Left Hand Brewing Co.
Longmont, CO
Available: n/a
This English-style IPA is brewed to be less bitter and citrusy and more sessionable than many on the market, with Boadicea and Sovereign hop varieties.
ABV: 6.8
ABW: 5.4
Color: 10
Bitterness: 60
Original gravity: 1057
This “English-style India Pale Ale” has an immensely complex aroma of fruit—plums, mandarin oranges and a hint of peach—with biscuity malt and hop resins. Bitter hops and tangy fruit dominate the palate with a toasted malt note. The finish is intensely bitter and hoppy with a powerful citrus fruit notes and rich malt.
The color is bright gold and the head is off-white, but it’s the aroma that grabs your attention. Hay-like, earthy English hops are beautifully presented—it’s like putting your head in a burlap hop-sack. The bitterness is fine and moderate, the center clean and dry with a lilt of fruit, the finish is suitably flinty. This doesn’t punch IPA weight in the bitterness department, even in England. I don’t mind—the aroma makes up for it. This would be a brilliant cask beer, and it’s a wonderful pairing with an English farmhouse cheddar.
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.
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