Fuller's India Pale Ale

The Hoppy Hippie sez:

Fuller's India Pale Ale

I’ve tried a few IPAs in the past and the two things I’ve noticed on a consistent basis when I try them is; IPA’s make me angry and I never finish the bottle. I’ve even stopped after one sip. This review is off to a good start non?

I refused to buy a 6 pack and grabbed a single Fullers IPA to review instead. The bottle is tall (500ml) and shows to be 5.3%. Visually it looks exactly like the Fullers Organic Honeydew (which I dig) but the label is a royal purple instead. I find the bottle to be a bit of an awkward shape - not super pleasing to the eye and I am not a fan of this purple shade. Quite clearly, my pre-disposition to my rage like feelings towards IPAs is starting to sink in. It pours medium golden blond with little head and smells bitter.

On first taste it’s noticeably flat. And hops. Hops hops.  But amazingly enough not as bitter as I was expecting. To get even weirder here for a moment I noticed the flat before the hops. And with lacking the bitter of an IPA I tried it again. It does have bite (probably the hops) but I’m surprised (and pleased) it’s lacking the bitter taste. I’m even MORE surprised that I don’t hate it.

IPAs are on such a high right now…I don’t understand it. Are you a fan? What am I missing here? I was done with this after 4 sips. Would I buy it again or give it a second thought? Nope. Would I drink it if I was stuck on a deserted island? Yup. And that’s more than I can say for a lot of IPAs I’ve tried. This Hippie gives it a thunderous “Next!”

Alewife Anne sez:

Bit of a history lesson for you now, folks: India Pale Ales (or IPAs) hearken back to the bad old days of the British Raj. The popular story is that those colonizing British bastards were having trouble getting fresh beer from England. The warm Indian climate made it all go off, which was dreadful, Reggie, simply dreadful. This story is not actually true. Beer is alcoholic, which means it is already preserved.

The fact is that in the late 18th century, the Bow Brewery in Middlesex became one of the first breweries to ship beer to India. The East India Company preferred the Bow Brewery product because of its location close to their docks and the Bow's lenient credit terms. Prior to this, pale ales in England had been lightly hopped. But by the mid-18th century, commercial breweries began to sell something called an October beer, which had previously been domestically produced. It was made of a lightly roasted malt, therefore pale, slightly higher in alcohol content, and well-hopped. It proved to be popular with the working classes. The IPA grew out of this October beer, and due to its popularity, was a natural choice for shipment to the British colonies in India.

Now, as anyone who knows me will tell you, the only thing I like better than a nice cool mug of beer is history. So you'd think I'd be all over an IPA like a fat kid on a Smartie. But I don't like 'em. I find them unbalanced. And too grassy. And I utterly deplore the fact that IPAs are absolutely everywhere. It's like an international obsession. The Schmaltz Brewery in New York even makes a quadruple IPA, which makes me queasy to think about. I think the people who go for that kind of thing are the same people who challenge each other to eat the hottest chicken wings on the menu--it's not about taste, it's about stamina.

Anyway, the Hoppy Hippie and I chose to try Fuller's IPA because Fuller's is a fantastic British brewery whose London Pride is possibly one of the best commercially produced beers on the market. We thought that if there was an IPA worth trying, this was it. Fullers' IPA is bottle conditioned, which pays tribute to the original October beers, which were cellar conditioned for two years after brewing. 

This rich golden beer poured out yielding a lacy head and an unremarkable nose. The first sip revealed a medium-bodied beer with a silky mouthfeel, a very clean flavour with a predictably bitter finish. I drank the whole 500 mL bottle and didn't hate it. This is pretty strong praise, considering how I feel about IPAs generally. Seriously, this one was better balanced and more enjoyable than most. The best I can say about it is it was inoffensive. Your mileage may vary, especially if you are an IPA fan.

2.5 hop cones out of five.