Immaculate India Golden Ale
Dead Frog Brewery

 

650ml bottle. Jesus tap-dancing Christ! While adding a beer, if someone else goes and submits before you, your whole post goes down the shitter, instead of just treating it as a regular review - though I suppose there's a plugin for that. Anyways, back at hand, we have a hoppy golden ale, as per the label. And oh, I quite like their recommended glassware, which here is the good old American pint shaker, my go-to for damned near everything.

This beer pours a clear medium copper amber colour, with three fingers of puffy, foamy, and mostly bubbly ecru head, which leaves a decent layered array of soap scum lace around the glass as it genially recedes.

It smells of orange, grapefruit, and lime peel fruitiness, bready caramel malt, a doughy wheatiness, and further earthy, leafy, and perfumed floral hops. The taste is big on the astringent citrus and pine hops up front, followed closely by a grainy barley/wheat maltiness, and more floral, leafy, grassy, and ultimately boozy (ok, 'perfumed') floral hops.

The bubbles are peppy at times, but generally quite laid back, the body a decently solid medium weight, and more or less smooth, all depending on the particular density of the flitting hops in that particular sip. It finishes off-dry, barely, as the hops have a certain stranglehold over this affair, one which the duly present malt must just sit back and take.

A pretty hoppy experience, especially for a blond ale, which begs the question: if a beer exhibits the bitter hop schedule of an IPA, and smells and tastes accordingly, should it not be considered as such? And given the preponderance of faux-IPAs out there, shouldn't this hop craziness be celebrated? I give Dead Frog full credit for recognizing the subtleties of the matter, in their naming scheme, and ultimately in their tasty, hoppy, and actually balanced 'IGA' - hah - try extracting the trademark rights to that acronym from Sobeys.

This was a new beer for me to try, and wow, my first ever review. I'm not even sure I have the style correct, but oh well, here it goes.

These are the specs I pulled from the bottle:

A prisitine hop forward ale with a golden twist.Our Immaculate India Golden Ale is designed to celebrate two of our favourite things, hop forward beers and perfect summer weather. This wonderful brew is just like the golden days of summer: it's easy to enjoy and has lots to offer.

Tech Specs and Random Info

Ingredients: Water, malted barley, white wheat, hops, yeast, orange peel

Malts: 2 Row, Belgian Aromatic, Cara 8, Pale, White Wheat

Hops: Cascade, Centennial, Zythos

IBUs: 50

ABV: 6.5%

First batch: July 2013

A - Pours a nice golden amber colour (almost lager like, but with a bit darker hue), with about a thumb of head which really wants to stick around.

S - Bready, some orange (from the peel) and hops, but not overpowering

T - Much like the nose, with orange rind, some citrus bitterness, a bit sweeter on the finish, and the alcohol lets you know it's there, but it's subtle. This is good; this pairs exceptionally well with the fish tacos and spicy slaw I'm currently enjoying.

M - Lighter bodied, smooth and slightly bitter on the finish.

O - A very solid seasonal from Dead Frog with lots of flavour and a nice punch of hop forward bitterness. I'd buy this again.

Serving type: 650 mL bottle