Is James Squire Ipa A Good Representation Of The Style

[cpsmusic]

Hi,

I tend to prefer malt-driven beers however in an effort to "re-educate my palate" I've been trying a few hoppier brews. Yesterday I tried James Squire IPA. To my surprise I didn't find it too hoppy at all.

Just wondering whether my palate is adjusting or whether JS IPA is not a particularly good example of an IPA? To me, it seems quite malty although there is a definite hop aftertaste.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Kranky]

Big Australian brewers don't know how to make IPA's.

Try a Hop Hog by Feral if you want to try a decent (hoppy) IPA.

 

[manticle]

English pale ale 'category' is pretty broad as is IPA.

There's American style IPAs and English and within those some further variation.

JS is more English which are often a bit gentler than American and it is a beer aimed at a larger market so it's not punch you in the face with hops. Nonetheless it is a good beer which balances malt and hops and has a decent bittering level and it's one that I enjoy on a regular basis. To my palate a good IPA should have a decent malt level to balance the hop (or vice versa). JS fulfils the category.

JS is also tastier than sleeping Giant or that travesty of an East India Pale by Tui.

 

[bum]

Big Australian brewers don't know how to make IPA's.

Try a Hop Hog by Feral if you want to try a decent (hoppy) IPA.

Completely different styles of beer.

And on that matter, while Hop Hog is a tasty beer it would be laughed out of any bottle-o in that States. Very dry and one dimensional for style.

 

[jyo]

I asked the same question some time ago. There is some good discussion here:
JSIPA

I struggled with the Fuggles earthiness, but I love it now :wub:
I have found Samuel Smiths IPA to be absolutely delicious. A differernt Take is Belhavens Twisted Thistle IPA, I thought it was really good, though they do a mix of Cascade and Challenger.
For an American IPA style, you can't beat Feral Hop Hop for an Aussie brewed beer (fresh).

Cheers, John.

 

[bum]

For an American IPA style, you can't beat Feral Hop Hop for an Aussie brewed beer (fresh).

For my money, Murray's Icon beats it but not by much and there is a lot of air between Hop Hog and it's next nearest rival.

 

[jyo]

For my money, Murray's Icon beats it but not by much and there is a lot of air between Hop Hog and it's next nearest rival.

Mate, I still haven't tried any of the Murray's range h34r: but they are definitely on my growing list of beers to do.
Cheers.

 

[Kranky]

Completely different styles of beer.

And on that matter, while Hop Hog is a tasty beer it would be laughed out of any bottle-o in that States. Very dry and one dimensional for style.

I understood the poster wanted some advice on a hoppy IPA that's obtainable in Australia. Lamentably, there's nothing in Australia that compares to what's available in the USA.

I'll be in Santa Rosa in 2 weeks, I'll have a Pliny for you.

 

[manticle]

Kranky - confusion between AIPA and EIPA is what I think Bum was getting at. JS is EIPA and therefore shouldn't be compared to the other.

 

[Kranky]

Kranky - confusion between AIPA and EIPA is what I think Bum was getting at. JS is EIPA and therefore shouldn't be compared to the other.

I was too lazy and hungover to try and distinguish the difference .

 

[bum]

I'll be in Santa Rosa in 2 weeks, I'll have a Pliny for you.

Enjoy the tasting paddle, Kranky. Brace yourself - 16 beers on it when I was there. Food is pretty shit though, best to stick with the brews.

As for Pliny, on tap it is probably my favourite beer in the world but I'm not sure it is statistically representative of the style either (though certainly significantly closer than Hop Hog). There's a delicacy to Pliny that just isn't present in so many otherwise excellent beers in the style.

 

[MHB]

For a fairly mainstream example it's a cracker, it isn't exactly an extreme beer but then again it doesn't have to be. IPA is an English style of beer that pretty much describes a well hopped Bitter with a bit more body and alcohol, JS IPA ticks all the boxes.

Going to have to admit that the American hijacking of IPA, AIPA and Imperial IPA or whatever name you want to apply to the family is something of a bugbear for me.

I'm very over out of balance hop assaults; I describe them as either a "barb wire pull through" or "being smacked in the face with a hop vine dipped in alcohol". There are fine examples of super hoppy beers made both here and in the US, there are also a lot of one dimensional belt you into submission with hops and hops alone, brewing disasters that should never have been bottled.

I have tasted many of the beers people rave about, last session we had a Murrays IIPA in the middle of a bunch of well known American hop monsters and I think it stood up well No for an Australian beer about it It was/is a world class example of the family. The beer of the night for me was Largunitas Hop Stoopid; immensely hoppy but balanced by a huge amount of malt, very well made beer.

