#35 - Shepherd Neame & Co - India Pale Ale

Normally when I rate a beer, I check what other reviewers have said to ensure that I haven't been too harsh.  In this instance I found quite the reverse.  The naysayers of this sublime offering claim that it contains too much malt to be a true IPA or that because the flavor palette is balanced, it must be boring.  I urge you not to listen to them and instead to drink this beer as it was meant to be drunk - on its own terms.  As I have previously remarked on this blog, high alcohol, hop heavy IPAs are as mother's milk to me, so I approach them with a certain amount of baggage.  With that in mind, I expected this pint to be overwhelmingly hoppy with a distinct alcohol aftertaste.  What I received instead was a revelation.  When lightly chilled, a caramel malt gives way slowly to a floral citrussy hoppy flavor with a beautifully lingering aftertaste.  This level of flavor and malty balance allows a smoothness absent in other high alcohol IPAs (it clocks in at 6.1%) making it possible to drink slowly as a session beer.To make sure I wasn't leading you astray, I insisted that an old beer-drinking colleague sampled the next bottle with me and to my delight he agreed with my verdict.  This is a beer you must not simply try, but ought to savor.  The bar for my search has been set - 9/10.