Cider Mag August 2013 | Page 23

n issue 34 working_Layout 1 8/7/2013 11:43 AM Page 23 Guinness glass (yeah… I stole it from an Irish Pub; sue me!). It pours a nice orangey-copper color, tones of amber with a decent head and the carbonation churns out a bunch of bubbles. It smells sweet and malty and tastes about the same. It’s pretty weak on the hops end of the spectrum, but they label as “the perfect blend of hops and malt”. The sweeter malt finish leaves a linger and you do get a finish of mild bitter at the very end that kind of dries things up in a rather nice way. Overall, it’s not very traditional English tasting, but it is a very drinkable beer (I’ve had three while writing. See? I told you I’m thorough). Next up – Sumertime; and the livin's easy! A perfect August refresher; Goose Island has delivered this grassy, golden, yet bold enough, perfect “hot day” beer to drink ice cold. Not being a huge fan of light bodied beer, I can appreciate the taste of the pilsner malts and finish full enough, yet thirst quenching and easy on the palate. I drank it fast and now have the hiccups. Great… CIDER MAGAZINE ISSUE 34 Let’s crack that IPA. At 5.9 ABV the IPA is a traditional English style IPA. As opposed to the more recent super-hopped norm we see from many breweries… Hold on, quick history lesson: An India Pale Ale gets its name from the English trade ships that would travel to India. Traditionally beer would spoil before the journey was over and who wants that?! So they chucked a bunch of hops in as a preservative and the IPA was born (Long story really short... Google it to get more details). Pours very light amber but the head dies so fast! Noooooo! That’s not good! IBU is only 55, as it is traditional English… Must remind myself of that. While color is very light, it smells nice; fruity and dry. The flavor rounds out nicely and if you’re new to IPAs this is a good one to try as a “training wheels” beer. It’s a great example of what a traditional IPA should taste like. A bit strong (but not really if you’re used to IPAs) out front, full enough mouth, a bit of bitterness and a slower, sweet finish. Cheers and send me your favorite beer! [email protected] PG 23 WWW.CIDERMAG.COM OPEN 7 DAYS A DAYS WEEK! K! WITH KEVIN PARRY RY THURSDAYS 7-10PM RSD AYS YS AY OPEN MIC WITH DRAA HOBBS AA RAA RA SUNDAYS 11-1PM BRUNCH JAZZ AZZ Mexican Night Every Wednesday 5-9PM! - VermontMarina.com