I suppose Hop Monsters remind me of "Death by Chocolate" (as much as I love chocolate) interesting for a change, wouldn't want it for dinner every night.

Nearly 30 years into home brewing, give me drinkability.

MHB

 

[mwd]

Ha Ha wish you guys would not talk about beers we cannot normally get our laughing gear around.

Cannot even find Hop Hog in our local Dan's or First Choice.

I buy JS IPA when I need to buy a reasonably priced good drinkable ale but yes you are correct it is not really that hoppy to the palate but nicely balanced all the same.

I just love Brewdog Punk IPA which they state as being 'aggressive' as in an American IPA but I gather it has been tamed down a bit lately but is a fine drop anyway or at least I like it and it has a fair hop kick. Trouble is it is quite expensive at Dan's and you cannot stop at just one.

I am trying to brew a Punk IPA 'copy' at home got the right hops just need a good pale ale FWK and experiment away. Every attempt I have made of IPA has been underwhelming on the hop front so I am going to have to get aggressive.

Cannot suggest any other IPAs to try here in Australia I search the shelves myself but have not come up with any memorable examples.

 

[manticle]

Someone mentioned Sam Smith's. A good bottle is one of the tastiest, not ridiculously obscure examples of a UK style IPA I can think of.

I'm in accordance with MHB - Hoppy beers are great when balanced but the answer to good beer is not necessarily found by throwing truckloads of hops around willy-nilly. All good beer, whether malty or hoppy (or both), needs balancing to give dimension.

 

[Banshee]

IPA was brewed in UK and shipped to India for the British Empie so was made higher in alc% and higher hop bitterness to act as a preservitive (refridgeration did not exist). I really don't know how a traditional IPA should taste but I imagine bitter and good malt as the OG would be higher.
I have seen Green king IPA which is low in alc% so to me would not be a good catergory for the beer.
Hop Hog is great but then again I haven't drunk a tradtrional English IPA to compare it with.
As for JS IPA I haven't tried it.

 

[Nick JD]

I had a Mac & Jacks IPA in Redmond, Washington a while back ... battery acid.

American micro IPAs are just a big competition on who can make mouthwash.

 

[Harry Volting]

Not sure how the BJCP would see it, but I can't get enough of Jamison's Beast IPA at the moment.
Pricey but worthwhile.

 

[Josh]

... The beer of the night for me was Largunitas Hop Stoopid; immensely hoppy but balanced by a huge amount of malt, very well made beer....

:icon_offtopic: After touring Lagunitas outside of tour times, they gave me 3 longnecks of Hop Stoopid and 3 bottles of Maximus to take home. Alas they didn't make the final cut to get on the plane home. So I had to drink them all in the hotel in Portland. Agreed, Hop Stoopid was a fine example of the style.

Haven't tried JS IPA in a while. Might stop in at thebottle-o on the way home and revisit it.

 

[bum]

3 bottles of Maximus to take home. Alas they didn't make the final cut to get on the plane home. So I had to drink them all in the hotel in Portland. Agreed, Hop Stoopid was a fine example of the style.

That Maximus is a bit of a weird one, innit? All hops up front, almost sickly sweet in the middle and no bitterness at all until the linger. I remember wondering why it got beyond a test batch stage let alone getting a broad release. Hop Stoopid, however, is a very nice a beer (made with ISOhops so it mustn't be craftbrew ) and a pretty good example of what I'm getting at about Australian examples. There's a s subtle complexity in all aspects of the beer that you just don't find in any aspect of any local US-themed variant. They all dry out to nothing in the middle and have stuff all linger here. Even the very enjoyable ones. Australian brewers just aren't interested in anything but getting big hop aroma into higher alc versions of local pale ales and calling the job done.

[EDIT: typo]

 

[Josh]

That Maximus is a bit of a weird one, innit? All hops up front, almost sickly sweet in the middle and no bitterness at all until the linger. I remember wondering why it got beyond a test batch stage let alone getting a broad release. Hop Stoopid, however, is a very nice a beer (made with ISOhops so it mustn't be craftbrew ) and a pretty good example of what I'm getting at about Australian examples. There's a s subtle complexity in all aspects of the beer that you just don't find in any aspect of any local US-themed variant. They all dry out to nothing in the middle and have stuff all linger here. Even the very enjoyable ones. Australian brewers just aren't interested in anything but getting big hop aroma into higher alc versions of local pale ales and calling the job done.

[EDIT: typo]

I don't really remember the Maximus. I drank those after spending all day at OBF.

Hop Stoopid was one of the better IPAs I had. I also enjoyed Racer 5, Blind Pig and Harpoon IPA.