Thursday, March 31, 2011

Marston's Old Empire India Pale Ale Review


Marston's beers have been making their way slowly into the Ontario market and I have been doing my best to try all of them. The 2011 spring releases brought this to a nearby LCBO store so during my weekend shopping, I secured a bottle.

The first thing everybody notices is the color and craftsmanship of the bottle. The color is a bit paler than other IPAs and pours with a thin to medium lacy head which quickly recedes to a thin layer of bubbles. The aroma is unlike IPAs I am used to and resembles that of pre-prohibition lagers and some weaker bitters. It is malty, light on the hops with a subtle cereal twist. The taste is mild and closer to a bitter than recent IPAs I have had. It is mostly malty, though subtle hops do appear. Similar to the aroma, some cereal is present as well as grassy tones. The finish is closer to lagers than IPAs with malt, a very subtle hop note and some cereal and grass. Overall I am not very impressed with this beer, though some people may like it with its milder hop aroma/taste and clean taste. If you like lagers, then this may be something you should try.

Scores:
Cost - $3.55
Taste - 6.7/10
ABV - 5.7%

Overall - 6.7/10...not very impressed with this Marston's beer

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