The Life and Times of Neil

Right, lets start by getting the hippy and marketing crap out of the way…

For the envirohippies; Innovation is brewed in a new energy efficient plant, the glass is thinner and so uses 34% less glass, and the cardboard box is made using recycled waste.

For the marketing drones, it’s a limited edition beer. I have bottle 1533.

So let’s now get on to the important stuff… The beer! Comes in a 500ml bottle and is 6.7%ABV, so 3.4 UK units.

Described as “golden” by Adnams, I have to disagree and say it’s more copper/bronze. I’ve seen and held a gold ingot (Bank of England museum in London), and this beer is not the same colour!

The nose is very muted. Because I have an almost full glass at the moment, I think I’ll try and come back to that later!

On the tongue, it’s very much about the hops. According to the ingredients list, Innovation is made using 3 hops: Boadicea, Styrian Goldings and Columbus. These combine to produce a very floral beer. The taste lingers, perhaps with slight bitterness developing in the finish.

I said earlier Innovation is 6.7%ABV, but it doesn’t taste it. Certainly not a weakling though… I’d probably have put it closer to the mid 5% range.  Also, unlike many bottled beers, the level of condition (i.e. the CO2 content) seems quite low, so is unlikely to lead to the usual bloated feelings you get with some bottled beers.

So back to that nose now that I have room to agitate the beer. It’s hops. Again! Perhaps a slight lemony citrus in there somewhere.

So the main characteristic of Innovation seems to be summed up in one word… Hoppy.

So a score… Despite it being, to me, very one-dimensional I can’t really grumble about it. It is a pleasant beer, once you get past the hippy and marketing gimmicks. It’s not a beer I’d spend a night drinking. Quite possibly a mildly warm and sunny summer evening sat out in the garden relaxing type beer. I think that overall I’m going to give it a 7 out of 10. It may have got an 8, but I’m afraid the hippy/marketing side confirm the lower end of what I was considering.

And thanks to Dire Straits for providing the music while sampling this beer.

Posted August 22, 2008 Comments(0)

Yep, it’s that time of year again… The limited edition Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer is out. This year’s edition is in a light brown box.

The beer describes itself as an IPA and comes in at a reasonable 6.4%ABV, but the bottle is small – only 330ml. The beer is matured in oak barrels, into which hops have been added, for 60 days before being bottled. The production run comes in at “only” 68,000 (a very round figure!)

Described by I&G as “sunshine” in colour, I would say it was closer to a pale copper. Perhaps it’s been so long since they’ve seen the sun in Scotland they’ve forgotten what it looks like.

On the nose, I&G claim hops, orange, lemon zest and mellow oak. I have to admit, I can’t really say strongly one way or the other on this. Sadly the hayfever is playing up a little, and so the nose isn’t working as well as it could. There is certainly a mellow whisky-like aroma in there. I would assume this is the mellow oak; my being reminded of whisky being due to whisky being matured (generally speaking) in oak casks. I&G do not make any mention as to where the oak casks are sourced from, so I am unsure if they have previously been used for whisky of some variety.

So on to the taste, and the Oak Aged always seems to have some taste that I can’t put my finger on. I can’t even decide if I like it or not. I guess that given I’ve had the last 2 years’ expressions as well, it can’t be that bad! The beer is very mellow, albeit quite malty. I&G describe a slight sweetness to the beer, which I almost agree with. However there is some bitterness on the tongue as well. Other than that, there’s not much to it.

The finish is very subtle and can take some time to make itself known. Once again, I want to say whisky, but it’s not. There’s something else in there; possibly a slight fruitiness. It’s almost reminiscent of a continental lager, but heavier.

Anyway, I have to admit this is not a beer I would rave about. It’s not unpleasant, and it is certainly something different. However, it’s probably more one for those who are already into beer in a big way but who want to try something a little different. Overall, 6.5/10.

Posted August 13, 2008 Comments(2)