An amber coloured beer with a thick, near-white head. Juicy tropical aroma, particularly grapefruit. The APA/American IPA is all about big pine and tropical hop flavours and this beer has all that you would expect of the style; especially prominent are exotic fruit notes. However, rather than full-out acrid bitterness, a more resinous, sticky finish is to be found, rounded off elegantly with a creamy vanilla sweetness. With this in mind I'd say that the Summit hop must have been used very judiciously! My overall feeling is that the hop and malt are very well integrated creating a well balanced ale, full bodied (a touch oily) but refreshingly carbonated. Below is an overview of the hops used to craft this beer:Galena: US high alpha and beta acids, developed from Brewer's Gold in '68.
Cascade: Classic US variety for APAs and one of the 'three Cs'; developed from Fuggles x Serebrianka in '56. Didn't hit the big time until the 70s though. Similar alpha and beta acid content of between 5 and 7%
Magnum: A German variety with high alpha acid content.
Summit: US variety... The highest alpha acid hop available at 17-19%!
This UK brewed ale is clearly an homage to the APA and goes to show that UK brewers can be just as adept at handling high alpha acid US hops as the US brewers themselves. Saltaire Brewery is based in Shipley, Yorkshire and was founded as recently as 2005. They are one of the many award winning, independant, modern breweries that have popped up over the last decade or so (Hardknott, Kernel, BrewDog, the list goes on...) that are pushing the boundaries and pushing the UK beer scene well into the 21st century. I think Stateside IPA is clear evidence of this.
- MALTS: pale; crystal; torrefied wheat
- HOPS: CASCADE; MAGNUM; SUMMIT; GALENA
- IBU: ?
- ABV: 6%
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