Spring-Heeled Jack
Bent Stick Brewing Co.

Second try on this beer - I let the last bottle get a bit outdated, so deserving of second shake.
Pours a really nice copper to mahogany colour with off white head which dissipates quickly leaving only a bubbly residual at edge of glass.
Smells of hoppy/grainy caramel malt, grapefruit rind, herbaceous earthy bitter hops.
Tastes bittersweet caramel malt, orange peel, and a decent amount of bitter piney hoppiness.
Thinner on the palate than expected - somewhat undercarbonated, and though body improves as warms, underwhelming.
Decent beer but missing a bit of fullness I desire.

650ml bottle - this is apparently made with mostly English ingredients, and then 'a boatload of Galaxy, just because'. Heh, we'll see. Named after a folkloric English troublemaker, or something.

This beer pours a clear, dark rusted amber colour, with four fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and bubbly beige head, which leaves some splattered chunky lace around the glass as it slowly and lazily disperses.

It smells of semi-sweet, bready and doughy caramel malt, sugary mixed citrus notes, a mild earthy yeastiness, and some edgy leafy, grassy, and piney green hop bitters. The taste is bready and grainy caramel malt, candied orange peel, a further dark fruitiness (almost fig or date-like), ephemeral estery yeast, and more testy leafy, floral, and piney verdant hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly tame in its struggling frothiness, the body a decent medium weight, and so-so in the smoothness department - the local hop contingent apparently not knowing when to mind their own manners, as such. It finishes off-dry, the big malt and zingy hops all lingering into that good night, locked in their fading embrace.

Overall, this is indeed more of an English IPA, and an amped-up one at that! They at least kept it within the Commonwealth, using the Galaxy varietal to give this one an extra kick. Speaking of which, there is essentially no evidence of the 13-proof wowee sauce, to boot. Good, good stuff!