Today's Beer
Name – Kohinoor
Brewer – Windsor & Eton
Classification
– Commonwealth IPA (And, children, that stands for Commonwealth 'Indies' Pale Ale as opposed to Commonwealth 'India' Pale Ale, m'kay!)
Strength – 5.0%
ABV
Verdict - At
A Glance
On the eye
– Deep, rich, almost aristocratic amber. One might even offer forth a daft nonsensical word like 'amberstocratic' if one were a spineless, bottom-feeding cretin. (Doh!)
On the nose
– Citrus Kong, high on steroids, tearing up an Asian herb garden. A deadly fragrance, but a beautiful one.
On the tongue
– Punchy bitterness, surprisingly full bodied, and with an array of delicate herbal
and spiced notes which put the ‘India’ right back into ‘IPA’.
On the subject
– One of three beers brewed to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee by one of the most exciting breweries in all of Britain,
the Commonwealth, and the world.
On the market
– All of the usual W&E stockists as listed on their website here. But wherever
you find it, buy it quickly. This won’t be around forever.
On the whole – 8.5/10
Full Review
This is
not my favourite Windsor & Eton beer.
I laughed
to myself when I wrote that opening line, because it’s rather like some wealthy
aristocratic lady declaring “sapphires aren’t
my favourite blue jewels.”
The
reality is that this brewery are responsible for some of my very favourite bottled beers, so when one of their creations isn’t quite as jaw dropping as one of
their others – chances are it’s still probably far better than the vast
majority of ales in the universe. So, on reflection, maybe that’s actually a
more accurate way to begin this review...
‘This
beer is far better than most other beers in the universe.’
Yes, that’s
much better.
As I’ve already hinted above, one of the most instantly impressive characteristics of this beer (arguably its defining trait) is the playful way in which it introduces flavours and aromas from the Indian subcontinent. I say ‘playful’ because one can’t help but assume this is a nostalgic nod to the former British Empire and the “days of the Raj” – the very days that this beer variety was first created. But in all my years of enjoying IPA’s in all there multifarious forms, I’ve never before tasted one that evokes such a sense of India itself, and the results are both delicious and amusing.
But the
fact is that these guys have such finely honed skills alongside their famously good instincts
for recipe building, that they can literally chose to be playful as well as merely brilliant.
The
levels of nuance are just bewildering. Some of the herbal and dried fruit 'twangs' (to name just two of many more) are almost there as flavours which you can ‘select’ to
experience at your leisure, tuning your taste buds into them as and when you
please, or switching certain tastes off in favour of others when the mood takes
you. This, then, is rather like ‘interactive ale’, which the ‘user’ can engage with at any
level that he/she desires. User defined beer is not simple to brew. These guys
have the vast amounts of talent required.
The
potency of the overall flavour theme and the perceived alcohol ‘thwack’ are
both far bolder than the 5.0% ABV should really allow, which again shows us that these Berkshire magicians know how to
maximise results from every ingredient in every part of the process.
It’s got
a nicely robust salty bitterness, but there’s also a welcome sub-flavour of
Jamaican Ginger Cake which brings with it enough of a subtle syrupy quality to
counteract the saltiness and keep everything evenly balanced.
Overall,
Kohinoor has enough ‘quirkiness’ to
justify its classification as a ‘special edition’, and in many ways it is a very unique beer.
But there’s also enough sheer class at play here to ensure that if this IPA
decides to stick around long after the national party is over – I for one will
not be complaining.
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