East Kent IPA
McKenzie Brew House

Served on draught in a 12oz. glass at the Glen Mills location on 12/1/06.

A - Hazy blonde/amber color with a frothy white head that transformed into some fantastic lacing around the glass. Nice looking unfiltered IPA.

S - Not much of a malt presence, but a decent hop aroma with traces of citrus and herbs. Not as bold on the nose as I was expecting.

T - The initial flavor blended a light acidic taste with a moderate bitterness and finished up with a spicy, biting hop flavor. This is more spicy than fruity/citrusy. IBU rating is around 67.

M - This is a pretty light bodied IPA with a dry texture and soft carbonation. The overall feel is kind of metallic with a lasting bitterness that stays with you at the back of your throat and tongue.

D - Overall, not my favorite IPA, but a fair offering. Perhaps I need to try a few other selections utilizing East Kent hops to see if I develop more of a palate for this type of IPA.

Cask pour at the 4th annual Real Ale Fest in New Haven CT.
The beer is a slightly murky golden brown, topped with a froth of ivory head. Great retention, leaving belgian lace trailing down the glass.
The aroma is instantly east kent goldings, with an herbal, slightly citrusy and grassy aroma. Much less grassy than other beer I've had with east kent goldings. A solid biscuity malt background supports the hoppiness, with some yeast presence and a touch of lemon, honey and fruity/floral esters.
The flavor starts out with a rich biscuity caramel maltiness. A light floral estery flavor meanders through the middle, giving way to a rather subdued herbal goldings flavor. A touch of citrus and grassy flavor. While not especially bitter, the hops permeate the flavor in a way that suggests a ton of lower alpha hops added early in the boil. Very nicely balanced, with some biscuity malt and a bit of yeast appearing in the finish. Some herbal hops linger in the finish, with an unusual honeylike sweetness sticking to the sides of the tongue. Very impressive! Soft casky carbonation, with a rather sizable body and a pleasant smooth mouthfeel.
One hell of an IPA. Hoppy, but not overly so, with a surprisingly delicate flavor and considerable nuance. Most certainly english styled, giving any brewery on the other side of the pond a run for their money. Scott Morrison hits the nail on the head again. Then again, I haven't tasted anything less than superb from this brewpub.

Just one variety of malt and hop are used for this beer. The hops are obvious but the malt is not. Maris Otter? Maybe, maybe not. It starts at a respectable 15.6 Plato/ 1.063 specific gravity, attenuates to somewhere around 78%, and delivers a potent but not overly dangerous 6.5%.
A foamy off-white head rests atop a hazy, deep amber body. The head holds fairly well before dropping to a thin collar which leaves minimal spotty lace. The goldings appear in the nose, but not nearly as boldly as might be expected given the name. Still, they're fresh, floral & grassy over a gently fruity and mildly sweet mineral-like malt leaving the nose welcoming and mildly complex with a bit of a candyish-perfume quality to it. In the mouth, a medium body combines with a median carbonation to leave it initially crisp on the tongue before smoothing out in the swallow. It's not quite creamy, but almost there. I'd love to try a cask conditioned firkin of this poured by gravity! The flavor delivers everything that's expected of an authentic English I.P.A. with some fruit and hop initially on the front of the tongue; a mildly candyish and ever-so-slightly caramelish malt as it warms across the palate; and an emerging floral hop flavor towards the swallow. The bitterness is constantly present, but well reigned in by maltiness. It's solid 52 IBU's leaves it with a firm backbone, but very well rounded as well. It's much more of an English than American version, and that's reflected in the finish which is dry but with a lingering note of sweet honeyish malt and light hop flavor amongst the bitterness. Far too strong to be a session beer, but you'll wish you could drink it all night!