OK... I'll be straight with you all from the start - I have a slight conflict of interest when it comes to VIPA, as Mrs BeerBlog and I were both involved in not only its conception, but also present on the day it was brewed. You can read about our day at the brewery in our previous blog post entitled 'The People's Pint', and just to make you all a tad more jealous, both our names are present on the bottle.!
Subsequently, you can either view this review as a load of biased waffle, or as the honest opinion I always aim to provide. I'd go for the latter...
VIPA is an India Pale Ale (no surprise there) brewed using Pale Ale malt and a combination of Cascade, Summit and Columbus hops; brewed to perfection by our good friend Brad and the lovely guys at Lymestone Brewery in Stone, Staffordshire.
Straight from a nice cold bottle, VIPA pours a lovely dark golden colour with a light head, light lacing and very little, if any sediment. The aroma is light, citrusy and very fresh, with bags of character.
In the mouth, the flavour is initially warm and lightly malty, quickly followed by a big citrus hoppy hit with perfect carbonation, ending with a long, dry grapefruit finish. A great balancing act of malt and hop, with hop domination at the end of the swallow.
Hugely refreshing and exceptionally moreish, it goes straight in as one of my favourite IPAs (as I said, perhaps a tad biased, but true all the same).
If you like your ale strong, citrusy and refreshing, pick some up now while you can.
Gorgeous stuff...
VIPA is available from Will and Gill at Best of British Beer... or for those of you who are local, from Trace and Sarah at Praze Fine Foods.
Verdict: 4.5/5
p.s. I would have given this a 5, but I think I'm probably pushing my luck as it is.!!
VIPA - Virtual India Pale Ale - ABV: 5%
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Brewer's Creations No. 7 - ABV: 4.5% I received an email some time ago from Wadworth Brewery in Devizes asking whether I'd be interested in sampling a new one-off ale. Hmm... that'll be 'yes' then was my (obvious) immediate reaction.
Once a Month, Wadworth allow their brewers free reign to create a beer of their choice, using whatever ingredients they wish, to create a unique beer that is then supplied to a select number of pubs within the Wadworth estate, as well as a number of mini casks supplied to lucky people such as myself to sample and pass an opinion on. And so it was, early last week, a courier knocked at our front door with a knowing grin on his face asking me to sign for a mini cask of Brewer's Creations No 7. Perhaps he was hinting for a sample.? Once cooled and settled for a few days, I couldn't resist any longer. Brewers Creations Number 7 is a very deep, full flavoured beer brewed with a total of six different malts (Pale Ale, Crystal, Amber, Chocolate, Brown and Caramalt) giving a powerful, warm and nutty flavour, offset with three types of hops (Bramling Cross, Goldings and Centennial) giving a fruity edge and long lasting, dry, bitter finish. I was amazed how easily this mini cask emptied in one evening. I shared it with my good friend Tom, who also thoroughly enjoyed it - so much so that he sent me a message the following day emphasising the fact - "Amazing cask matey, sorry if I talked too much". I like the idea of a large brewery such as Wadworth giving their brewers the space to explore their creativity and come with something different. I'm sure it doesn't always work, but if Brewer's Creations No 7 is anything to go by, there's obviously a level of creativity within Wadworth Brewery that's well worth exploring. Delicious stuff... Verdict: 4/5 |