Burleigh Heads, FIGJAM IPA

Country - Australia

Percentage  - 7.0% 

Brewing Company - Burleigh Heads Brewing Co.

When poured a clear gold colour beer with a white frothy head and an awesome tone of passion fruit citrus and clove. 

On tasting a medium body with a sweet taste, no real complexity, easy drinking though which maybe haphazard given the ABV. 

A decent IPA. 

Verdict - Great

Murray's Shawn's fault India Black Ale

Country - Australia

Percentage - 7.5%

Brewing Company - Murray's Craft Brewing Company

An example of a seasonal ale. Maca had the privilege of meeting Shawn Sherlock from Muuray's Brewing Company  (the face  featured on the front of the bottle) at the Bitter & Twisted 2011.
When poured this is a dark brown beer with a large frothy beige head providing an alluring aroma of hops similar to a pale ale. Excellent lacing is present as the beer is imbibed. On tasting, the beer has a medium body accompanied by  a creamy mouth feel with a roasted malt backbone. The "full flavoured IPA brewed using dark malts" has a lasting bitterness with a hint of dark chocolate. This beer offers something different "And if you don't (like it) then it's Shawn's fault!"

Verdict - Good

Ekim Viking IPA

Country - Sydney, Australia

Percentage - 6.1%

Brewing Company - Ekim Brewing Company

"Ekim Brewing Co is a boutique beer company that focuses on producing a small collection of hand crafted beer. Ekim prides itself on maintaining its quality by producing beer that is unfiltered and unpasteurised opting only to use natural ingredients."This company actually brews at the Happy Goblin Brewery and from our experience are providing a better quality beer than those that own the Brewery.
Our expectations were high as the Ekim, After Battle Pale Ale performed so well. IPA's are generally known for their extreme bitterness and this beer is described as hybrid English-American Pale Ale brewed with English malts & American hop varieties.
When poured this is a dark copper colour beer with an excellent off white head providing good carbonation and head retention providing the beer with a stone fruit aroma. A bold taste with caramel notes and roasted flavours dominate the palate followed by a zesty and bitter after taste. Spawned by generations of rape & pillaging the Viking IPA has an impressive alcohol content and is something to behold.

Verdict - Excellent 

Murray's Icon 2IPA

Country - Australia

Percentage - 7.5%

Brewing Company - Murray's Craft Brewing Company

When poured this is a dark amber colour beer with an frothy off white head producing excellent lacing that is retained to the end of the glass. A hint of spice on the nose. On tasting, the beer is a smooth full bodied beer with hints of stone fruit and citrus hop characters masking the alcohol well followed by a bitter punch. This maybe viewed as a gate way beer to a Porter or a Stout but is easily enjoyable on its own. Overall a very drinkable beer with an added buzz (7.5%) that would match a good hot dish such as a Thai Curry. Definitely look out for this one!

Verdict - Excellent

Sierra Nevada, Torpedo Extra IPA

Country - California, USA

Percentage - 7.2%

Brewing Company - Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

When poured this is a cloudy gold, orange beer with an enticing hue and a white head providing  a fantastic strong aroma of passion fruit. The lacing is exquisite as the beer is imbibed. On tasting, this is a smooth, medium body beer boasting passion fruit and grape fruit flavours. The beer provides a bitter punch in the mouth before the passion fruit rolls on through to a slight sweetness. The beer possesses masses of hop flavour particularly citrus, spice, pine and grass producing an absolutely remarkable, beautiful beer.  A new heaven can be found in California!

Verdict - Exceptional

Dundee IPA

Country - Rochester, New York, USA

Percentage - 6.3%

Brewing Company - Dundee Brewing Company

This is one of a wide variety of ales commercially available andpproduced by Dundee Brewing Company. When poured this is a slightly hazy amber orange beer with a frothy off-white head providing good carbonation throughout the beer. The head retention is superb with a fine lacing evident upon consumption leaving tell tale signs of each gulp. An enticing fruity citrus aroma with a hint of mango dominates the senses. The beer has a creamy sweet citrus taste, focused on a good hop variety - citrus, grapefruit, pine, and resin balanced with sweet caramel. An amazing achievement from New York, USA! Overall this is a fairly seasonable, well balanced, bright IPA.

