing the classics, keeping it simple, or innovating in conventional style spaces, this felt like a reach out of the comfort zone a little bit. not bad, but not their best, especially when judged against the very best in this style, a long way to go here...