Second bottle frothed a fair bit but the first was sedate. In both cases you get a sense of the beer philosophy here as you pour - quite different to your (nowadays) typical big-US-hops IPA, this instead delivers a more deep european scape of being. Lots of sediment in the bottle in line with a big 9% abv. Brewed Oct 10 and in this case best around now I feel, though it would be interesting to try a fresh one and see how much the hops stand out when they are in their prime.
The star of this beer at this age as you will have guessed is not the juicy wet hops. Though the muskiness of the hops is a part of this story and help define it as an IPA, this is more about those roasty raisin, coffee and booze notes you get on the nose. Beautiful sticky mouthfeel to this beer puts me in mind of those euro dark beers that deliver such a heavy smooth experience that lingers and stays with you even from the smallest sip.
There's a fair bit of booze here but I feel it's part of the experience in this case, rather than a clumsily delivered hit of accidental alcoholism. Along with the sticky wave of lacy head it all stays with you as you progress through the bottle.. a real comforting experience to savour over an hour or more. Make sure you give this some time out of the fridge before serving as it excels at the 10-12C mark.
I really enjoyed this beer on both occasions - it's a very different experience to what has become the typical 'IPA' and may come as a surprise for that reason, but once you meet this fine gentleman you're certain to find you share some things in common. 9.0
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