October 4th, 2009FletchtheMonkeyBeer Reviews, IPA

Served in a smaller bottle than it’s bigger cousin Halcyon, Thornbridge Brewery’s Jaipur India Pale Ale is a beer not to be missed.

Weighing in at 5.9% it’s a mid strength IPA, served in a 33cl bottle and priced at a wallet pleasing £1.69 (at our local beer shop that is) you get a punchy little number that’s incredible value for money.

Thornbridge Brewery have a reputation for crafting fine beers, Halcyon and Bracia Stout standing out, and Jaipur is a cracking part of their line up.

Resiny in aroma, with grass and herbs wisping out, this bottle smells like a druid’s kitchen (I imagine!). Fruit peel, leaves, herbs all mingle and simmer on the nose. Swill this around in your glass, waft it in front of your face and take a deep gulp. Hops envelop you and develop all around your mouth, a swirling earthy potion. This beer is a natural, plant tasting remedy for your thirst.

Maybe it’s because I’m hungry and I just played five-a-side (following a very frustrating trip to Tesco) but all 5.9% of this goes straight to my head. It’s spellbinding.

Despite the hoppiness this isn’t offset by excessive bitterness. It’d be hard to call this balanced, but it is magical.

So the haunting question is, given the choice between this and Halcyon, what would I pick?

I’ll leave that up to you…