Dunfie was kind enough to supply me with a bottle of his King Robert IPA, brewed in October 2009, which has a great label. The beer cleared well in bottle following transit, and although showed some signs of chill haze bringing it into the house to allow it to warm up produced a really clear beer.
Usual Psssstttttt and smoking gun upon opening, carbonation was perfect as the beer stayed nicely put in the bottle and the sediment stayed where it should. It poured with no problems and again the sediment stubbornly refused to shift . . . as can be seen in teh photo . . . no problems with this beer passing a feck test :lol:
Nice straw colour, and a really strong floral aroma at first hit, but some evidence of citrus hiding away in the background. Not that much head, but that was as a consequence of my gentle pouring, but there was sufficient carbonation that I could have generated one using a pocket beer engine . . . A cask version of this would almost certainly show a good head formation and retention.
Taste wise . . . :shock: . . . . Wow! . . . Excellent well bodied, and malty, and a massive clean hop flavour . . . . marmaladey . . . more lime marmalade than orange though . . . Slight hints of Bubblegum/amyl acetate (Pear drops), but not enough to be noted as a flaw . . . The beer reminds me of a very well toned down version of Brewdogs Hardcore . . . perhaps what hardcore could mature into if it was ever allowed to . . . although at just under 3 months old it still has some significant maturing to do itself.
At 60IBU the bitterness is not all that pronounced, although there is certainly enough to fur up the teeth :lol: This beer is all about the hop flavour and malt balance . . . the bitterness is there but hides away in the background making this a very enjoyable balanced beer . . . I like it!
