Review: Thornbridge Kipling

Of the myriad of brewers that can be found within the UK, none has really had much of an effect on the use of new hops (i would like to state at this point that this is not a plug) as Derbyshire's Thornbridge. Originally set up by Steffano Cossi and Martin Dickie (who would go on to set up the now infamous BrewDog), the brewery has, in my opinion anyway, been radically transforming the brewing landscape with the bold flavours and use of new world hops.

So in the spirit of those new world hops, Thornbridge have brewed a rather interesting beer called Kipling. According to them it is the first beer to brewed in the UK using Nelson Sauvin hop. Nelson Sauvin imparts a tropical fruit flavour, and is favoured by many American, and an increasing number of British, brewers.

Kipling in its bottle

So how does it measure up. I'm already a big fan of Thornbridge's Jaipur IPA, and this is slightly similar. Kipling styles itself as a South Pacific Pale Ale, yet it seems to be in the same vein as Sierra Nevada's flagship Pale Ale. This is due to the dominance of the Nelson Sauvin hop which imparts that hit-you-round-the-face tropical fruit flavour the beer. I got this in waitrose after seeing they had Thornbridge in stock and was delighted to see it there. It came in a 500ml bottle and has an abv of 5.2%.

The initial aroma is complete tropical flavour. You've got mango, grapefruit, passion fruit and even a hint of Papaya, which is always nice as it gives off an almost mellow aroma. When you actually get down to tasting it, as you'll probably want to keep on smelling it for a while, There is a definite bitterness to the brew. Although you get the fruit flavours, the bitterness runs down you throat. It's a nice counterbalance to the large fruit flavours in the brew and adds balance (which can only be a good thing), you don't want to be constantly bombarded with fruit flavours, you're drinking a Pale Ale, not a fruit beer after all.

But as you go through the beer, it starts to give you grassy notes and the malt really comes through. Not in a big way, but it comes through just enough to give it that little bit of sweetness that it deserves.

By the end of the beer, i really wanted another one, but it would probably be good not to (it is 5.2% after all) as it's not exactly a session beer like Castle Rock Harvest Pale, but it is extremely quaffable nonetheless. Overall i would give it a 9/10, although it is un-doubtably a great beer it isn't one you would have for a session.


Hope you enjoyed the review, please post any constructive (please no spam) comments in the comments box below. Or even suggest what i should review next. Cheers.