Greene King IPA Draught Bitter
Greene King / Morland Brewery

A tall, attractive pint-can, no nitro widget.

I'm something of a fan of Greene King's Abbott Ale, lately; with Caffrey's having disappeared from the US, it is basically the best nitro-tapped English pale ale we have, so I was interested in trying something else under the "Greene King" moniker.

Pours a medium red/amber color with a nice, creamy-looking head that isn't bad for a non-nitro can. A bit of malt in the aroma, no real hop scent, fairly unremarkable there.

In and of itself, this is a fine-tasting English bitter; it is exceedingly smooth and mild, and has a remarkably silky texture for a can that had no nitro-widget. I'd love to taste this on a proper tap, or from a cask. A right, proper session beer, to be certain.

The only problem with this beer is its identity. Beer Advocate rightly categoraizes this as an English Bitter, and it is described as such on the old can design, but the new cans just say IPA. Now, I'm aware that the American perception of IPA has veered considerably from the original English concept, but I have a hard time thinking of this beer as an IPA in any capacity. It simply lacks even the traditional, milder hop bitterness of the style; I can't imagine that this beer has the preservative qualities for which the style originated. It is a fine beer, but it seems deceptive to call it an IPA, and that categorization actually does the beer an injustice as a fine bitter.

Great beer for a 3.6%. pleasurable drink after a few, mellow as hell. Not a king beer by any means but a perfect all rounder session beer, good mouth feel, mellow smell , taste mellow, overall a 4 for what it is, a beer that doesn't pretend to be anything other than it is.

Not exaggerating but this drink is terrible.. colour is awful.. no taste it was literally like drinking nothing!

If I could I would give it 0

 

 

Color: very nice, amber and clear. Head made of fine bubbles, perfectly sticks to the glass and almost perfect marks each sip. It has a slightly yellowish color.
Aroma: leading a caramel, toffee, then there is still some dry grass.
Taste: The first sip and ... caramel, toffee another and ... is slightly acidic. That's it.
Gentian: dim, dry, grassy and only at the finish. Saturation: High refreshing.

Pours a half finger of head on a medium straw body.
The aroma is hay and a barnyard.
The taste is hay, earthy, dirt and more barn.
The texture is soft.
It's okay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Worst IPA in my whole life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On-tap 6/26/2012 at Doherty’s East Ave Irish Pub, in Pawtucket, RI, served in a US pint glass.

A: The beer is a light coppery brown color, with a thin off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is faint but contains earthy hops, caramelized malts and some citrus.

T: The taste starts with a caramel, citrus and honey sweetness that is followed by a mild but pronounced hops bitterness. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy and provides a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, very mild kick, good representation of style, this is a nice session beer to pound down for a long time.

 

 

green king IPA, is quality, best british IPA ive had so far in the UK,
very refreshing, smooth oatmeal /wheat notes, subtly sweet but stern in its corn and hops taste, just a well balanced solid and inviting beer. i can see why its so popular in this area.

i had multiple pints of this.

 

 

 

 

Served in a shaker pint glass at The Firkin.

It's been too long since my last cask-conditioned brew... This one pours a dark-ish bronze topped by a bit less than a finger of lightly off-white froth. The nose comprises light rye bread, caramel, grass, and flowers. The taste brings in much of the same, with the added bonus of a light nuttiness throughout. The body is a light medium, with a light carbonation and a pretty smooth feel. Overall, a nice li'l British brew, one that, especially thanks to the cask-conditioning, goes down far too easily for its own good. A nice session brew.

Pint served in a shaker. One finger head which the beer retained well. Apple juice colour with a few small bubbles. Nice yeasty wheaty aroma. Tasted berries and wheat, nice balanced bitterness. Very full flavor, tasted like more than 3.6abv. Nice mouthfull, a pleasant suprise, great session beer.

On cask at London Heathrow airport.

Pours a dark golden color with a thick, foamy head.

