Thursday, October 30, 2008

Beer Review: South Hampton IPA


South Hampton Publick House India Pale Ale

More Long Island suds. Gotta get them while I can. The back of the bottle goes into a history of the Publick House and the notables that used to frequent it flowing into a discussion of the India Pale Ale and it's balanced quality. I have mixed feelings about a balanced IPA. On most beers I really appreciate this quality but having grown fond of the pacific northwest aggressive hopping style I have a hard time viewing anything else as an IPA. When I go for an IPA I generally want to be overwhelmed with hops. Otherwise, I will go for a pale ale. Pours a rich copper color with a solid head. Aroma of sweet malt and some hop citrus smells.

Flavor is indeed what it promises. Very balanced and drinkable. The rich malt shines through being countered expertly with the hop flavor and bitterness. I appreciate it for what it is but I personally prefer my IPAs to be unbalanced. I want load of hops so that I get my fix. Don't get me wrong, this is a great IPA, it's just not the style of IPA that I prefer. Many will love this beer.

While it may seem like from my review that this beer doesn't have adequate hopping, this isn't the case. The hops flavors are always with you throughout your glass, they just aren't of the excessive quality that I like. If you are a fan of the more balanced European style IPA this is a wonderful beer for you to try. But if you went out seeking more hops than your tongue can handle, you will be dissapointed.

Final Score: 84% (Very Good and Masterfully Balanced, Just Not My Style of IPA)

2 comments:

Prez said...

I honestly need some help. I usually drink Coronas as far as beers go, but the recent bombardment of beer advertisements has recently got me looking for some other options. I not really into bitter beers, so I am looking for some "sweeter" or more "flavorful" options.
Any suggestions or maybe a review of some better tasting beers? Sam Adams really has me interested

LumbeerJohn said...

I am convinced that there is a beer for everyone. Sam Adams makes an incredibly varied selection of beers. They have 20 plus styles. If you are into sweet beers there are three main directions I can point you to.

If you think you might want to try something different I would suggest a wheat beer flavored with fruit. A good example of this would be Saranac's Pomegranate Wheat Beer. This is a refreshingly flavorful beer with just the right amount of Pomegranate juice (see my earlier review from October).

If you want to avoid fruit you could go with a beer leaning on the maltier side. This is a good season for it with Bock and Oktoberfest style beers coming out. Though they do usually come with higher alcohol levels as a result. You could try Sam Adams Winter lager which just came out for the season. The winter lager is a very rich beer with sweet malty flavors and some cinnamon thrown in. I reviewed this last year in November.

Another choice would be to try a beer brewed with honey. A great beer to try that is widely available is Dundee Honey Brown. This is a laid back, easy drinking beer that has some real honey flavor. I reviewed this in August of this year.

Hope that helps! If these don't work out there are plenty more to try. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions!