Siren: Magic Rock: Beavertown: Rule Of Thirds (England: IPA: 6.4% ABV)
Visual: Hazy lemon to apricot. Thick white bubbled head. Cloudy center.
Nose: Pineapple. Crushed biscuits. Resin. Kumquat. Dry mango. Lemon juice. Moderate hops prickle. Dried apricot.
Body: Big bitterness. Sharp pineapple. Grapefruit. Some toffee and digestives. Light gritty feel. Elderberry.
Finish: Pink grapefruit. Good hops. Digestives. Big bitterness. Pineapple. Elderberry.
Conclusion: Some IPAs wake you up with bitterness, this, instead goes straight to the tart citrus trip.
It never hides it, never even tries, as soon at the bottle cap pops off – bam – pineapple – sharp as can be. There is a ton of citrus fruit in the aroma – a huge mix, but when you go to the first sip, it is straight back to pineapple. Well pineapple and grapefruit. Even cold it has a nicely gripping texture, not thick so much, more something that really grabs the taste buds and lets the citrus shock and awaken.
It is interesting, as despite definitely being about the citrus shock, it actually has quite a big bitter character as well. Despite being big when you see it, you only actually find it every now and then. The main place is in the finish, though it is very obvious in your first few sips, before the citrus has really got a hold.
It is like it does have huge hops, but half the time it vanishes rapidly as soon as the tartness hits, meaning that you only notice it when you are paying attention.
The malt base, slightly toffeeish, also nigh vanishes for most of the time. It shows a few hints top and tail, almost just showing up so it can say its there.
The tartest IPA I have had for a while, and an impressive wave of what I would guess holds a chunk of NZ hops in its IPA action. One note, but it is one hell of a cool note.
Background: So, a mix of the three IPAs from their respective breweries. Pretty good breweries as well. So I grabbed a bottle from the rapidly diminishing pile at Independent Spirit. Drunk while listening to Ulver: Shadows Of The Sun. Which I still hold is one of the most beautifully haunting albums ever.
