Gage Roads 'sleeping Giant' Ipa

[Harry Volting]

Different animal.

5.1 vs 5.4 ABV for starters.

I wouldn't feed the old ipa to the slugs/goats/neighbours.

Sleeping giant is very quaffable and I'm enjoying it on a regular basis.

Woolies staff seemed to be trained to say that both IPA's are the same but they're not.

Just sayin.
Harry

 

[bum]

Tried to find one at Dan's today but no joy. Did find their Atomic Pale Ale though so I grabbed one after reading the brewery's description in the link Manticle posted earlier:

"We decided to introduce Atomic for those drinkers who enjoy the fruit and hop character of a good ale, but without the extreme bitterness and higher alcohol content of an English IPA, said Heary. We took the Pale Ale down the American route."

Drugs. Lots of them. It is exactly like I imagine Coopers Clear to be. Smells like the water from boiled vegetables and tastes like shitty Australian mega beer but with a higher and much rougher IBU. Ghastly stuff. It was mentioned earlier that someone couldn't work out why these beers aren't being better promoted - I think the ACCC has told them they'll get prosecuted if they commit this APA bullshit to print.

I had SWMBO try it (as I almost always do, her palate is pretty good) and she said "What's this supposed to be?" I say "An APA..." she looks mad at the glass and says "It just tastes like beer. A really shitty beer." (in SWMBO-speak "beer" is what she drank in her younger days in America - to this day she claims PBR is alright.) Can't say I can disagree with her.

 

[.DJ.]

Had the IPA last night. thought it was an acceptable English IPA, its no Meantime IPA (but what is)

 

[paulwin]

yummy beer , could be the first carton of beer i buy in over 5 years .
great price for a six pack i bought one for $16.99 from the bottle shop 200 meters down the road from the brewery so hopefully thats as fresh as it comes
cheers

 

[sm0902]

Tried one yesterday. It was okay, but no intention to go back and buy more.

 

[mwd]

Bought a six pack the other day from our local Dans it is way better than the old IPA but if you are a hop fanatic forget it. Quite session drinkable though with a faint hop aroma. Had to have a Punk IPA afterwards to get a hop fix.

 

[Jerry]

tried this and liked it although i did get a metallic taste like an old LCPA a while ago. good male and hops though i defiantly got the dry hop, i was pretty impressed. filterd to within an inch of its life though.

I also get a bit of a metallic taste. Certainly not overpowering but enough to be off putting.

Enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't buy again.

Scott

 

[Snowdog]

I picked up a 6 today after finding it hidden behind the old IPA at Dan's. Will have to give one my 1st beer of the day try tomorrow.
Not expecting too much but a sessional beer like James Squire IPA...

 

[sav]

I picked up a 6 today after finding it hidden behind the old IPA at Dan's. Will have to give one my 1st beer of the day try tomorrow.
Not expecting too much but a sessional beer like James Squire IPA...

I did the same today it was tucked behind,Its not bad not much nose but dry and it has a english character to it. its not a ipa though in my opinion.

sav

 

[brendanos]

I think a lot of people are expecting an American IPA from an English IPA. Hops are never going to knock you over like the AIPA's. The malt is a little too forward in everyone's opinion, and hides the nearly 50 IBU's. It is certainly way too big/bitter for an English Pale Ale, but fingers crossed it will continue to improve!

 

[brendanos]

Ask the mother country what an IPA is & they won't describe Hop Hog!

 

[brett mccluskey]

Ask the mother country what an IPA is & they won't describe Hop Hog!

I've got a mate visiting from the uk at the moment,and i poured him one.Told him about some of the 'not so appreciative' comments about this beer.His response was that it's a LOT better than a lot of english ales he drinks at home And i can guarantee,there are a lot of VERY average english beers

 

[Bizier]

I tried this again just now to try to give it a fair go.

I did get a fleeting waft of the earthy English dry hops, but it also did not stick around too long. That definitely was not there the last time, where I had a six pack with no aroma, I'd put that down to heat damage.

My girlfriend said something after she had a mouthful and it surprised the socks off me. "It's more of an ESB". No doubt that it is because I used to buy Barons ESB by the carton as my first choice, but I think she has something, and it is largely to do with the caramel.

I agree with the above comment re: UK beers, and I have to say that I like my English IPA (no surprise) on the hoppy side. I instantly think of the Sam Smith one, and I don't agree with the BJCP that the Meantime is classic enough to be a good example. I don't think that Greene King or Deuchars are really IPAs.

And Brendanos, I was introduced to a former Gage Roads brewer (Mick) a little over a year ago when I was in the Swan Valley at a wedding, and my introduction was "Put more f***ing hops in your IPA!"... poor bloke. At least I wasn't that harsh again.