The nose has aromas reminiscent of Belgian malts. This breadiness pairs with aromas of fruity English hops.

Very light in the mouth - almost like water. Very little carbonation, it's so light, it's almost too light.

But the flavor makes up for all. Hoppy but not bitter, this ale has a sweet mouth with a dry finish. A slight biscuit flavor gives way to a tinge of rust.

This nicely balanced IPA is very drinkable, and among the best session IPAs I've had - US or England. It has the hoppiness to sustain the interest of the American hophead, without ever being overbearing. Recommended to all to find themselves with a long layover.

At the Fisherman's Tavern in Broughty Ferry, a beautiful nitro poured pint of Greene King IPA arrived with a full inch of off-white velvety head over a glistening ruby-hinted auburn beer. The smells were delicate: mown hay and floral shop hops with honey.

Bitter is the first taste, but then the warm honey and biscuit malts assert themselves, falling away again into the background of earthy, grassy hops.

All this comes from the creamy head that leaves a lovely lip jacket under the nose, enveloping the olfactory sense with sweet and bitter grasses. Velvety smooth from almost invisible carbonation from the nitro. Mouthfeel is decadent; buttery.

Finishes long and slow, with lip-smacking flavors and textures. Again, the difference between nitro-tapping and bottling: these aren't even the same beer.

A: Pours a clear copper orange color. A two finger white head forms with good retnetion. As the foam recedes, light lace is left behind.
S: Light floral, spicy, and grassy hops. Some caramel sweetness lingers.
T: Follows the nose. Some light floral hops and a lingering caramel sweetness.
M/D: A medium body, a low carbonation. Not nearly as clean and crsip as I would like for the style. A little on the watery side as well. Easy to drink. A decent session beer.

Not bad at all. It is just a little bland. Though this will do if nothing else is on cask.

On cask at Axe and Compasses, Arkesden, Essex, UK.

Pours mahogony with a thin loose head that leaves no lace. Nose is floral with spicy mulch. Hazelnut malt, tea and cinnamon hops. Tight end, dry linger, medium body.

Good hops with low ABV; closer to living up to it's IPA name on cask than in bottle. But there are more characterful bitters.

This is a great, smooth bitter that packs in a lot of taste and complexity for very little alcohol. To me, it's a lot like a more mellow, weaker version of Greene King's own Abbot Ale, which I love.

It is bright brownish amber with a medium, dense, creamy pale tan head that shrinks very slowly to a permanent, thin creamy top and leaves some lace.

The aroma is very caramelly and leafy with tea, earth, ornage, some toast and apple.

The taste is similar, very leafy with apple, hints of caramel and citrus (mostly orange). It has light sweetness and faint bitterness but everything works very well together and all the flavours are clean, consistent, and persistent. It's exceedingly drinkable and smooth, staying tasty and interesting to the end.

Enjoyed at the Robin Hood Pub - St. Ives (Cambridgeshire) U.K.

Appearance - clear, amber color with billowy head.

Smell - apple, some hops, bread.

Mouthfeel - light, smooth, and un-IPA like.

Taste - like a fruity iced tea. Very little spice from the hops. Not even much of a malt flavor.

Drinkability - extremely high due to the low abv (3.6%). You won't get filled up by Greene's IPA. A good compliment to a meal.

Appearance. Poured from can into chilled pint glass. Nice brown color - darker than I expected. Head was 3/4". Slowly died down but remained at about 1/8". Some lacing on glass.

Smell is typical. Nothing outstanding, but not offensive either.

Taste is about the same as smell; I was hoping for something more hoppy, and this beer just didn't deliver. It is not a bad beer, but at the same time, I've had far better IPAs. This would be closer in style to a pale ale - more American in taste.

Nice mouthfeel - short aftertaste good finish.

Its drinkable in the fact that it is light, but there is nothing that sets this IPA out to where I'd want to serve it with a meal or have more than one beer.