Verdict - Excellent

Feral Hop Hog IPA

Country - Western Australia

Percentage - 5.8%

Brewing Company - Feral Brewing Company

An American style IPA, when poured this is a cloudy orange amber beer with a beige head. There is good lacing and head retention as the beer is enjoyed. There is an awesome floral aroma hinting of pine needles, citrus, and grape fruit. On tasting this is a smooth medium body beer with bread malts supported by the hop flavours. This is a crisp tasting beer with citrus and grapefruit detected on the palate and some bitterness at the end. Overall this is a very pleasant tasting experience supported by a well balanced beer, lending itself to be one of Australia's best loved IPA's. Further more "The Critics' Choice Australia's Best Beers" awarded the Feral Hop Hog IPA as Australia's Best Beer "Awards  and accolades and the praise of beer lovers across the country shower down upon this beer which is a consistent Top 10 performer."

Verdict - Exceptional

Ballast Point Big Eye IPA

Country - San Diego, California, USA

Percentage - 6.8%

Brewing Company - Ballast Point Brewing Company

When poured this is an amber orange beer with a foamy off-white head and a spicy aroma hinting at rock melon and passion fruit. The beer is fairly smooth on the palate with a strong spicy flavour. We would prefer more carbonation on the palate though. Overall this is a well created beer that is sweet tasting with a reasonable bitterness at the end. One to wet the appetite for more appreciation of IPA's.

Veredict - Great

Tui East India Pale Ale

Country - New Zealand

Perecentage - 4.0%

Brewing Company - Tui Brewry Ltd.

Pronounced "Twee", when poured this is a clear red amber beer with a off-white head that dissipates quickly. The beer has a malt caramel and biscuity nose with some citrus characters. This beer provides good carbonation on the palate with a malt backbone. As an IPA the beer is quite watery and lacks the fruity flavours and zesty character's that we consider normal for this style of beer. It performs more like a Pale Ale than an IPA, but even so, this is a very average bland beer. Overall this is a beer that lacks the geographic excitement unlike the country itself!

Verdict - OK

James Squire Stow Away IPA

Country - Australia

Percentage - 5.6%

Brewing Company - Malt Shovel Brewery Pty Ltd 

Described as having "Rich malt flavour's, earthy floral aroma's, feisty bitterness & a lingering bitter finish" This is an English style IPA that is a slightly hazy amber red colour in colour with a gigantic frothy head when poured roughly. A mild grassy hoppy aroma with hints of passion fruit that is reminiscent of other pale ale's is apparent but not as floral as we would like. On tasting the beer lacks the "feisty bitterness" described on the label but is still a well balanced beer that is highly sessionable. The mellow "robust malt" lends the beer more to an EPA than an IPA, making this a very enjoyable well balanced beer. The beer lends itself to being a good introductory beer to this style for anyone venturing down this fabulous road .Although lacking the luster of the finer IPA's (including Hop Hog Feral; Dundee IPA; & Vale IPA) Maybe there is some quality to the James Squire Brewing Company after all!

Verdict - Great

Southern Tier Indian Pale Ale

Country - New york, USA

Percentage - 6.5%

Brewing Company - Southern Teir Brewing Company

When poured this is a cloudy gold colour beer with a frothy white head and decent lacing apparent as the beer is consumed. There is very little aroma but some floral notes are present amidst a chemical odour. On the palate this beer performs better than the previously mentioned Pepperjack Handcrafted Ale. Like the Pepperjack this is a light tasting beer with a bitter aftertaste. It is very carbonated on the tongue despite the lack of visual carbonation in the glass and the alcohol is not well masked. Overall a fairly rough IPA with a backbone of bitterness!

Verdict - Good

Vale IPA

Country - Australia

Percentage - 5.5%

Brewing Company - McLaren Vale Beer Company

When poured this is a cloudy dark amber orange beer with a frothy white head. The aroma exceeds expectation, a superbly rich bouquet of citrus and floral notes that smack you in the nose. Once one has finally appreciated the aroma this beer delivers a complex crisp taste. The intricate citrus and spice characteristics on the palate are exquisite with a pronounced bitterness in the aftertaste. This is a very social drop that would be an excellent addition to any spicy dish. Believe us when we say don't walk past this superbly crafted beer.

Verdict - Pure Genius