Sainsbury's Taste The Difference IPA
Marston's Plc.

Poured into pint glass: color is gold, clear/transparent, head is off white and presents one finger thick, head dissipates to thin top with ring on glass side.

Smell is floral, herbal hops with light malt backing; malt notes of biscuit, with some grass hops coming with warmth.

Taste is more floral, herbal, cedar/light pine, light biscuit and toast.

Mouthfeel is low/moderate carbonation, moderate sweetness, moderate bitterness.

Overall a super drinkable English style IPA - excellent floral/herbal hop character, maybe want just a touch more malt flavor and aroma.

Oct. 2017: 500 ml bottle, from a Sainsbury Local in Whitton, London. ABV is 5.9%. Golden colour, large to moderate white head. Aroma of toffee and yellow fruits, a hint of sulphur. Medium dry flavour, fairly well hopped, some sulphur from the Burton water.

Pours a nice amber color with a decent head which dissipates fairly quickly. Not much lacing, but leaves a persistent collar of foam around the glass.
Not much on the nose, maybe a grassy smell.
Taste is OK, again nothing special. Hops are OK with just the right amount of malt. Lots of carbonation.
A nice English IPA, but probably wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

 

L- Deep gold. CO2 iffy, likely due to pouring in to a machine-washed glass; so I won't judge harshly on that.
S- Fresh, rather herby/grassy, a little indistinct.
T- Great, some cedar, beautiful balance, into hoppy/dry end.
M- Malty body to balance full hoppy profile. Fresh, fantastic.
O- £1.55 in Sainsburys London. Fantastic new find for me, will def buy this again.
From notes about 6-9 months old. BB 31/12/18

I bought this solely because it was the end of the month and it was cheap. I was surprised to find it was one of the best medium srength bottled IPAs I have sampled. The taste is complex with rich roasted barley aroma and the slightly sweet hoppyness that is the hallmark of a good IPA. Not surprised to find it comes out of Marston's brewery - they produce Old Empire which (in my view) is the definitive English IPA.

 

 

 

A nice tasting IPA but nothing exceptional.

A 500ml bottle with a BB of Feb 2015. Acquired from Sainsbury's (obv). The label describes it as a classic IPA hopped with Fuggles, Goldings and Cascade.

A: Poured into a straight pint glass. A deep golden-amber colour with faint floating sediment and plentiful carbonation. Forms a large head of creamy white foam that lasts for a few minutes before subsiding to a persistent surface layer. Slight lacing.

S: Aroma of leafy hops with hints of fruity ale yeast, mild sulphur, grass/hay, harsh stewed leaves, mild caramel malt and faint grain/husks. Vaguely earthy.

T: Tastes of acrid stewed leaves with a yeasty character and a dry, bitter finish. Notes of fruity ale yeast, sulphur, overdone veg, harsh stewed leaves, grass/hay, cardboard, faint caramel and grain husks. This may indeed have a touch of the Burton snatch. Well-attenuated, followed by an abrasive herbal bitterness upon swallowing.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth, dry and tingly, with spritzy carbonation and an insubstantial body. Pretty astringent, accompanied by an aftertaste of harsh stewed leaves, herbal bitterness and ale yeast.

O: Not great; can't say I'm loving it. Looks OK, however the aroma and flavour are crude and unbalanced - bitter stewed leaves and overbearing yeast dominate the character. Hop aroma is subdued and unimpressive. So-so body; thin and fizzy. Dries the palate. I get the impression that this has suffered for being filtered and bottled, it might be better on cask. That said, it isn't particularly enjoyable. No need to seek it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured into a tulip glass to reveal a crisp, clean golden body with a frothy white brash and bold head that doesn't look like it is going to stay.

The air is refreshed upon pouring with floral aromas and
well to be frank the opening of a pack of wine gums or gummy sweet treats.

The taste is a swift 'Bruce Lee' fast hoppy Kung Fu slap of hops that sours pleasantly to a peppery finish.
A big hop hitting flavour bomb that masks the ruff 'n' ready 5% brew from being overbearing.

The head stayed despite my prediction as does the bitter to the end, not a slight hint of sweetness taste.

Real good carbonation a must with an IPA makes this a real winner

Need a hop fix, hope this 'live' review of this IPA does the trick.

Brown 500ml bottle, poured into a Good People badged pint glass: the beer having a best before life running until 31 Jan 2012 (some 3 months away). The US pint glass not being big enough to take the whole bottle.

Looks good, a fine bright amber body with an off-white creamy looking head of tightly knit foaming bubbles.

The smell is all hop, floral, citrus hops: Fuggles, Goldings and Cascade being the three used in this ale.

The hops completely rule the taste, can't find any malt content showing any sweetness. One of the hoppiest IPA's I've had from a British brewery, nothing as heavy as some of those West Coast hop monsters out of the US, but still very hop orientated. The hops obviously make this a pretty bitter brew, the alcohol level is hidden by that bitterness and it is only as the mouth has completely dried out between gulps that the alcohol appears.

I'm not usually a hop head, but I wanted a hop fix and this certainly did the job.