Brewer's Special India Pale Ale
Saimaa Brewing Co.
- From:
- Saimaa Brewing Co.
- Finland
- Style:
- American IPA
- ABV:
- 4.7%
- Score:
- +5 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 2.93 | pDev: 14.68%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Inactive
- Rated:
- Mar 25, 2016
- Added:
- Nov 28, 2014
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by Tapioju from Finland
3.08/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.08/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Didn't have high expectations because of some earlier dissapointments with products from this brewery. A bit messy body. Maybe more thickness in the malt section, and more straightforward hop profile (now 5: first gold, admirsl, columbus, chinook and cascade) would've served this beer better. Huge, foamy head. Nose picks elderflower from the aromas, and some tropical fruits. Fruity and mellow taste follows, bananas perhaps. Drinkable, but nothing special (so what was the brewer's special in this case - overly optimistic hop profile and the addition of wheat malt, perhaps). Buy Mufloni Mosaic IPA instead!
Jun 07, 2015
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Texas
2.56/5 rDev -12.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
2.56/5 rDev -12.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
CAN: Aluminum. Good label art. Standard pull-tab. 330ml. Best before date is unreadable, but is sometime next year. Purchased at a K Group Citymarket in Kuopio, Finland.
Expectations are below average given the brewery and style. Served cold into a pilsner glass. Reviewed live as an IPA per the label.
Unfiltered. 4.7% ABV. 11.7 Plato. EBC: 15. EBU: 45. Brewed with pale ale malts, wheat, cara pale malts, First Gold hops, Admiral hops, Columbus hops, Chinook hops, and Cascade hops.
No bubble show forms as it's poured.
HEAD: Occupies ~85% of the glass. Off-white colour. Fluffy yet even consistency. Fair creaminess and fullness. Mild thickness. Leaves a coat of even lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes. Complexion is decent.
Retention: ~6-8 minutes.
BODY: Hazy dark yellow of poor vibrance. I see no yeast particulate or hop sediment. Maybe the wheat is the cause of the haze?
Appearance is okay for an IPA. I can't say it looks refreshing or inviting. Appears well-carbonated.
AROMA: Citrus rind and stale citrus peel. Tepid orange juice. A hint of lemon. Wheat. Pale malts. Generic floral hop character.
I'm unimpressed with the hop profile; where is the Cascade? None of the constituent hop varieties are vivid or distinct in the aroma. I do get some tropical fruit in the form of off-putting pineapple (a note I always despise in beer), banana, and maybe some traces of mango or tangerine - but they're in no way expressive. Reticent and shallow across the board.
No yeast character or booze is detectable.
Aromatic intensity is average.
Suggests a subpar IPA with underwhelming hop notes.
TASTE: The pineapple immediately puts me off to the beer. Stale pulpy orange juice dominates. Reticent notes of shallow banana and generic floral hops don't help it much. The malt backbone is underwhelming, bringing only weak wheat and lackluster pale malts to the table. Not a robust malt bill by any means.
There's no marriage of hops to malts, and balance is a mess. I find no hop notes of interest - no citrus, no vivid fruit, no dank herbal notes, no pine, no resins...why brew this?
As it warms, I do pick up on some twiggy herbal notes, but they don't help and lend only unnecessary bitterness.
I find no yeast character, alcohol, or off-notes.
Balance is poor. Too sweet. Build is lacking - especially in terms of its hop profile. Shallow, with horrid depth of flavour. Average duration of flavour. Below average flavour intensity.
TEXTURE: Light to medium-bodied. Unrefreshing. Sticky. Coating. Average heft and weight on the palate, with average thickness as well. Smooth and wet.
Not at all tailored to the taste. There's no harmony of mouthfeel and flavour profile. Subpar execution, with blatant overcarbonation.
OVERALL: Not undrinkable, but severely lacking in quality - and that's before one addresses its shortcomings stylistically. Those familiar with the style will be underwhelmed, but maybe Finns who have managed to avoid international IPA expressions all their lives will find it more agreeable. Not a beer I'd bother with again. Another IPA joins the parade of lackluster Finnish stabs at the style...
Low C- (2.56)
May 29, 2015Expectations are below average given the brewery and style. Served cold into a pilsner glass. Reviewed live as an IPA per the label.
Unfiltered. 4.7% ABV. 11.7 Plato. EBC: 15. EBU: 45. Brewed with pale ale malts, wheat, cara pale malts, First Gold hops, Admiral hops, Columbus hops, Chinook hops, and Cascade hops.
No bubble show forms as it's poured.
HEAD: Occupies ~85% of the glass. Off-white colour. Fluffy yet even consistency. Fair creaminess and fullness. Mild thickness. Leaves a coat of even lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes. Complexion is decent.
Retention: ~6-8 minutes.
BODY: Hazy dark yellow of poor vibrance. I see no yeast particulate or hop sediment. Maybe the wheat is the cause of the haze?
Appearance is okay for an IPA. I can't say it looks refreshing or inviting. Appears well-carbonated.
AROMA: Citrus rind and stale citrus peel. Tepid orange juice. A hint of lemon. Wheat. Pale malts. Generic floral hop character.
I'm unimpressed with the hop profile; where is the Cascade? None of the constituent hop varieties are vivid or distinct in the aroma. I do get some tropical fruit in the form of off-putting pineapple (a note I always despise in beer), banana, and maybe some traces of mango or tangerine - but they're in no way expressive. Reticent and shallow across the board.
No yeast character or booze is detectable.
Aromatic intensity is average.
Suggests a subpar IPA with underwhelming hop notes.
TASTE: The pineapple immediately puts me off to the beer. Stale pulpy orange juice dominates. Reticent notes of shallow banana and generic floral hops don't help it much. The malt backbone is underwhelming, bringing only weak wheat and lackluster pale malts to the table. Not a robust malt bill by any means.
There's no marriage of hops to malts, and balance is a mess. I find no hop notes of interest - no citrus, no vivid fruit, no dank herbal notes, no pine, no resins...why brew this?
As it warms, I do pick up on some twiggy herbal notes, but they don't help and lend only unnecessary bitterness.
I find no yeast character, alcohol, or off-notes.
Balance is poor. Too sweet. Build is lacking - especially in terms of its hop profile. Shallow, with horrid depth of flavour. Average duration of flavour. Below average flavour intensity.
TEXTURE: Light to medium-bodied. Unrefreshing. Sticky. Coating. Average heft and weight on the palate, with average thickness as well. Smooth and wet.
Not at all tailored to the taste. There's no harmony of mouthfeel and flavour profile. Subpar execution, with blatant overcarbonation.
OVERALL: Not undrinkable, but severely lacking in quality - and that's before one addresses its shortcomings stylistically. Those familiar with the style will be underwhelmed, but maybe Finns who have managed to avoid international IPA expressions all their lives will find it more agreeable. Not a beer I'd bother with again. Another IPA joins the parade of lackluster Finnish stabs at the style...
Low C- (2.56)
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