Earl Grey IPA
Salt Spring Island Ales

 

 

473 ml can poured into a nonic glass. Clear, deep amber brown with a sudsy head of off white foam and spotty lace. Aromas of caramel, toasted grains and earthy hops, with hints of bergamot on the finish. Malt-forward flavor with plenty of caramel, followed by a crisp, herbal bitterness and again a nice hint of bergamot. Light to medium body, slight oily with moderate carbonation. A very malt-leaning IPA with good hop bitterness and surprisingly complimentary addition of bergamot that definitely evokes Earl Grey tea.

Clear dark red-brown color. Poured almost no head - just a patchy skiff across the top. High flow of tiny bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. Left almost a solid mat of lacing on the glass.

Smells of sweet medium roasted malt with a mild, pleasant smelling barnyard. Light caramel shows up. There is a very faint black tea. Swirling the glass kicked up a bit more barnyard and more sweet caramel.

The flavor starts with stronger malt than expected from the smell. Strong bitters. A mild black tea joins the bitters. The aftertaste starts out with bitter barnyard and slowly fades to a light floral. After a few mouthfuls, the floral stops registering as the bitters take over.

Light tongue tingling as it slowly eases into a creamy foam which continues to evolve into medium sized bubbles. Heavy body. Slight astringency.

The flavor didn't live up to the expectations raised by the smell. Most of the time I couldn't taste the signature Earl Grey bergamot floral; the bitters stomped all over it after the first few sips. The sweet caramel in the smell didn't show up in the taste.

 

 

Appearance - Pours a deep copper/garnet red with three fingers of tan head.

Smell - Earthy and leafy hops, bergamot, bready malts, caramel and toffee, orange peel.

Taste - Earthy/leafy hops along with a nice hit of the bergamot flowers, supported with a malty caramel backbone. Bergamot and hops linger in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

Overall - A very well executed English IPA. I find the bergamot to be well balanced and is definitely reminiscent of earl grey tea.

 

Salt Spring Is. Brewing 'Earl Grey IPA' @ 7.0% , served from a 650 ml bottle & a 473 ml can
A-pour is amber from the bottle/can to a clear dark amber in the glass with a small beige head leaving a streaky lace along the pint/tulip
S-floral & citrus aromas , with hints of Earl Grey tea
T-crisp & clean tasting English IPA , mild hop bitterness
MF-ok carbonation , feels full bodied
Ov-just an average beer/English IPA
prost LampertLand

Had two 650mL bottles from Courtenay, BC. I enjoy double bergamot tea (with milk and honey) so I thought this beer might be a treat. It has a thick red body with some creamy lightly beige head. The aroma is reminiscent of tea but also with bergamot and vanilla. I found the malt to be more prominent on the taste with that vanilla (not on the ingredient list) and I found it to be more malt-forward. It is not as good as I was hoping for. It feels wet and buttery. No alcohol is detectable and it is fairly easy-drinking despite the 7% alc.

I like what Saltspring islands ales is doing but this one was not their better beers.