Nutfield India Pale Ale
Old Nutfield Brewing Company, Ltd.

The previous owner of my house was emptying his DBF and I noticed a bunch of different Tabernash and Nutfield. Neither of these is available in Texas. When I mentioned it he offered them to me. Bonus!

There's a small, cream-colored, noisy, coarse head. The beer is a clear, deep gold... tending to amber. The smell is sweet and hoppy with tea. Very promising. Wow. Hoppy, bitter front. A touch of sweetness. Fruit shows in the middle... not sure exactly what kind of fruit. Major bitter hops on the finish. Holy cow. Some toasted grains pop up in the aftertaste, but my tongue is suffering a bit too much from the hops to pick up much.

I guess I wasn't really expecting such a hop monster. To me that makes this a pleasant surprise. There's also some sweetish malt to balance things out. I really quite like it.

Clear orange gold color. Small head that disappeared quickly, non existant after that. Slightly skunky ,grainy, grassy, grapefruit all come to mind. Honey and toasted malt with a green hops taste. Some linguring bitter taste, Thin body. On the sour side for my overall preference, not bad but not great.

Medium gold color, small head. A medium bodied IPA. Mild malts and slightly sweet. Fairly hoppy, spicy bright hops. Nice balance. About a medium bitter IPA. Nice flavor, very smooth taste. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is crisp and clean. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. Nice flavorful medium bitter IPA.

The pour is a transparent deep gold color with a creamy and massive brilliantly white head that dissolves into nice clinging sheets of lace. Floral tones from the hops, malt and citrus aromas, as the nose is bitingly crisp and clean. Front is mostly malt, lightly sweet, the top light in feel. "Hop bitter" is the finish, mildly acidic, bitter and quite dry aftertaste. I mean this in the most respectful way, but the magnificent beers brewed in New England always surprise me. Must be the fact they have so much time during the winter months to perfect the “Brewer’s Art. I salute all the Brewers in the Northeast, who brew such magnificent beers.

Golden hue, w/ a slight haze. Initially thick ivory white large bubbled head recedes into a tight layer that manages Belgian lace. The aroma is combination of fruity esters and an earthy and citric hop nose seemingly from a mix of Fuggles and Cascade. Mild buttery diacetyl is present as well and complements the light caramel note in aroma. Assertive, hop bitterness akin to west coast IPAs hits the palate first, then is ensued by light biscuit notes and diacetyl, which becomes progressively more pronounced as the beer breathes. Caramel / crystal malt sweetness is secondary and very mild, perhaps indicative of a very light lovibond, but dextrin contributing Carapils or light Carastan. Although lightly bodied, the mouthfeel was smooth and dextrinous enough to add to the drinkability. Hop flavor mirrors the hop nose. Finishes dry, with diacetyl quickly fading and clean hop bitterness lingering. Nutfield IPA grew on me as I drank it-- it's heavy on diacetyl, which leaves a false richness to the overall character. The fairly assertive hop bitterness adequately offsets the butterscotch, lending an odd balance to this brew. Drink this one at cellar temp at least.

Good head, hoppy start but mellows as it warms - that's different not bad but now I know why I haven't bought it locally. This is the chance we take belonging to a beer of the month club - Nutfield is about three miles from the house and this was shipped from Iowa.

This is a tame, but very drinkable IPA. There has been much discussion about Ringwood yeast and whether it is good, bad, or ugly. This beer showcases it well. There's just enough buttery diacetyl present to make the beer distinctive but it's nicely balanced with grapefruity hops and a good dose of malts.

Clear with a nice rocky head, I could smell the hops as soon as I poured it. A slight sweet smell was present, and became even more noticeable toward the end. But this beer is all about the hops. Very hoppy- never letting up even to the last sip. A crisp beer with enought bitterness to stand up to any food.

Presentation: 12 oz brown long neck twist-off bottle. “best Enjoyed Before” on the side of the label.

Appearance: Tarnished gold hue. Great head retention of a lace that sticks in big clumps and leaves a thin white pancake-like head on the beer most of the way down.

Smell: Big buttery diacetyl with a slight musty aroma give suggestions of butterscotch or fresh made taffy, malt is present and the hops have an earthy nose. Fruity with apple skin and ripe pear.

Taste: Just as smooth as it is crisp which helps a lot to make it that much more drinkable. Tight moderate body with a brisk yet medium leveled carbonation. Diacetyl rummages around but not enough to become dominant. Hop bitterness is plentiful and fresh with a sweet and herbal oily back ground. Malt is dry with a paler existence than the hops, some sweetness makes its way through. Light fruitiness gives traces of pears. Hop bitterness holds on tight and stays far into the finish with earthy and floral tones.

Notes: Cleaner than it used to be, quite drinkable with an ample helping of hops and buttery diacetyl. Pair this one with some slow smoked spicy bbq baby back ribs, slaw and baked beans.