Shapiro IPA
Shapiro

Drunk from the bottle at Beno Restaurant in Beit Nehemia, Israel. So, can’t comment on pour and color.

A most pleasant surprise this NE style Citra IPA. I’m a resident of the North East US and regularly consume Treehouse Orange Julius and Madonnna iipa.

 

Impressive multi-finger head after each pour. The liquid is deep dirty copper amber. There is a haze. The froth leaves several thick three dimensional streaks on the glass. Beautiful.

Dry caramel aroma with a solid Citra hop spice (makes me think of black pepper).

The taste is similar to the smell. The barley malt base has a toasted bread flavor. The hop provides counterbalance more similar to the English version of an IPA. Full bodied with a subtle effervescence. The finish is more bitter, placing this beer firmly in the American camp. The aftertaste lingers softly.

Based on the reviews I saw from other beers of Shapiro’s, I was expecting less. This was a welcome surprise.

 

On draught. Half liter pour. It pours a hazy rust-amber color with a half finger of foamy, eggshell colored head and a thin sheen of spotty lacing. The nose features bready malt, grapefruit, lemon, pine needles, and light floral hops. The taste profile includes sweet malt, brown bread, lemon peel, grapefruit, and flavorful Simcoe hops that don't bite too hard. The various flavors are very nicely balanced. This ale is medium-bodied with pleasant carbonation, and the 6.5% ABV gives it a nice pop. Overall, this ale is something of a hybrid between an Englsh and a West Coast IPA. It has a nice balance of malt and hop bitterness with enough citrus to please an American palate. I haven't had a better IPA in Israel.

 

Bottle shared at Pre-Borefts Ratebeer Tasting 2016. Orange pour with a white head. Notes of citrus hops, tropical fruit, malt sugars and caramel. Medium body and carbonation and a bitter-sweet finish.

 

Pours a clear, dark amber. Sweet, heavy, bready malts, and a sort of date/fig/maple, and spicy-hop aromas. Hoppier than the smell leads on. Quite carbonated, slightly sweet, bitter hop, and darker malts. Not like most IPAs, which tend to be more citrus and floral hops, but it tastes like a dark-malt IPA.