When I saw a bottle of British IPA on the shelf of a beer shop in Timisoara, with the year 1698 stamped on it, I knew I had to taste it.
Not only because it's an IPA beer, a style I fell in love with, but because it's a beer from the cradle of the IPA style.
There is a well-known story about the transport of British beers to their military troops in the commonweal colonies, as well as to India, when, in order to preserve the integrity of the beer, the classical Pale Ale was additionally hopped, thereby increasing the amount of alcohol, but also alpha acids that prevent the development of bacteria.
The beer that then, after several months of transport by ship, reached distant African countries and India, was named India Pale Ale.
Shepherd Neame India Pale Ale – A sip of beer from the roots of British tradition
To give my palate a taste of what IPA used to be like, I got my hands on a bottle bearing the name of the UK's oldest still-operating brewery.
In the town of Faversham in the county of Kent, there is Shepherd Neame, a brewery founded way back in 1698.
At the brewery, beer is brewed using water from its own wells deep beneath the limestone cliffs of Kent with the world-famous hops around the brewery, Fuggles and East Kent Goldings.
Nowadays, IPA beers, which I had the opportunity to taste in the past years, have a cloudy appearance, a taste full of fruity aromas and tropical fruits, and already at first glance, this British IPA beer did not seem like that.
The beer from the classic collection of India Pale Ales from Shepherd Neame Brewery in Faversham, Kent, England, is a traditional English IPA style and at 6.1% alcohol and 40 IBU bitterness, it was unlike any IPA I've ever tasted.
After pouring into the glass, beer of a beautiful crystal clear copper amber color with a golden sheen was poured into the glass.
The foam is light-cream in color, of moderate density, but it subsided relatively quickly.
Already upon pouring into the glass, the rich, warm malt profile was immediately felt in the nose.
There was no M from Mango or Passion Fruit...
At first, I smelled notes of caramel and toast.
Only in the later tasting, adding hops, brings subtle herbal tones, with a hint of bitter orange peel, marmalade and tea.
The first sip brought me an unexpectedly pleasant sweetness of caramel malt and roasted sugar.
That malty impression was soon cut by a wave of increased bitterness, bringing me aromas of dried fruit, spices and black tea.
The finish was extremely dry and bitter, so much so that I had to drink a glass of water after drinking this beer :-)
With this beer, fattier and spicier food, fish&chips or curry dishes were recommended, but it went great with meatballs.
In the end, I'm glad I had the opportunity to try Shepherd Neame IPA and get to know the traditional IPA style, as well as get a taste of what the IPA style was before the modern craft revolution redefined the concept of this style.
This traditional style is not for me, who has become a fan of juicy, sweet beers, but I could recommend this British classic to any lover of clean, clear flavors, who appreciate beers with history and tradition.
