Burton Bridge Empire Ale

Brewed by Burton Bridge
Style: English Strong Ale
Burton-on-Trent, England

Aroma is slightly sour, almost lambic like with alot of grassy/peppery hops. Taste is almost triple like but with a sharpness off the acidity, and very very yeasty. Intresting different beer.

Rich smooth flavor with plenty of hops & interesting spicy character I can’t quite pin-point. Orange flavors & earthy maltiness come through. Good mix, an enjoyable & unique taste.

This bottle conditioned beer poured a hazy medium amber colored beverage with a HUGE smooth off-white head that slowly shrunk to a respectable size and never went away. It left great lacing on the glass. The aroma was pleasantly sweet. It reminded me of cotton candy with a hint of ripe banana and Fuji Apple. There was little to no evidence of hops. The body was medium full with lively carbonation and a soft smooth texture. The flavor started off sweet but this gradually gave way to a pleasant bitterness. The finish was long and full.

I’ve come to dread rating British beers because many of them taste the same to me, with that hoppy unsweetened iced tea thing going on. This one exceeded all my expectations. The pour was hazy copper/orange with a 2-finger ecru head. The aroma was of hopcit, malt, tannins, and even a hint of watermelon. The flavor was piney hoppy, with some fruit and citric mid-palate bitterness. Very rich and smooth, and it gets even hoppier and bitter as it warms.

"The sun never sets on the Empire". And indeed, in Britain’s Empire days, it never did, Britain had colonies that spanned the globe. India was one such colony. British troops stationed in India needed their daily beer, and the pale ales of Burton on Trent answered the call. But India was a long way from England, pale ale would spoil on that long sea voyage, and trips over land. What was a brewer to do? The answer? Take that famous Burton pale ale, brew it to a higher gravity giving it more alcohol, and add generous additions of hops to act as a preservative. This hoppy, potent brew becomes very popular among the British troops stationed in India, and a sub style of pale ale is born. This beer is now called India Pale Ale. The Burton Bridge Brewery, of Burton on Trent, in the village of Staffordshire, England brewes a historical version of India Pale Ale. Empire India Pale Ale attempts to simulate what this beer might have tasted like to one of those British troops. This beer is a very strong pale ale, with a really firm pale malt body, and a very aggressive hop character. This beer is a real ale it is conditioned for six months in the cask(the average length of the sea voyage), and then is bottle conditioned as well, with the addition of more yeast. This has to be the hoppiest British India Pale Ale, I belive I have ever tasted. It just explodes with British, EKG hop aromas and flavors. Empire India Pale Ale pours to a deep orange color with a rocky, thick white head, and a very lively carbonation. This beer is bottle conditioned, you have to pour carefully, you do not want to pour any of the yeast sediment in to your beer. The nose is the first thing that really impresses. I could literally smell the very fragrant floral hop character as I was pouring this beer. This beer is dry hopped by the bail loads. The nose is very aromatic with hop character, coupled with some pungent yeasty aromas as well. The palate is a very firm malt backbone, really nice biscuit like pale malt flavors mingle with some sweet caramel malt flavor. There is also a vinous character to this beer on the tongue, and again, a slight back drop of yeast flavor. This beer finishes with sweet maltiness up front, then dries with some really nice zesty hop bitterness, and a soothing, slightly warm alcohol burn. This beer weighs in at 7.5% avb, the proper strength of India Pale Ale. An exceptional British tribute to what India Pale Ale must have really tasted like in the Empire days. This beer would be perfect match to spicy Indian fare, and would work really well with fish and chips. I was very impressed with this beer, hands down, the hoppiest BIPA I have ever tasted. The only knock on this beer is it is a bit pricey. This beer is imported by Beverage United, and I paid $4.99 for a 22 oz bottle. I think a beer as rare and special is worth it. Treat yourself to a taste of the Empire, and seek this beer out.

Very good hoppy tasting IPA. Light to moderate hoppy aroma with a sweet citrus lemon/lime smell. The head was large and creamy, off white in color, very good lacing. The body was a hazy cloudy and amber-orange. The initial flavor was sweet and bitter, the finish was a very nice bitter and long. The body was medium full with a dry texture and a lively carbonation.

bottle. pours a hazy dark orange body with a large fluffy white head. the aroma has generous yeasty apple and pear notes. also has a big resiny hop nose and fat bread malt. chewy orange hop flavour with very solid balance of sweet bread. surprisingly high alcohol content but it isn’t detectable at all. very nice.

had the head of an IPA and the body of a pale.Grapefruit taste, nicely bitter, not overly.Smooth creamy.Very well done English Nice aftertaste,some malts.Not very complex, couldn’t drink a whole bottle.Aggressive carbonation and alcohol presence, otherwise I applaud the craftsmanship.