India Pale Ale
Samuel Allsopp & Sons Ltd. (Allsopp's Brewery)

 

 

Allsopp’s India Pale Ale – English IPA.
5.6%ABV
Best before 3/4/2023
Consumed October 18, 2022.
Review from Notes

Appearance – Mostly clear amber color with a finger plus of white head on top. Few bubbles rise to the surface but the head retention is nice and some sparse bits of lacing cling to the edges of the glass.

Smell – Some leafy hops, a hint of citrus, maybe orange marmalade and also a subdued earthy nutty quality. Good depth of aroma.

Taste – Semi-bitter, some earthy hops, a touch of citrus and leafy qualities before a smooth pervasive earthiness just wraps everything up. Touch of spiciness in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel – Easy drinking, with moderate carbonation, medium bodied, just a little bit of prickliness towards the end and a semi-dry close.

Overall – Yeah, old recipe, licensing revisited by Brewdog, but this does taste with the smoothness and depth of a brewery that has been around for a long time. Rather enjoyable and mellow English IPA.

500 mL bottle from the LCBO; best before Feb 2023 and served barely chilled.

Clear copper-orange in colour, with a deliberately rough pour producing about two fingers of bubbly, off white head that settles off within three minutes or so. A wide, sudsy collar remains atop the surface, with a tight band of lace clinging to the glass - looks good to me. I'm getting toasted bread and caramelized malts on the nose, the latter giving off a toffee-like sweetness; the hops come off leafy and herbal, with hints of earthiness.

Complex, balanced flavour profile. Toasted grain/bread, toffee & caramelized sugars at the forefront, with hints of candied orange peel, orchard fruit and leafy, herbal hops coming through later on. Mildly floral and earthy on the back end and into the aftertaste, which tastes minerally and bittersweet before trending off-dry. Light in body, with low carbonation that gently agitates the surface of the tongue, resulting in a smooth, soft mouthfeel. Not a session ale in the traditional sense, but I can make an exception here.

Final Grade: 4.13, an A-. For this Ontario beer geek, Allsopp's India Pale Ale was a rare treat indeed. 'Rare' because I might never see it again, and a treat because the English IPA selection in this province has always been quite poor (e.g. Wells IPA and Hobgoblin IPA are the only two readily available ones that come to mind). That being said, Allsopp's is significantly better than either of those, well worth its $5 price tag, and an ale I would absolutely buy on a weekly basis if possible. Highly recommended; I hope to drink more of this in the years to come.

Pours deep garnet with loads of cascading carbonation. A compact eggshell head lasts the whole glass. Herbal, floral hops. lemon drop candy, rye bread, minerally Burton hard water in the nose. The taste is well balanced between bready, grainy malts and herbal hops. Citrusy, melon hops in there as well. Fruity yeast esters in the mix. The mouthfeel is full bodied with light carbonation. Light bitterness and lingering fruit and caramel in the finish.

A fantastic traditional English IPA. Malty and showcases the classic Burton on Trent hard water. Worth a try but don't expect an American IPA.

Copper and hazy with no visible come carbonation. Topped with three fingers of off-white head. The smell is of caramel, toffee, slightly metallic, creamy and toasty malts. The taste is of hard water, light and creamy malt, and a lingering dull bitterness. Medium body with a very light mouth feel and little carbonation. I got this at LCBO in Markham November 20, 2022. I am drinking a new Hamburg Ontario this day. It’s a pretty decent brew, I’m glad to finally have the original IPA from England that is supposedly as close as possible to the original IPA ever produced.