St. Austell IPA

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Cask@The White Lion, London. Ambery golden colour with small head. Aroma is floral hops, wood, some mild notes of earth and nuts as well. Flavour is quite much the same ending in a bready malty and earthy way.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

Sampled off the hand-pump at The White Hart Hotel, St. Austell, Cornwall.

With a rather miniscule 3.4%ABV, I already knew that it would be rather silly to even try going into this beer with my ussual "IPA mindset". That is to say, no, this obviously wouldn't be big-and-bold enough to possibly survive a pre-Suez Canal ocean voyage from the U.K. to the 19th Century colonial troops based in India. Nor would it be in the same heavy-handed, tongue-raping hoppy realm of many American IPAs. No, rather, I went into this beer with only the expectation that it was yet another English Bitter with perhaps good sessionability marks, nothing more.

And it is on that issue that I have to say that I wasn't all that wow'ed with this beer. I can forgive the fact that this isn't all that massive or bitter -- it's the de'rigor for mainstream English IPAs, seemingly. But I have a harder time coming to terms with the fact that this really isn't all that appealing or quaffable.

Rather thin and musty, to be honest. Came across to me as a beer that perhaps has sat around a little too long. But when I brought up this question to the bartender, he took a sip, and stated that, "for better or worse, that's exactly what the St Austell Brewery just up the street puts out". So, in other words, this was about as fresh as it was going to get -- and still kinda thin and dull, and (worst of all) boring.

Not a very popular beer amongst the locals -- and I can easily see why. St Austell does many beers quite well..., but this one needs help.
//TB