I have never drank anything like that. Tasted as if some port was poured into the brew. Very bitter. A truly acquired taste. Hated it to start with and then it slowly became more and more tanglible. "Semi-wild Brettanomyces yeasts give the beer a distinct subtle body and a refreshing tartness as an after effect. It is suitable for genuine connoisseurs and experts." says one website.
The name is just terrible. Infinitely terrible. The beer is actually a flavoured ale, a drink very much popular in the states. All in all it is an ale with plenty of hop (Sterling and Styrian Golding varieties) and spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, orange peel and pure vanilla extract. It is effectively a beer equivalent of mould wine. Stuff to drink on Christmas. Nice, but maybe a bit over the top...
IPA stands for Indian Pale Ale, a beer designed by British to survive the scorching climate of India so that they could enjoy ale even while there. Americans have created their unique version of it which has nothing to do with India. Oasthouse's IPA is a typical example, a much stronger beer compared to British IPA with much more flavour, lots of hops and stronger colour. And the label design just clicks. A good beer to finish off the weekend!
"It better be good..." I grundged to myself while buying this beer - it was devilishly expensive for a beer imported from Oregon (no, it is not Japanese!). Morimoto is a Japanese surname and soba are, as far as I can tell, Japanese noodles. The blurb on the back says "The delicate flavor of our roasted Soba brings a nutty finish to this light and refreshing ale." The taste is very strange, but good. If you ask me, it reminds me of apples, rather than nuts. Like Hoegaarden mixed with a bit of water and apple juice and some groovy after-taste. All in all a balanced taste, but not sure if I wouldn't get bored of it after a while. Might try it again!
"This is an agressive beer. You probably won't like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth." This is the arrogant bastard statement on the back. It carries on with the usual crap about small breweries and large corporations producing shit. This is a common theme in the states - I don't see why beer from large corporations should be bad (take Fullers for example), but in the states this seems to be indeed the case.
This is my first post from the States. And this is actually the first beer I bought in the States, while still in the hotel. I just bought and drank it again, this time in my own flat and the beer is still excellent. A small edition Frank Zappa themed beer, hoppy, balanced taste. Strong beer at 7.8%. Some serious beer can be had in the States if someone can be bothered to look for it!
