Twenty
Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub & Guesthouse

 

A new one, at the brewpub. C hop aroma. Light yellow with significant head. Good bitterness, creamy mouthfeel that is above-average. Lace to show. Chinook and Cascade hops that are "late added" according to the brewmaster Rob. A bang-on pale.

I sampled this at the brewpub on December 20, 2005. Although it was originally made for their 20th anniversary, it's not retired.

A: Clear, pale yellow, a little head & lace.

S: Slight fresh hop odour.

T: Balanced slightly to the bitter side. Bready malt, with Pacific Northwest hop flavour (citrous aftertaste). Certainly more hop flavour than their other brews. Quite nice.

M: Light to moderate body, slightly creamy, moderate carbonation.

D: Quite drinkable.

Spinnakers. Dark foggy golden amber with a small head of foam that settles after the signature cascading ensues. Aromas are big bolshy pacnw hops in good unison, a small bit of booze, and big bready malts. Taste is wonderful with the big hops throwing out some lovely citrusy, piney, oily, leafy green flavor notes. The caramelly sweet, bready malts back the hops up nicely and provide this brew with a very very solid backbone. Mouthfeel is great, as always and drinkability is killer as well. A real winner.

I think this is really their American style IPA rather than a English Pale Ale. There are real big PNW hops in this beer and the regular IPA seems weak in comparison. This is a well balanced beer that finishes with a slightly sweet finish. What I really like is the nice hop taste that carried from start to finish. Worth searching out in Victoria.