Fourpure: IPA (England: IPA: 6.5% ABV)
Visual: Clear yellow gold, and just very slightly hazy. Some carbonation, large off white sudden head that leaves suds around the glass.
Nose: Pineapple. Lemon curd. Crisp hops. Digestives. Some bitterness.
Body: Frothy mouthfeel and thick texture. Lemon meringue. Toffee. pineapple and juicy peach syrup. Solid bitterness. Digestives. Creamy. Prickly. Slight kumquat.
Finish: Bitter. Dry hop feel. Oatmeal biscuits. Slight sour tang.
Conclusion: The website description promised a “classically American IPA” – not bad thing, but from the aroma I was guessing this was going to be a competent, but very much by the numbers, take on the style. It has that balance of bitter hops to pineapple and lemon fresh. Nothing world shaking, but it promised reasonable IPA backing it at least.
Well, I was surprised…
The texture on this is very frothy and thick for an IPA, and because of that it has far more grip than I expected, especially at 6.5% abv. That grip gives the flavor a creamy touch, without it being overpowering. It turns lemon into lemon meringue, peach into peach syrup, and gives everything a tiny sour tang at the end as a twist.
The feel is kind of like that extra grip you get from adding oatmeal to beer, but, best I know, they did that without actually using oatmeal. Some of the notes, especially the sour tang, remind me of Punk IPA – but it is only some of the notes, this plays very much its own thing, using the bigger texture to create a very different beer.
Even with that thickness it is easy to drink, and the flavours pick a small range of notes then works the hell of them. So, not massively complex, but a solid as hell IPA – not the best, but easily in the top quarter*.
A bit different, but with lots of the classical American IPA calls, very nice.
Background: That is a nice look on the can, very stripped down basic aesthetic. Simple. but striking. yes I bought it because the can was pretty. Leave me alone. Anyway, predictably, this was picked up from Independent Spirit. Doing my bit to support local business. It’s not just because they are awesome, honest. Anyway, drunk while listening to the Guilty Gear XX soundtrack. Because it is awesome. I have no idea if the game is any good. Also I am disappointed it doesn’t have “Keep In Gates”, and I can’t seem to pick it up legally anywhere. You may have noticed the oddities on the photos have stopped – guess I must have got the light sorted out.
* I have checked on rate beer, they disagree and claim it is barely in the top 50%. We shall agree to differ.
