United Kingdom’s #1 selling ginger beer better defined as a malt beverage (lacking grain base). Summery refreshment derived from minty ginger leaf herbage avoids nastily cloying nature of its ilk. Light, bubbly effervescence prickles the tongue as honey-dipped backdrop picks up slight peppermint throat burn. Try with a lemon or lime slice to add fruity zest.
Silken bottle-conditioned Italian tripel (described as Belgian strong pale ale) grafts fuzzy champagne-like green grape tartness to gentle vanilla slipstream and fresh-baked Italian bread crust. Light pinot grigios, chardonnay and green apple illusions add vinous niche to dry earthen backdrop.
Judicious hop bittering gives grain-embedded wee heavy Scottish ale its advertised English India Pale Ale character. Creamy eggshell head sits atop hazy amber body, providing fluffy froth for dewy peat rusticity and sugary pale-malted honey nut linger. Earthen bottom saturated by black tea, resin and clay nuances.
Bastardized ‘triple pale ale’ closer to Belgian IPA with its sweet candi-sugared yeast and lively herbal fruiting. Lemon meringue, orange marmalade, yellow banana, green apple, black cherry and blackberry notions sweetened by creamy caramel malting. Resinous hops fortify front-loaded fruiting, honeyed tea scamper and tannic grape souring. Gritty Beefeater gin alcohol burn seeps into ‘ecumenical mash-up.’
Well balanced medium-bodied pale ale may lack expectant Belgian yeast influence, but ripe fruited tropicalia and buttery cereal-sugared caramel malting never falter. Black-peppered hop spicing enlivens pertinent lemon-bruised tangerine, pineapple and banana illusions. Slight vodka snip grafts fusel alcohol astringency to fruity aspects.
Daringly hybridized “most particular” pale ale delicately balances herbs, spices, fruits and grains. Cracked black pepper stimulates lovely pink peppercorn, green tea, lemongrass, sage, mint, basil leaf and pine nut undertones while surprisingly taking a backseat to honeyed rye malts. Slithering lemon, orange, grapefruit and pineapple juiciness sweetens mild maple molasses murk. Evergreen, fern and dark floral nuances add depth.
