Thwaites IPA
Daniel Thwaites Brewery PLC

 

 

500 ml bottle, from Ica Kilden, Hillevåg, Stavanger. ABV is 4.6%. Clear deep golden colour, large white head. Moderate but okay aroma of (primarily British?) hops, some fruit, malts and toffee in the background, hints of dust. The flavour is distinctly hoppy throughout, and "typically British" (= far from an American IPA), balanced by a moderate malty and toffee sweetness, with a citrussy and medium bitter finish. Quite enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured into english pint.
Clear amber ale with 1-finger off-white head. Moderate retention. Smell is expectedly weak, generally of rhubarb, a bit citrusy and piny, as well. Taste is malty, slightly metallic, moderate bittrness, medium body, average carbonation. Too poor as for IPA.

 

 

 

 

Half litre bottle, poured into pint glass.

A: Bronze, clear, small head, decent retention and lacing.

S: According to the bottle it was brewed with 4 hops. I detected pine and earth, possibly pointing towards Fuggles and Challenger?

T: Apple, burnt Maris Otter malt, bitterness kicked in at the finish.

M: Medium to slightly thick body, carbonation gave it a slightly coarse edge.

O: Not entirely convinced it was an out and out IPA as other similar tasting beers are classed as Bitters or ESBs. Passable.

BB 31/08/2013, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.

A: dark golden, clear, coming with a thin off-white foamy head and subtle carbonation.
S: sweet orange-like citric notes, floral notes, plus a whiff of mango-ish notes, on top of semi-stinky dried-leafy Fuggles, fruity and hoppy in general, while fairly pale malt’s grainy aroma and a touch of grain starch hide in the background.
T: effervescent on the palate, the foretaste is spicy, citric-hoppy and immediately earthy bitter, ensued closely by lightly grainy and aromatically gristy maltiness with a faint sweet touch of boiled parsnip, while more deepening tannic hop bitterness cuts through the flavour and renders a long, satisfyingly bitter finish. Interestingly, the long finish gives a hint at Hallertau hops, but I may be mistaken here.
M&D: clean, medium-bodied, refreshingly carbonated and overall very very drinkable. This is like one’s more aromatically hoppy version of English Bitter, what ppl categorise as Golden Ale here, due to the kind of very pale malts used in the brew and a rather assertive hop profile.

 

Tarnished bronze with creamy eggshell head that rims nicely after an athletic pour and leaves plenty of speckles. Copper penny, grain sack and dried orange rind on the nose - muted.
Multigrain loaf, an odd soapiness, and some sticky toffee then plenty of flowers, orange peel and resin for hops.
Dried apricot and nectar finish and tingling linger. Medium, oily, slight chew, fizzy.

Definitely a real IPA - four hops and I bet one of them is EKG. Still, let down by an strange tang, like too much coriander or stale butter shortbread. Thwaites is still solid but I had higher hopes (hops?) for this one.

500ml Bottle best before 09 May 2012: poured into an Abbot Ale glass tankard on 26 July 2012, so out of date when reviewed!

Looks a healthy amber colour with a full lasting head of off-white bubbles.

Hops in the nose and taste but strangely it also has a noticeable malt content in both too. Hops first with semi-sweet malty molasses second.

Highly carbonated and almost 'fizzy' in fact. Nice balance to the brew if you like your hops, over hopped if you don't.

I enjoyed this bottle even though I prefer malter brews: this is easy to drink and refreshing after a warm working day (like today).

Pours a golden amber body with nice big brassy white head.

Big hops on the nose backed up with sugary syrup.

Taste starts with toffee notes slightly creamy and buttery then multi levels of hoppiness and slight peppery bitter finish.

A bit light on the mouthfeel and a bit too lively on the carbonation.

Not too shoddy, not earth shaking.

I'd give it five thumbs up.

A 500ml bottle with a BB of March 2013. The label explains that IPA stands for INDUS Pale Ale - named after a ship that presumably plied the seas between India and England. Brewed with four hop varieties.

Poured into a Sam Smith's pint glass. A clear orange-amber colour with good carbonation. Forms a large head of creamy white foam that lasts for a couple of minutes before collapsing to a surface layer. Aroma of caramel malt with notes of tropical fruit and citrus. An unwelcome hint of diacetyl lurks in the background.

Tastes of caramel malt with a mellow buttery character and a mild, dry finish. Hops are primarily aromatic, with relatively low bitterness. Notes of tropical fruit and citrus, underpinned by a distinct whiff of diacetyl. Mouthfeel is smooth, tingly and dry. Somewhat astringent. Aftertaste of buttery caramel malt and dry aromatic hops.

Not bad, but no show-stopper. The tropical hop flavours suggest that this ale is riding the current trend for new-world hop varieties. Nicely balanced and drinkable, but the diacetyl is a glaring flaw that detracts from the experience - would probably be better on cask. Decent, but no need to seek it out.