ClubGonzo’s Demonstrational IPA

Demonstrational IPA by ClubGonzo, India Pale Ale, 6.1% ABV, 61 IBU.

This one pours a slightly hazy medium amber to copper body, with a large, creamy, off-white head of average lifetime. It settles as a fully lasting layer, and it laces the glass well.

The aroma is very strong, crisp and hoppy. I get pure hop pellets, pine, just ripe tropical fruits and some spices. Lovely!

The taste is light to moderate sweet with a moderate plus bitter, lingering and lovely finish. Strong flavours with lots of pine, spicy mango and hop pellets, this tastes fresh! Also, no hints of unpleasant alcohol, yay!

The body is medium, the carbonation is moderate to soft and the finish is dry.

Conclusion: A lovely IPA! So lovely that I completely forgot to take any photos! I often find IPAs to be either tropical or piney, this one is a balanced mix between the two.

Aroma:      8/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste:      7/10
Palate:     4/5
Overall:    13/20
Ratebeer score: 3.6/5.0

ClubGonzo & Frode’s Ash Island Pale Ale

Ash Island Pale Ale by ClubGonzo & Frode, American Pale Ale, 4.8% ABV, 39 IBU.

This beer looks sort of like a blushing Belgian witbier. The cloudy, whitish to orange body is totally opaque. Although I try not to rate beers according to style (mostly because I don’t have the knowledge to do so), this one is a bit too far away from the style standards even for me. The head is also rather strange: it’s frothy and consists of many big bubbles that looks sticky (I guess you’ll have to see it to understand what I mean) and that are surprisingly long-lived, before they collapse into a thin layer.

Ash Island Pale Ale, aka. contract brew no 6, batch no 27.

The aroma is strong and it’s one of the most amazing, succulent, juicy, sweet fruity aromas I’ve scented in a long time. Simply impressive! It’s very hoppy, with lots of perfectly ripe tropical fruits, including peach.

The taste is light sweet and the fairly long-lasting finish is moderate bitter. As often is the case with (I)PAs, the flavours are much fainter than the aroma. It tastes fruity, but it’s nowhere near the magnificent aroma. The peach and mango notes are very nice however, and for a light summer refreshment I guess this is exactly what you need. Finally I get traces (I repeat: traces) of these solvent like notes that I find in JoKr/ClubGonzo beers only. I’ve no idea what they are, and it seems like I’m the only one that detect these notes, so feel free to ignore me (eppur si muove!).

The mouthfeel is quite ok. The body is medium to light, and the carbonation is moderate.

Conclusion: a refreshing, simple and tasty little thing. If the rest had been of the same quality as the aroma, this would have been one of my favourite beers ever.

Aroma:      8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste:      6/10
Palate:     3/5
Overall:    12/20
Ratebeer score: 3.2/5.0