A test of taste
Ok, so. More often than not I don’t like India pale ales, but my problem is with the execution rather than the idea. There’s just no sense of finesse in the average IPA, and the result ends up tasting like someone took a box of granola cereal, some pine cones and a pint of vodka, blended it all up and bottled it into a six-pack. These beers make me wonder what I did to wrong the brewer, whether perhaps I gave him bad directions one time, or stepped on his shoes. I am very sorry, wronged IPA brewer. I do not enjoy these violent ales.
On the other hand, there’s Samuel Smith, a beacon of hope. For one, the Tadcaster brewery was actually around in the 19th century when all of this Indian trade was going on, so there’s a chance that maybe someone wrote down how an IPA is supposed to taste, informing today’s brewers with actual tradition instead of leaving them to fumble around with tripling whatever goes into a regular pale ale. And I’ve yet to drink anything from Samuel Smith that I haven’t liked. They make a couple of beers that I think are fantastic, and a few others that I think are pretty nice. This beer is a test. If I don’t enjoy this interpretation of the India pale ale, I think I should just admit that I don’t care for the style and give up on it.
There a few hopeful points right from the start. This IPA is a surprisingly reasonable 5% ABV, so from that it looks like the focus is going to be on the selection of hops and not on feats of strength. The paragraph on the bottle explaining the style mentions an emphasis on “the aroma and flavour of Britain’s best hop gardens,” and the importer describes it as having “a restrained maltiness.” I am optimistic. Today is hot and damp, so it seems as good a time as any to enjoy a British export long ago intended for the sweltering jungles of the East.
The smell is more floral than anything. There’s a bit of a bitter piney odor, and a bit of a malty sweetness, but nothing comes out as a big punch in the face. The taste does have a lot of hops, but it’s interesting hops, not just a big blast of pine tar cascade. It’s bitter, but not too bitter. It’s also flowery and fruity. There’s a bit of a caramel sweetness and a peppery tickle. It feels light and leaves behind a kind of sweet, grassy taste. This is a really enjoyable, really drinkable beer. It’s a shame that it’s so damned expensive.
May 10th, 2009 at 7:33 am
The only time I can drink an IPA is with Indian food. Otherwise, they’re too bitter for me.
When you try these beers, is it w/ food or on their own? Sometimes that makes a difference, as some beers are crafted to pair with food. I highly recommend What To Drink With What You Eat for pairing suggestions.
May 10th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
I haven’t been giving any thought to food pairings. For the most part I’ve been drinking the beers on their own, mainly to avoid any distracting tastes from the food.
What to Drink with What You Eat is mostly straightforward as far as beer pairings—darker, maltier beers deserve heavier dishes, bitter dry beers spicy dishes—and the Samuel Smith IPA would go well with spicy food. I disagree, however, with the assumption that every beer can or should be paired with food. This beer was very light for an IPA in terms of both maltiness and bitterness, and I think any much more would, instead of providing a crisp quench to the dish’s fire, would be too much of a contrast to any food, especially something with the big, complicated spices of Indian food. There’s a point where these beers would work better as an apéritif, something in place of a bitter cocktail instead of part of the main course.
I’ll try to keep food in mind, though. I’ve got a few more big Belgians and a porter in the queue; maybe I should bake a batch of brownies first.