Sorry about another lack of updates here in September. This time I’ve been away on a one week military repetition exercise (in Finland we have compulsory military service). After the rainy week I decided to treat myself with a (hopefully) good beer. This time I decided to have one of the bottles I brought with me home from Berlin: Brewbaker’s Berlin IPA. This India Pale Ale was, according to the bottle, brewed in August 2011, so should be very fresh. The beer is brewed with pilsener, vienna, wheat and crystal malt, and is hopped with Hallertauer Perle, Hallertauer Smaragd, and Cascade to an IBU of 65 (email correspondence with the brewer). Let’s see if the Germans can brew an IPA.

[easyreview title=”Brewbaker Berlin IPA” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer has a golden-orange color, and is slighty hazy. A thick and fluffy white-colored head is formed with the pour, and it collapses slowly, leaving nice lacing along the glass.” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is dominated by a strange acidity, that I’m sure isn’t intentional. Hopefully the bottle isn’t infected or has otherwise gone wrong. There is some fruitiness hiding behind the acidity.” cat2rating=”1.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor is surprisingly bland as well, with just some slight hoppiness, that is quickly overtaken by a very dry and bitter finish. It’s seems that this one has been hit by a bacterial infection, since I’m pretty sure this isn’t supposed to taste like this.” cat3rating=”1.5″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”A dry finish combined with high carbonation makes this very unpleasant to drink.” cat4rating=”1″ summary=”I was really looking forward to this beer, but unfortunately it seems to be infected. I wasn’t sure whether I should publish the review or not, but decided that all information is valuable. Brewbaker’s Bellevue Pils was very drinkable, and I was really interested in seeing how well they brew an IPA. I also have a bottle of their special edition Doppel IPA, that I really hope isn’t infected as well. Don’t let this review discourage you from trying any of Brewbaker’s beers if you ever get the chance though!”]