Reuben has already had a go at this one, and I'm sure it's the first thing that any beer writer notes when sitting down to tackle the Williams Brothers' Caesar Augustus: "Lager/IPA Hybrid". Really, Williams Brothers? Really?
What you get is a highly fizzy golden beer whose flavour is centred on a sweet biscuity graininess: the sort that's common to good-quality lagers. And indeed a lager is what it really is: the brewing process is helpfully described on the label and we're talking about a lager yeast and a month or so of low-temperature maturation. That's lager, that is.
Hop-wise there's a little hint of soft fruit in the aroma and an initial bitter catch in the back of the throat on first gulp. A vague kind of peachiness emerges as it goes but there's nothing I'd consider serious hop impact.
It's a decent enough lager. Clearly the "IPA" tag is little more than an attempt to jump on that particular style bandwagon and shift a few units to beer drinkers who perhaps regard lager as a dirty word, the fools.
To the rest of us it's a short-lived curiosity followed by a nice refreshing beer.
Thanks to Derek for the bottle.
Bigfoot
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*Origin: USA | Dates: 2010 & 2020** | ABV: 9.6% | On The Beer Nut:
September 2007*
It's a while since Sierra Nevada Bigfoot has featured here. Back then, I...
4 years ago
A "Lager/IPA Hybrid"? (An IPL, perhaps?)
ReplyDeleteWOW! The most innovative thing since "Imperial Pilsner"! How come nobody has ever thought before of putting a handful more (American) hops to a pale lager?
Oh, well...
Many have done so but none called it a lager/ipa hybrid. It was simply their lager offering.
ReplyDeleteyeah, I found the same. Decent, tasty, refreshing pale, but neither IPA nor lager.
ReplyDelete