Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Shed IPA

After searching various sites for more information regarding the Shed IPA, I was unfortunate in finding any reliable sources to share any statistics, not even the ABV%. You'll have to try calculating this the old fashioned way...

Alcohol Content: ?
IBU: ?
Malts: ?
Hops: ?

Price: $4.25 @ Church Street Tavern
Medium: Served in pint glass

Aroma: Opens up a slightly bready malt aroma with a clean, crisp nose (most likely due to the cold serving temperature). The temperature also played a role in a lack of strong hop character that I would expect from an IPA - I later found this to be more of a mellow IPA in the flavor as well. Slight degree of citrus and overall pleasant. Strong carbonation nose potentially scrubs off the hop aromas as well.
Appearance: Minimal head retention, as noted by the fill level from the time the beer was poured from the time it reached my table (I didn't actually see the pour but the head was almost nonexistent when served). Deep golden to pale amber color with a steady stream of bubbles, some of which clinging to the sides of the glass - typically a sign of "unclean" beer glassware but not worth sending it back.
Flavor: Bready malts start, with a pleasant sweetness characteristic of caramel/ crystal malts. Some buttery notes pair with a lightly toasted caramel profile but not in a deterring way. Middle can be defined by a moderate hop bitterness with an inconsiderable degree of citrus and floral notes. Bready malts bounce back into the finish. Aftertaste was decent and nothing to be overly excited about.
Mouthfeel: A bit bland feeling with some degree of slickness on the tongue. A medium body is combined with a moderately-high carbonation.
Overall Impression: There were possibly some problems from the way it was served as I got a rather bland, stale, oxidized impression, possibly from beer that was sitting in the draft line for too long. This could also affect the hop aroma and flavors that weren't as good as I had hoped. On the other hand, this beer was more of a session IPA than most American versions I have had. My experience was more between a pale ale and an IPA.

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