Imagine someone from the UK visiting Canada, marveling at all of the wonders our country has to offer, but who feels a pang for home. They love their vacation but are just a touch homesick.
They see a pub or restaurant and decide to stop for a meal and a pint. On the menu, they find an IPA listed in the beer section and they feel that they'll be able to have a small taste from home. With their food, they order a pint of the listed IPA.
Now, imagine the look on their face when the server delivers a glass with a cloudy, orange ale that smells like mangoes, or pineapple, or guava. Imagine that Brit taking a sip and detecting more of these tropical fruits and not much of a bitter finish.
They'd probably miss their home even more, wouldn't they?
Before I left Twitter, I used to follow the brilliant Scottish detective novelist, Ian Rankin, and noticed a tweet he had sent out when he was in Ottawa to talk about his latest Rebus novel. He was sitting on a patio in the Byward Market, and he had taken a photo of a glass of ale that he had ordered. He had said something to the effect that he had ordered an IPA, and apparently what he got was what was supposed to pass as an IPA in Canada.
It looked like a large glass of orange juice.
How embarrassing for us.
I, myself, am frustrated when I shop for beer. I know that if I see 'NEIPA' or 'hazy IPA' on a can's label, I'm going to get a hazy, fruity, hoppy pale ale. This is one of my favourite styles of beer but so is a classic, British-style IPA.
I know, I rant about this all the time, but I've decided that this will be my last gripe. And it's going to be a doozey but I'll shut up afterwards.
So, I'll often buy beer that is labeled 'NEIPA' or 'DDH IPA' or other descriptors before 'IPA,' and I know that I'm not getting a traditional India Pale Ale. I've come to accept that. But when I pick up a beer that has no descriptor other than to call itself an IPA, that is what had better be in the can.
A couple of weeks ago, when I was picking up some beer at my friendly neighbourhood LCBO, I placed all sorts of hazy IPAs in my shopping basket, knowing that I was getting the juicy brews that seem to be the standard for Canadian brewers.
But one can simply read 'IPA,' and I thought I'd add it to the basket because there was no hint that it was anything but an India Pale Ale. A traditional India Pale Ale.
I cracked it open and started pouring it in my glass. What did I see? Would it be a style that originates from beyond?
Rainhard Brewing
Toronto ON
Appearance: pours a... oh... oh no... God, no... hazy apricot-orange with a thick, foamy-white head that settles to a solid creamy cap. I was already disappointed at this point and didn't even want to take the effort to clean up the photo I shot of my poured glass.
Nose: ugh... lush tropical pineapple and guava, with notes of puréed pears.
Palate: FFS... the pear is a bit more pronounced at first, backed up by pineapple juice. The finish is short and I didn't detect much in the way of bitterness.
Overall impression: Rainhard, you make a decent hazy ale. It's thirst-quenching and has nice flavours but there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of breweries in Canada and the U.S. that make a similar, if not better, hazy pale ale.
But when it comes to making an India Pale Ale, I'd have to admit that Alexander Keith makes a better IPA, and theirs is shit. There is nothing in this beer that resembles a traditional, British-style, original IPA.
I'm sure that no Brit would be impressed if they bought this can, with only IPA on the can and nothing else to identify what was inside it. And had Ian Rankin opened this can and poured it in his glass, I'm sure it would warrant another tweet with a photo and a WTF-is-this post.
When I want a hazy, juicy ale, I'll ask for one. I'll search for a NEIPA (which should really be NEPA because India has nothing to do with it) or other similar styles.
But if you call yourself an IPA and only an IPA, there had better be an India Pale Ale in my glass.
For me, this is false advertising and fraud. I feel deceived and want my money back.
Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺
With a name like From Beyond, my hopes were high that I'd be getting an IPA that was not in the ranks of a North American, poorly named but tasty ale, but a true IPA that follows a tradition that comes from beyond, from the UK.
Not even remotely.
And I'm sorry to say that it doesn't even stand out among the hazy pale ales that don't deserve an I but are lovely for being what they are.
Cheers.
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