Greenwich Ivebin Piloct Ale
Dark Star Brewing Company Limited

Presentation: Recently sampled at the Evening Star, Brighton alongside fellow BA’s LondonPorter and RichLightWeight as well as the licensed purveyors Mr and MrsBeeryMatt.

Served from the middle of the 3 banks of Handpumps at the Evening Star, it took pride of place on the extreme left of the 4-Wicket Beer Engine. The dark red colored Hand Pump Clip had the same generic presentation as all the others. Listed as “Greenwich Ivebin Piloct Ale”’ and “Ohio’s Favorite Brew”, with the incorrect spelling of favourite I note, i.e. no ‘u’, in deference to our overseas brethren. Listed at 4.3% ABV. £2.40 a Pint.

Appearance: Freshly tapped and served without the aid of a Sparkler, a shame as I like my Ohio IPA’s with a tight creamy head, nonetheless, this one had a decent white cap which broke a little in the middle but still looked great. Pale golden body

Smell: Sharp nose, clean but with a mildly sweet background. Citric like grapefruits punctuate the aromas. Lovely refreshing all round enticing schnozzle.

Taste: Gorgeous fresh hop sunrise from the start, incredibly streamlined with a mild sweetness from the malts to support this. Spicy hops in the middle, a light floral character in the finish, it all reminded me a little of a few of the Roosters pale golden elixirs at times, they also use American hops so maybe that is no surprise. Damn find stuff with supreme balance.

Mouthfeel: The fine conditioning and on-form body added nothing but a sheer slaking quality to the feel at the back of the throat as this one slipped down effortlessly. Brewed for the searing heat of Ohio summers this is one seriously refreshing brew that has a very satisfying thirst quenching texture.

Drinkability: I usually prefer my session brews to be sub -4%, in fact Timothy Taylor’s Golden Best was also on the bar, one of my all time favorites, but even so, I opted for several Pints of the GIPA in preference to the mighty Northern brew. Lots of clean flavors, soft carbonation and a very refreshing palate. A Gallon wouldn’t have be too difficult.

Overall: A damn fine libation that was quite the Quaffer. The Citrus Hops lend a very refreshing aspect to this mighty Pillocking brew; it went perfectly well with the England performance against Ecuador and the accompanying Irish commentary from Seamus. Cheers to Dark Star for this one, long may it reign. Rumor has it that the Evening Star will offer a 10% discount on production of a pucker Ohio Driving License whilst this is on sale, I’m thinking of getting one for my next visit when the GIPA mounts the Beer Engines at the Evening Star again.

Believe the Hype.

For my annual Ale Trail in the South Downs area, nothing is more appropriate than this brew to kick off this year's real ale adventure for me. As I thought the earlier-on exchanges on the BA UK forum about this semi-legendary brew was totally groundless, as much as the beer itself I was led to believe, nothing prepared me to come face to face with the missing piece in the BA Vinci Code ale-drama. Thanks to the persevering preachings from the Vatican and Ohio BA(s), plus invaluable clues from an insider of the group committed to guarding the truth (allegedly "The Eternal Order of the Ale-Fountain"), we London BA correspondents have finally tracked down the Holy Ale along the Greenwich Meridian Line all the way from the Greenwich-Thames to the seaside D'Abbaye Sint Evening Star, Brighton.

This is no ordinary ale indeed, to say the least. A mix of Dark Star's Hophead and Sunburst, it's even a brighter brew than the parents. As I ordered the beer, served in an ordinary pint glass rahter than a chalice (so as to conceal the ale's true identity, I believe), I was quietly told of the secret brewing concept/inspiration behind this legendary ale. In fact, the pub is so dead-serious that a compiled file is available behind the bar, should any interested member of the (puzzled) public feels like having a skim at the short script of the temporarily-titled best-seller of next year, "BA Vinci Code". Enough for the background of my encounter with the living history, now comes my first-hand account.

A: pale golden in colour, the clarity is as great as a true believer's conscience; a monk's rimmed beer head sits on top of a pool of still nectar.
S: sweet, ripe white-grapefruits and plenty of flowery & lychee-fruity American-hoppyness... Not terribly complex, but really like Hophead with added fruity edges and sugary malts.
T: an initially bitter-sweet edge of grapefruit zest gradually gives way to an intensifying bitter and dryish edge of raw, flaky hops... the considerable bitterness expands on the palate knowing no limits, almost like the aftertaste and after-mouthfeel of Chinese dried-herbal medicine soup--no offence though, instead the vertical yet clean bitter palate is one of the most lively and impressive I've encountered in the world of Bitter; simultaneously lots of hops lend an overwhelming aroma lingering in the mouth... Utterly enjoyable from the first second of tasting to the very last.
M&D: extremely light-bodied, very much like Hophead in a sense, and lively textured with a healthy dose of fine fizziness on the palate... I can't believe a mix could be this good and tasty, even better than its parent-brews in terms depth as well as freshness...

All in all, I'm sure any BA Vinci Code's reader would agree with me that this is a truly unforgettable and impressively-beautiful answer to all question marks revolving around the "GIPA" on this site. In a way, I almost feel that, "Gosh, I've been a pillock all along for questioning the true wisdom of the Ale Fountain"... Now I realise how wrong I've been, but I still feel lucky that I've at least first-hand witnessed, and even been part of, a unique piece of humorous, living-saga of ales.