Tasted: Brett Trois IPA

By scot in Beer Recipes, Home Brewing on Saturday, September 21st, 2013

Drinking a home brew young, especially when you bottle, can lead to a flat beer. I have had plenty of flat beers lately. Brett Trois IPA had only been in the bottle for seven days, a short time by bottling standards, I decided to do my typical “shake the bottle to see how much it foam in the head space” trick. I was surprised by how much foam bubbled up. I decided that a bottle was in store for the afternoon.

I have a hard time picturing in my head the experience I will have with a home brew. I expected a lot of hops, specifically tropical and citrus rushes. I also used the Brett Trois because of the tropical, fruity profile that seems to compliment my selection of hops: I wanted an over the top tropical, fruity single IPA that wasn’t bitter, allowing the ABV to mix with sessioning the beer.

Let’s see what I found…

Look: The beer has a light cloudy haze, otherwise clear with a nice orange/gold color. The foam is an inch thick, mainly because of the careful pour. The profile of the foam is more wild saison in nature: the Brett is at work.

Aroma: Stone front is up front, especially apricot. Sweeping tropical fruits abound, lightly highlighted by citrus. Passion fruit and mango combine with the apricot to give a delicious medley to the nose. Malt has a touch of bread with minor sweetness.

Taste: All about the hops. The malt is just along for the ride. Once again stone and tropical fruits highlight from beginning to end. Bitterness is subdued, just enough before the next sip washes away with fruity goodness.

Drinkability: Medium body but more. The high mash temperature is holding onto the body. Juicy, yes surprisingly dry. Mild carbonation.

Overall: The Brett and/or Riwaka hops is/are outstanding. I need to make an single hop IPA with Riwaka and neutral yeast to understand the profile better of both elements. Very drinkable and refreshing.

With all the recent mishaps I have had brewing recently, I am very excited about Brett Trois IPA and the way it will develop over the next few weeks, before it is gone. Enjoy!

Useless Fact: Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.