India Pale Ale
Beer Academy

 

Poured into a tulip glass. Colour is a darkish honey brown, slight amber, and still lots of haze. A large soapy head, with good retention and lots of sticky lacing. 4

S – caramel malts, pleasant citrus notes, lemon mostly, nutty, with a thick citrus and floral hops. Balanced bready malt, dry citrus bitterness. Rounded. 3.5

T – a thick pine resin, herbal bitterness, sweetish caramel finish, citrus bitterness, lemon, kick of dryness. Pithy, ruby grapefruit, hazelnut, some earthy spice with a slighty peppery note. Fairly rounded as well, tasty flavor, less juicy and citrusy than some IPAs. 3.5

M – moderate grainy bready body, quite slight prickling carbonation. Coating body and quite balanced and satisfying bitterness. 3.75

Has more bitterness than upfront hop flavor, lots of malt and caramel present give a somewhat English-style interpretation but there is quite a bitterness and some spice on the finish. Wouldn’t say this is a must try IPA, but drinks fairly well, no real flaws but nothing standing out here, and not a ton of lively hop flavor. 3.5

 

 

Imagine pureeing oranges, lemons and grapefruit - that's how some IPAs smell, and how this one looks. All the murkiness and mushed up colours don't make the beer unattractive per se, but they do blunt most of its highlighting and, in turn, its glamour. The head also lacks in elegance, having left not a single shred of lacing on my glass. Boo to that.

The single most important element of an IPA is its hopping. This recipe is methodically designed so as to be complete and layered in its hoppiness: oily pine-like resins from Chinooks, Cascades for citrusy florals, and zesty herbalness courtesy of Hallertau. I find having a blend of all three is nice, though others might prefer it if one were more assertive over the others.

The only real thing, however, stopping people from enjoying all that lupulin is the three varieties of crystal malts and the coarse, spicy, strongly perceptible presence of rye malt. There's a lot of liquid grain in this glass, as evidenced by tastes of bread, coffee cake and wafers. Without the resiny hop notes it might almost resemble a snack you'd have with afternoon tea.

Though bittered and dry-hopped with classic American varieties, this IPA is unquestionably crafted with balance and more mainstream agreeableness in mind. While lacking in excitement, it's far from dull - the malts are generous and tasty, the hops well-integrated throughout and there's also a strong yeast presence that serves to enliven the palate. The aftertaste is a mixture of yeasty biscuits and pine resin overtones.

An entire growler of this stuff didn't excite me much, but sitting down to review a bottle of it today I've developed a new appreciation for what is actually a rather clever, well-executed recipe. Beer Academy's India Pale Ale, while a bit lame in comparison to more glamorous and colourful offerings, is a serious effort with a lot of redeeming qualities.

 

 

This was recipe #2. It was pricey at 6.25 a 625ml bottle (actually a very nice conical Anchor Steam-esque bottle).

The pour reveals a hazy reddish orange liquid with a rocky tan head. While the head dissipates quickly, it drapes the glass in lace. Wiffs of diacetyl take over the aroma of this beer, beating out herbal hoppiness and cookie dough. An English hop character takes the lead in the flavor, earthy with an edge of lemon, and slightly soapy. Bready malts, corn grits and buttery notes also show. The latter being a little distracting. The mouthfeel is full bodied with a languid carbonation level. The finish is long, soapy and bitter.

I can't believe they used a California ale yeast to brew this beer, the diacetyl is off the charts. Maybe they changed for recipe #2? This is very estery and note clean at all. I will probably wait for recipe #3.

Bottle from the brewery, bottled August 2, 2012. Recipe 3, Batch 1. 650ml into a tulip.

Unfiltered reddish brown, with a nice cream cap. Dense lace and retention. Some citrus and zest character on the nose, but its dominated by a buttered, caramelly biscuit bread character. Tons of the malt almost keeps the hops buried. More buttered bread, biscuity malts and caramel. Bitter citrus in the finish, mildly drying. An average EIPA, not my style preference by any stretch.

Bottle from Beer Academy Recipe 1, Batch 1

Hazy amber colour, one finger of off white head, sticky with some lace. Smell is hoppy with a big dose of sweet bready malt, a bit of citrus fruit and leafy earthy hops, caramel and biscuit like. Taste is of earthy hops and malt, a bit of caramel like sweetness, lemony zesty hop, quite dry and bitter as it finishes, citrus and bready aftertaste. Light-medium carbonation, medium body, pretty good feel. Pretty decent IPA, shows a nice balance and restraint while still delivering a nice bitter hop flavour, something I could revist.

From a 1 quart bottle purchased at the Beer Academy.
ABV = 6.5%

A: Straw-yellow with notes of ruby when held to the light.
S: A lot of hops, with some fruity malts appearing in the background.
M: Low carbonation and a bit watery for an IPA.
T: Surprisingly fruity, with strawberry, apple, some grape and citrus from the hops. The beer started somewhat bland but definitely gets better as it warms. Still, the malt is a bit dilute, and although the brew is well balanced, the hops are low, and overall, it comes off more like an American Pale Ale than IPA.
O: Worth trying for its own sake, but not a good representation of the style.

Unknown abv, I would think 6% plus, enjoyed on tap at the brewery. Serviceable IPA. New Zealand Hallertau, plus a C-hop. Didn't work out so interesting, but quaff able. Will have to try it again. Why not try a new hop combo and have a whole IPA series?Average mouthfeel, carbonation a bit high.