Strictly Social: Singlecut
Common Roots Brewing Company

 

 

Obviously, plenty of wheat was in this wort. A big white foamy head filled more than half of the clear glass liter mug before the pint can could be emptied. Now, the inevitable pause as it recedes unevenly, irregularly and unattractively. There will be scant glass lacing, because that's what almost always happens when there's this much wheat in an IPA recipe, where it really doesn't belong at all. It's come to be expected as a hazing agent, but when wheat is used as the backbone for this style, it's often disastrous. Underneath the stark white foam, is a murky dark straw-amber, dull and almost as unappealing as the froth on top. Sorry, but this is as far from a real IPA as it can get, whilst still claiming to be one. Yep, the head has receded just as expected and now there's room to empty the can. There's a shallow hop bitterness to smell, but that's all. It's sharp and characterless. That's more or less the total taste. There's some grainy sweetness, probably thanks to the oats, to join with the peculiar bitter pinelike hops, but all of this is, as said earlier, characterless. Without a decent malted body, the taste of alcohol is more specifically pronounced than should be, even with an ABV this high. The beer head followed as earlier predicted. If you want to taste for yourself why barley malt is an irreplaceable component for a good IPA, compare this with one that has it. Heady Topper could be offered as an example, but that would be unfair. IPAs were created with and became popular with barley malt. The elimination of it from the mix is confounding.