Village Brewery Senator White IPA at 6% ABV | 50 IBU (C$7.79 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 4-Aug-2017, reviewed 6-Aug-2017)
Appearance: slightly hazy medium gold with two fingers (and growing) of rocky white head, excellent retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone fruit, grainy malt, pome fruit, citrus, cloves/coriander & white pepper. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light peppery spice. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lightly spicy finish. (3/5)
Pretty clear for a “White” IPA – it’s barely hazy, despite the fact that I inverted the bottle making sure any lees went into suspension. (Spoiler alert: there were none.) As far as character, well, I just don’t know. I consider “White IPA” and “Belgian IPA” to be basically synonymous, but this doesn’t really deliver regardless of which appellation you prefer. It’s got the spice, fair enough – but not much in the way of hops. And, I’m sorry, but hops are kind of a prerequisite for pretty much any IPA derivative. I’m getting stone and pome fruit, presumably from the yeast, a grainy malt, and an admittedly fairly even-handed dash of spice – but the hops are way behind, with only a mild nonspecific citrus presence. Dunno. It’s OK, and pleasant, but I’m not sure it’s what the label claims. (And, oh, hey, pointless personal anecdote: I used to lease office space in the penthouse of the Burns Building, so there’s my personal connection to the namesake…) (14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
