Brown IPA

So, we manage the impressive accomplishment of reviewing two beers in as many days. Not bad. This is what happens when you get a bit of focus on the task in hand. In other words, Addie said, "it's sunny -- we need to go for a pint", and I said "all right." You can see we're the archetypal connoisseurs. Oz Clarke's wine column was never like this.

Addie was facing a genuine dilemma. We had half an hour only to spare; do we sit in the pub with the nice garden in the sunshine and drink rubbish beer, or do we go inside the dingy real ale pub and have the real stuff? There was only one answer, but when we got there there were no tables. That settled it and so we went to the real ale pub instead like the pro's we are (I had to genuinely fight with a struggling Addie, who was already considering whether to have Carling or Carslberg).

Today's pint was O'Hanlons Flagship IPA, rolling in at 4.2%. As you can see from the snap, it's quite dark for an IPA in my view (Addie has a picture of the pump). This is reflected in the taste which has a real undercurrent of burnt sugar, presumably providing some of the dark colour. It was thin and clear though, with a pleasant level of fizz and a head that stayed the course. It also had a natural flavour, not at all chemically.

Not bad for one at lunch time, but I wouldn't want a session on it. Ask me again after the fifth pint, though. And don't bother asking Addie. He'd be asleep in a ditch somewhere. Lightweight.

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