Brewski Brewing: Persiko Feber IPA (Sweden: IPA: 6.5% ABV)
Visual: Lemon juice color. Moderate white head. Moderate carbonation.
Nose: Peach. Slight musty hop character. Soft pineapple.
Body: Slight musty feel. Pineapple. Dried peach. Good level of bitterness. Slightly chalky. Slight sour dough and sour cream. Dried mango.
Finish: Moderate bitterness. Nettles. Good hop feel. Quite dry. Slight granite. Slight sour dough. Dried mango.
Conclusion: I have to admit, I expected something very juicy based on the fact that actual peaches were used to make this beer. The mackoff peach on the label kind of reinforced that impression as well. This is fruity, but in a very dry and clinging bitter fashion. Especially on smaller sips – like that it goes all sour dough and bitterness which really doesn’t let the fruit out.
Larger mouthfuls seems to give more room that you can get more of the fruit. However even with the enhanced fruit there seems a strong cloying sour twist to it – nothing like what I would have anticipated – felt kind of like sucking the peach remains off the stone at its heart.
So, as you may have guessed, I am not overly taken by this. The fruit seems less peach most of the time, and closer to a dried mango flavor. The body feels closer to an APA dryness than the bigger character of an IPA. Finally the aforementioned sour dough notes are very long lasting into the finish, and the bitterness seems rough. It is fruity, aye, but in a way that seems cloying and closed.
So, considering this is a fair popular beer I wonder what I am missing? The bitterness is impressive I will admit, but without a balanced back it just makes it wearing over time. It just feels too closed for me. Used in moderation a sour twist can be a nice break in midst an IPA, but this seems dominated by it. So, not for me I’m afraid.
Background: This brewery was recommended to me as the “Hipster beer” due to the little top hat, monocle and moustached man on the front. Grabbed from Independent Spirit this brewery seem to have a very good rep. This one is an IPA made with Peach. Looking online after I had finished the notes, most people seem to be having a very different experience with this than me. Odd. Bad bottle? Or just me not being in line with the rest of the world yet again? Beats me. This was drunk after coming back from a Chaos Wrestling event which had been great fun, so was in a generally chipper mood.
