繼上一隻威爾斯另類小熊 Tiny Rebel 酒廠的實驗品No. 3 Hot Box ，這次來嚐嚐前身的實驗品No. 2，號稱是由『橡木熟成 』(我猜是用木片？) 的美式雙重IPA … 真是整個的驚艷到，做得品質好到不知如何形容；但，怎麼也嚐不太出、聞不太到、想像不了所謂橡木 (桶) 的香味啊… 是不是木桶裡坐不久，被悶得氣燒的小熊倉皇逃出，加入 Prodigy 暴音集團去演唱出版同名專輯啦？哈哈哈哈哈哈~~~~~~~~~~~~~

酒廠網站提供的釀造成品與原料資訊如下：

Style: Oak Aged 2xIPA

ABV: 8%

Bitterness: 62 IBU

Malt: Pale & Munich

Hops: Columbus & Citra

Special Additions: Dry hopped with Citra and Columbus then aged on oak

Availability limited to: 3 casks, 11 kegs & 850 bottles

Tiny Rebel, Baby’s Got a Temper (Oak Aged 2xIPA – Tiny 

Batch Edition No.2), 8%abv. (DIPA)

Bottle-conditioned, coming in a 330ml slim brown bottle; BB June 2013, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.  

4/5 Appearance: dark amber in colour, with just a wee touch of haziness, as the yeast sediments are left mostly in the bottle, coming with fairly soft and constant carbonation, showing a very decent quality of bottle-conditioning, while a thin layer of off-white froth stays loyally on the top.

4.5/5 Smell: big, aromatic, and juicy, the nose is full of aromatic lemon-peel, perfumy lychee-like, flowery and peach-estery fruitiness, with a touch of earthiness, barley-candy sweetness lurking at the back; creamy malts, gooseberry cream, warming alc. and a mild touch of vanilla-sweetness come through following a very good swirl. Not much sign of oak-ageing effects, apart from that very faint touch of vanilla-ish note. Overall very very pleasant and colourful, richly malty but even more pronounced in the hop department, while a healthy dose of acidity is always close-by.

4.5/5 Taste: very soft on the palate with just a dose of carbonation, initially the attenuated malts are ensued closely by plenty of lychee-ish, flowery and lemony hop flavours; the mid-taste is dominated by the slightly acidic and tangy side of hoppiness, while softly caramel malts reveal themselves in a rather understated way. The aftertaste is chewy-tannic, a bit like old lychee shells mixed with lightly toasted tea leaves, not so much bitter but pleasantly hoppy and rather balanced on sweetness-acidity. As the drink goes, the bitter side of balance tends to gear up a bit more, only ever slowly, sip by sip.

4/5 Mouthfeel & 4.5/5 Overall: the carbonation is always on the soft side, just enough to keep the palate fresh, the body is actually very moderate, all in all showing a wonderful balance in the flavour profile. Still I can’t quite figure the “Oak Aged” (using oak chips I presume???)part of this “2xIPA”, but as a high octave IPA I think a wonderful job has been done overall. Definitely would love to try another bottle if it’s ever available…!

--Yau (21/04/2013)