The one thing that I can say that do actively have an issue with in the beer, is the basemalt flavour. But I understand that it could also be one of the things that many commercial brewers would also love to be able to some leeway with.

 

[bum]

I got around to trying one of these tonight. It's actually not a terrible beer. The metallic thing mentioned previously is quite prominent in the aroma and to a lesser extent in the flavour but you do acclimatise pretty quickly to it (well, I did anyway). Much nicer malt profile than I expected from a beer at this end of the market - not amazing, of course, but more than serviceable. Bitterness is smooth but firm (even if a little more subdued than I'd like) and the hop flavour is pleasant enough but nothing tremendous. All things considered it's a beer I'd buy again happily enough if Woolworths was my only beer option.

 

[WitWonder]

The actual beer is not bad. IMO it is just not a beer-geek's idea of an IPA.

I am also biased. I have had my 'easy going pale ale' interpreted as a 'nice IPA'.

I just get offended when you call your IPA "Giant", saying that it has "giant flavour" and it is most definitely at the very low end of the scale for style. I had my first Kooinda Pale last night, and as a comparison, I thought that the Pale had more flavour and a similar level of bitterness (no side-by-side) than the Sleeping Giant. If Gage Roads called it a 'reasonably robust pale ale', I would not have been disappointed. The reason I was disappointed was that, at the time of purchase, I was without any homebrew, and felt like an IPA, and could have easily brought home some Hop Hog or some hoppy import.

Sure, I would accept this over other beers at a mate's BBQ, and it would go down a treat.

+1

Exactly my sentiments. Bought a bunch of different beers yesterday thanks to poor planning and excessive consumption on my part which has left me with nil HB and was hoping this was, as the label suggested, an IPA. I wouldn't have been disappointed if it was advertised as an amber ale - It was just malt dominated for me and, although I am still a bit effected by a cold, could not detect but the faintest whiff of hops anywhere. Fortunately I also bought some Feral hop hog, which I really enjoyed.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Much the same - I'd describe more as an ESB, rather than an IPA. The malt profile is too prominent and the hop character tends toward the bitterness, rather than aroma and flavour side.

The aroma I got (poured it into a glass, of course) is more malt driven I found. I like the caramel sweetness at the front of the palate, which disappeared into a dry and slightly bitter lingering finish that was pleasant.

That pretty well makes this a good session beer. I think you could get away with drinking a few of these, and not feel like it's seawater at the end, nor that your mouth is carpet (something I find that sessioning on an IPA can do).

Last night, I also tried the John Boston's Mill Pale Ale. Now if you want hop flavour (but no bitterness) - this is the beer. It just whacked with passionfruit and stonefruit. I actually rate this better (subjective, I know), but I would hasten to add that the Sleeping Giant ESB (renamed it) would be a better session beer, as I think that the JBM PA is probably slightly out of balance. It's like drinking a glass of softdrink (not flavourwise, bear with me), going back for a second and realising you really don't want more, because it's just too much. Having said that, I only had one, so I must test this theory out. h34r:

Goomba

 

[Hogan]

Got a six pack from DM yesterday. Not a bad light version of an IPA but what got me was the (IMO) overcarbonation. I had one bottle and the excess of C02 bubbles clinging to the glass were very evident. That resulted in three big burps at the end. Something I never find in my keg or bottle carbed beers.


Cheers, Hoges.

 

[Nashmandu]

Got a six pack from DM yesterday. Not a bad light version of an IPA but what got me was the (IMO) overcarbonation. I had one bottle and the excess of C02 bubbles clinging to the glass were very evident. That resulted in three big burps at the end. Something I never find in my keg or bottle carbed beers.


Cheers, Hoges.

I dont think 'light version of an IPA' is a very accurate description...The history and guidelines for english IPA's are very loose and varied but remember, it isnt an American Pale Ale.

 

[argon]

Picked a 6 pack of these last weekend... not a bad beer... I could drink a heap of these in a session. Not an aggressive IPA by any means. I get some sweet malt and toffee notes in the aroma... which were very enjoyable.

All in all i'll buy them again.

 

[Hogan]

I dont think 'light version of an IPA' is a very accurate description...The history and guidelines for english IPA's are very loose and varied but remember, it isnt an American Pale Ale.

If you go back through the comments of previous posters I think you'd find that (in the main) it is a very apt description.

This is described on the bottle as 'giant flavour, dry hopped, enticing aroma. Knock the top off this sleeping giant and awaken the taste within'.

Well the giant must have been unconscious because he didn't wake up.

The guideline for my IPA's is high hop bittering, good malt balance and flavour, which this beer does not have. And I remember that it's not an APA. Never thought it was.


Cheers, Hoges.