Wylam: Hickey The Rake (England: American Pale Ale: 4.2% ABV)
Visual: Hazy lemon to slight apricot. Large fluffy white head that leaves sud lace.
Nose: Really fresh lemon. Slightly dry. Crisp hops. Slight mango. Slight bitterness. Dried apricot.
Body: Good bitterness – slight rocky flavor. Big hop character and slight hop oils. Lemon backing. Slight sour dough. Pineapple.
Finish: Brown bread. Slight gritty feel. Slight lemon. Good hops and bitterness. Bitter lemon. Slight kiwi.
Conclusion: How is it that all of the beers that call themselves a session IPA – it is one that doesn’t, that in fact just calls itself a pale ale, that seems to actually matches the intent of that style pretty well? Inside this moderate abv pale it has all the hops I would expect from an IPA and all the bitterness – with a slight bitter but refreshing lemon character matched to a very dry but drinkable body.
It has therefore the very dry character I associate with a lot of APAs – and matched with that a slight grittiness. That second element is often a huge flaw with session IPAs, yet for once they actually make it work here. I think it is the bitter lemon characteristics that makes it work – it refreshes but also matches the harsher gritty modes – making them feel like part of the beer rather than a flaw. The dryness also comes across like a super dry IPA which means that the thinner body from the lower abv doesn’t hurt the beer like many session IPAs.
So – moderate abv, big hops, big flavor. Pretty good. It isn’t complex, just big; The aroma promises more fruit to work with, but most of that is lost in the fray by the time you reach the body. What you get is hops and a mix of fresh and bitter lemon – one idea done well.
So a few decimal points of abv higher than a perfect session beer but apart from that this sits pretty nicely in that category. Refreshing enough to not get harsh nor dull over time – it is a simple beer, with a simple concept that does a hell of a lot well.
Background: The bottle calls this a Limonata Pale – which on a quick google seems to just mean lemonade. Which makes sense on drinking. Anyway, this is another beer from the honest brew‘s batch which my mate gave me for my birthday. Many thanks! This one was drunk while listening to Miracle of Sound’s Level 7 again – that is one huge album.
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