One assumes there was a tongue or two planted firmly in cheek when BentSpoke were going through the naming process. "Keep It Simple." "Just Another IPA". Right oh.
Perhaps there's even a bit of a play on words going on here: JAIPA sounds a bit like Jaipur, not just a city in India but also the name of UK brewery Thornbridge's iconic IPA. Certainly, when I poured a can fresh from the fridge into a glass, held the very slightly hazy pale golden liquid to the light, then took a sniff, it felt like it shared some of that beer's lean, grapefruity character. All a façade, however...
This is a beer, given time, you might argue is more than the sum of its parts – at least until you check out what its parts are. They include the American hop varieties Idaho 7, Talus, HBC 586 and HBC 630; if you don't know anything about them, in short, they're the sort to bring plenty to the party, examples of just how evolved the hop-breeding program has become in the US.
As such, Keep It Simple might land more delicately than its ABV suggests, yet it packs plenty: grapefruit and ripe melon, a touch of blackcurrant, some rounding vanilla / crème caramel depth, a light, sherbety malt base for all that to perch upon, plus a flavoursome, woody bitterness that slowly coats your palate. It makes for a cracking IPA that’s anything but simple once given permission to unfurl at leisure.
James Smith
Published September 30, 2022 2022-09-30 00:00:00
