Southampton India Pale Ale

Brewed by Southampton Publick House
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Southampton, New York USA

Pours a strawberry blonde with pearl lacing head. Aromas of hops citrus, and malts, Flavors of citris mostly orange with some creamy honey sweetness light malt background. Nice crisp refreshing beer

Bottle. Poured a straw color with a thin head. Gorgeous spicy hop and orange aroma. Flavor is somewhat wheake, tea like, with a bit of orange and toffee and a sharp finish.

Bottle. Pours a clear dark amber gold body with little white head. The aroma is sweet malt and some hop. The flavor is citrus/fruit hops with a bitter finish.

Bronze color and pours with a thick khacki head. Aroma, not much there, a little malty with hop and caramel undertones. Flavors are more malty than I’d like from an IPA but that was expected. Roasty caramel, toffee, dough, complimenting bitter hops. Really,this is a pretty good beer, just not what I generally look for in an IPA.

From reading the label, I was pretty sure this was not going to be my favorite IPA and it isn’t. Give me the over the top West Coast IPAs any day. What’s here: Beer pours clear honey golden color with a lightly retained off white head. Aroma is lightly citrically hoppy with some caramel malt undertones. Flavor is likewise being initially bitter with some cereal malty biscuit type flavor in the finish. I just need a lot more IBUs in my IPAs!

Orange in color with a decent sized off-white head. Aroma is of yeast, sourdough and hops. Taste is dough, light nuts and hops. Seems more like a belgian/pale ale hybrid.

[Bottle] Pours a clear copper color with some beige head. Immediate aroma of biscuits and citrus upon opening the bottle. Grassy taste, with a good amount of caramel malts. Noticeable hints of citrus/pine, but it seems to take on more of a traditional English feel the more you drink. Crisp and dry finish. Not bad, but not your typical IPA.

Burnished copper that glints and shimmers and shines before my thirsty eyes while a splash of deep garnet can be spotted from time to time. A fluffy head with a cotton-candy pinkish hue fades into a thin film which still manages to puff nicely while leaving a trail of lace to mark her territory. I am immediately enveloped in a refreshing summer embrace of orange, pink grapefruit, juicy melons, cantaloupe, kiwi and a sweet blueberry twist. Wow. Kicking things into high gear are zesty candied lemons while rye bread adds meat to her nose and cinnamon and nutmeg give her an earthy depth. American hops are definitely speaking their mind and my tastebuds are listening. Our first meeting is a perfect showing of measured subtlety and skillful balance. Lemon zest and sugared candied lemons strike first while softer and sweeter notes of kiwi, melon, and orange follow. The top of my tongue tingles with fresh acidic pink grapefruits while my lips are coated with a sweet, sticky essence of honey and more tropical fruit juices. A few more quaffs later, a gentle presence of dry grass and toast keeps my Southampton IPA afloat while offering solid support. Her cinnamon and nutmeg linger as spice in my breath while more bread notes of rye and toast happily bring me right back to her hoppy side.

Delicious. Not as hot and hop-slappy as some, Southampton keeps the hops vamped and balanced at the same time, creating a lusciously tasty and extremely drinkable IPA. She only got better with each sip, and it was a sad moment when her last drop was gone. But, I know that more is readily available for my supping pleasure, and anyone else who enjoys a balanced IPA of quality ingredients and craftsmanship.