Tipples Beer Review #62 - Edge Brewing OJ IPL (Aust)

I don't need telling twice to drink IPA's - So when the @webstar Beer Money competition choose it as this week's beer Iit wasn't hard to find one in the fridge. Now if one is having an IPA at the moment it has to be a New England IPA, or NEIPA which is the style Du Jour. A NEIPA, named after both New England in America and India, in well, India is a hazy, fruity take on a IPA, they are less aggressive than West Coast American Style IPA’s and are thus seen as a little more approachable.

This one adds to the fruitiness by adding some actual oranges from the Riverland area in regional South Australia, which weirdly is north of where I am in North Melbourne, Australia. Edge brewing for the record is based in West Melbourne, just a few streets from my house. So this is a New England India Pale Ale from West Melbourne with South Australian Oranges being drunk by me in North Melbourne, so I think it’s safe to say this is a very inclusive, well travelled brew.

As you can see they are playing up the Orange ness of this so it was a little surprising that when I poured it is was a tad lighter than I expected, sort of the colour of orange juice when it’s not that juicy, and a little disappointing, I can confirm that it is hazy, but not a milky hazy if that makes sense.

Time for tasting, it’s unusual, would I describe it as particularly juicy and lactosey? (yeah lactosey is a word now) – not really, and this is the problem I have with NEIPA’s, they are never really as juicy as I expect them to be, I get it they are gimmicky and everyone want to make them, but really a lot of them are just normal everyday IPA’s using fruity flavoured hops like Galaxy or Citra.

Don’t get me wrong this is a really nice beer, it’s refreshing, it’s has a citrus bite that you don’t get in a standard IPA, and the hops a gentle and approachable but I’m not convinced that’s enough to be all like “Hey I’m a NEIPA” I’m the cool kid now, I unseated Black IPA, who took over from West Coast IPAs, personally I’m looking forward to the next instalment of marketing gimmick, perhaps the fly over states Indian Pale Ale, or the FOSIPA – Fossie Pa, I quite like that.

The clever amongst you will note it says IPL, or Indian Pale Lager, yeah it uses a lager yeast, but it wouldn’t have been lagered so I’m considering it a IPA – plus a OJNEIPL looks like a number plate on a car not a beer style.

As mentioned at the top of this piece - this is an entry in a new beer comp called #Beermoney - you can check out the main post here: https://steemit.com/contest/@webstar/beer-money-2nd-edition and you should join in othwerwise I'll just win it.