White Angel IPA
Steamworks Brewing Company

 

 

Everything hops I’ve had from steamworks has been solid so far so when I saw their new mixed pack of IPAs I couldn’t resist. Probably had the lowest expectations for this one, maybe it’s because the only wheat beers I can remember drinking lately are shock top and a warm can of Phillips electric unicorn, or maybe it’s because most white IPAs I can remember drinking tasted like a hef that was bitter for no reason, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Pours a bright orange yellow with a noticible amount of floaties that I wasn’t expecting. Three fingers of white head that dissipates into 1cm while sipping. Nose is all orange peels and what I presume is coriander according to the ingredients listed on the can (huge fan of brewery’s that do this). Taste is very wheaty, reminds me of a hef. Not too much bitterness and some good aroma from the galaxy, cascade and centennial. Smooth mouthfeel after pouring with a decent head. Great beer!

473ml can, part of the mixed 8-packs currently available in Alberta. A complement to their Black Angel IPA, I presume?

This beer pours a murky, medium unripe banana skin yellow colour, with four fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and bubbly eggshell white head, which leaves some decent thickly splattered lace around the glass as it lazily sinks out of sight.

It smells of bready and doughy cereal malt, muddled domestic citrus rind, sweet coriander spice, a bit of damp minerality, and some plain earthy, weedy, and piney green hop bitters. The taste is semi-sweet, grainy and crackery pale malt, sugary orange and white grapefruit flesh, some flinty stoniness, blended earthy spice, and more understated leafy, musty, and floral 'verdant' hoppiness.

The carbonation is adequate in its palate-pleasing frothiness, the body a solid middleweight, and sort of smooth, as the general bitterness takes things down a notch or so at this particular juncture. It finishes off-dry, the weird sugary character still confounding me.

Overall - this comes across as a bit of a strange beast, with the 'Belgian' essences quite hard to ascertain, and the candied fruitiness distracting from the whole. Not quite sure that I would want more than one of these, to be perfectly honest.

 

 

L:
-pours a hazy golden-orange with a small,foamy,white head
-medium carbonation visible
S:
-oranges,tangerines,grapefruit,mango,passionfruit,coriander,cereals
T:
-orange,tangerine,grapefruit,soapy
-medium bitterniss for the style
F:
-medium carbonation
-light to medium body
O:
Really nice IPA

 

 

 

This pours a hazy golden straw colour with a minimal white head that dissipates quickly leaving a ring around the glass. The nose is very fruity, lots of citrus and tropical fruit like orange, peach, pineapple along with pale malts and a bit of spice. The bottle says coriander but I don't really get that on the nose. A lot of the same comes through on the taste with an almost marmalade sweetness which is followed by those pale malts and a lingering hop bitterness. The mouthfeel is in the medium range with a nice carbonation level.