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.!!