Dark Rock Hoppy Days IPA review

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GhostShip

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Location
Cambridge, UK
Kit started 26th May 2024.
Added 1kg Dark Rock Pale Ale Beer Kit Enhancer, Pure Brew, and then made up to 23L with Tesco Ashbeck mineral water.
Fermented in brew fridge at 20°C.
Kit hops (Mosaic and El Dorado) added on 7th June.
Bottled on 10th June, with one sugar stick per 500ml bottle and put into brew fridge at 20°C.
Moved out to shed on 24th June.
First pint - Saturday 13th July.

I've become a huge fan of the Dark Rock Session Series kits and this one sounded right up my street. By coincidence, the Partridge Brothers reviewed it last week, just before I sampled my first pint (they gave it 10/10).

Having had the odd hint of 'home brew twang', which I'm sure is down to oxidation, I decided to change my brewing process a bit for this one. I have always transferred from the FV to a barrel (sometimes batch priming, but often not) mainly as a way of filtering the beer through a muslin bag. However careful I am, it stands to reason that the beer will come into contact with oxygen during this process and in my mind, it's that that leads to the twang.

So I bought a new FV (mine was a few years old anyway), with a fitted tap, with a view to keeping the beer in the FV all the while and only exposing it to the air when I add the hops (only takes a few seconds) or take a hydrometer reading (which I rarely do these days - I know when it's fermented out and I've not had any bottle bombs yet!). My little bottler fits on the tap and I can go direct to bottle, having left the FV out on a kitchen surface overnight to let everything settle.

I'll need to do a few brews like this to establish whether or not the twang is a thing of the past, but the first signs are positive.

The beer is a lovely golden colour, perfectly clear, with no sign of any debris (apart from the usual yeast at the bottom of the bottle). No smell of twang whatsoever on the nose, so to the first taste... I'm drinking this young as I normally wait a month from moving out to the shed to tasting, but impatience got the better of me, so there's every chance this will get better, but it is glorious. Absolutely no twang, just a really well balanced beer with a nice hop punch, stone fruit flavours and a subtle bitter finish. I'd had it in the fridge for 2 days and it's just a perfect summer pint (even if it is raining) with an ABV of around 4.5%. The acid test for me is always 'What would I think if I was served this in a pub', and the answer is simple - I'd be delighted with it and probably drink it all night. I do think Dark Rock's Enhancer plays its part too - I've used it as the fermenter with other kits and the results always seem to be very good.

If you enjoy a hoppy pale ale, then I'd highly recommend this. It's so clean and easy to drink, with a perfect balance of hops, fruit and bitterness. 10/10 from me and although I've done a few now, I'll definitely continue to explore the Session Series range of kits.
 

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Greetings Mr Ship

I'm putting together a wish list for a forthcoming order from Dark Rock and am torn between the Hoppy Days or West Coast IPA as the 4th item on my order. Have you done the West Coast by any chance? A fellow member was very happy when they did it but I'm wondering how it compares to the Hoppy Days (if you've done it that is)?

Cheers Tom
 
Greetings Mr Ship

I'm putting together a wish list for a forthcoming order from Dark Rock and am torn between the Hoppy Days or West Coast IPA as the 4th item on my order. Have you done the West Coast by any chance? A fellow member was very happy when they did it but I'm wondering how it compares to the Hoppy Days (if you've done it that is)?

Cheers Tom
Hi Tom

I have done the West Coast IPA and you can find my review here;
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...sion-series-west-coast-pale-ale-review.98070/

They are both very good, but I think the Hoppy Days IPA just edges it for me. I did the West Coast over 2 years ago so it's always difficult to remember how one tasted in comparison to a more recent brew. All beers are subjective, anyway. Depends on personal taste and preferences. My favourite Dark Rock Session Series kit has been the Citra Pale Ale, but that's because I just love Citra. I'll probably try the Riwaka Pale Ale next - the Partridge Brothers have just reviewed it and rated it very highly. It really is a great range of kits, though I would always use Dark Rock's enhancer as the fermentable.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Cheers, Paul
 
Thanks Paul. The first three on my order will be the Nectaron, Citra and Riwaka. I don't t know if I should stick with the fruity ones for my final selection or go for something a bit more "traditional". I'll go and have a read of your review now

Cheers Tom
 
That's one tempting looking pint there Paul. I do like a refreshing fruity pale ale. I've got a few Muntons Gold Old English Bitters in my brew room so I think I'll probably go for the Hoppy Days. I can try some of the others on another order 👍

Cheers Tom
 
Just edited that last post as for some reason I put the West Coast as my choice for the 4th beer. Changed it to the Hoppy Days as that was actually my original choice when I stated thinking about an order

Cheers Tom
 
Just got my order in at Dark Rock. I couldn't wait, my thumb was getting too twitchy. So......

Nectaron ✔️ Riwaka ✔️ Citra ✔️ Hoppy Days ✔️

I wonder if I'll get the boost with them. I did ask if it was included a while ago, they said not anymore but there may be some stock left that has it. I shall see when it arrives



Cheers Tom
 

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