Curious Brew Cobb IPA
Hepworth & Co. (Brewers) Ltd.

I'm not sure why this says it's retired as I just have a draft of this on a recent trip to England. The problem is I'm so used to IPA's being a certain way that it just didn't meet my expectations. As an English ale, however, it's not that bad.

Appearance is a dark copper. Decent carbonation. Very hazy.

Aroma is a little hoppy but not what I'm used to for an IPA. Overall, however, well balanced.

Flavor has a slight bit of bitterness a good amount of maltiness and overall not bad. Again, not what I'm used to.

Somehow I got a "broiler" warning from this beer.Don't misunderstand me, It tastes great but in the same way the modern engineered wines do. You know how they dump oak chips in it to get the right cask taste? Let that be another discussion.

Th beer poured in a nice reddish golden color with two fingers of nice, thick foam, and with that typical IPA smell oozing through the room - bitter hops, citrus and flowers. The taste, of course, is bitter and a bit roasted. Maybe too carbonated for my taste but overall a clean, good IPA.

The colour is pale copper, the liquid is somewhat hazy. The fine compact off-white foam builds an uneven two finger head.

The smell is hoppy. Not in the American grapefruit way; it is very British, just that it is stronger than most other IPAs from those isles. Underneath all other flavours there is a robust neutral bitterness. There are notes of roasted malt, lots of butter, cream and fruity notes: Apricots, bananas, red apples…

The taste is a fine balance between the sweet fruity malt and the gentle bitter earthy dry hops. There are apricots, apples and butter, hay, sweet fruit drops and a hint of chocolate. A slightly sour flavour in the aftertaste is explained by the presence of malted wheat. There are also bitter, fruity and sweet notes. The finish is a bit roasted.

The carbonation is gentle with small bibbles.

Frankly, I had expected more hops in the taste.

The third joint adventure b/w the Chapel Down Winery and Hepworth Brewery. This beer uses exclusively Kentish Cobb hops, which are added "at four separate stages to brewing to develop the full spectrum of their taste", married with Maris Otter barley from Suffolk. Filtered, coming in a 330ml slim brown bottle, BB 05/01/07, served cool in a broad-rimmed goblet.

A: bright and clear, dark orangey amber colour; a slowly effervescent and thick, pillowy off-white beer head sustains well, leaving uneven sheets of cottony lacing behind; gently ascending streams of tiny bubbles.
S: semi-sweet and sugary pale malts, backed by an assertive input from mixed hoppy aroma: dried grass (slightly akin to Czech Saaz), ripe tangerine, lemon-grass, salty-sweet starfruits, and a floral scent--apparently the hallmark of "Cobb" hops?--while a faintly Belgian witbier-like salty+sour-sweet yeastiness stays closely behind (or has my imagination gone too far?). Overall, the nose is refreshingly fruity and pleasantly hoppy, which, on top of a toasty and slightly buttery maltiness, does ring a bell of Czech premium Pilsner, for some reasons.
T: fluffy-textured, bitter-sweet citric fruitiness hits the palate upfront with a salty edge; quickly a bitter edge of toasted malts ensued, along with a residual flavour akin to citrus-zests (very mixed), toasted-grass, and steamed cabbages(!)... the pronounced tangy and grassy hoppyness lingers at the back of the palate, rendering a "tongue-shatteringly" dry and bitter aftertaste expanding all over the palate without limits...
M&D: ideally carbonated and refreshing on the mouthfeel, this medium-bodied IPA is a thirst-quencher, or, actually thirst-provoker~~ A good depth brought forward by its dryness is quite impressive indeed. This is yet another successful and interesting experiment by Hepworth Brewery and Chapel Down Winery (though I can't figure out what input the latter might have into this beer). They might as well consider bottle-conditioning this beer.