
No wine because I we got a few interesting new beers here. I love pale ales. They remind me of Sauvignon Blancs (which I don't like, lol!!) because of their pronounced grassy hoppiness but their touch of sweet fruit (or malts actually I guess). But they seem to me to be much more nuanced and more memorable than SBs. The hops linger on the fresh aftertaste for so long, that no mineral + acid lover could not love this style of beer. So I bought two.
Marston's Old Empire Indian Pale Ale 5,7%
Not bad, but not really exciting in any way. But it was dry and hoppy and very refreshing - just what I needed after moving an apartmentful of books.
Det Kopromissløse Bryggeri Nøgne Ø India Pale Ale 7,5%
A Norwegian beer - a recent arrival here. I was tipped off by my Norwegian friend that I should try it and so I did. The first surprise was that it was dark brown in colour, not light at all like I expected. The second surprised was that it was sweetly malty smelling not grassy and hoppy as I would have hoped. The palate also was much sweeter than in any other Pale Ale I've had, but it was certainly very hoppy.
I wonder: did they bottle some Belgian Trappist in this bottle by mistake? I did like this very much, but it didn't taste one bit like what I expect India Pale Ale to taste like.
-Otto-(not sorry at all for highjacking a wine board to write about beer [evil laugh])