Whats that coming over the hill, is it a Little Monster, a Little Monster?!
What is the difference between a West Coast IPA and a New England IPA? Well, one of the main differences is the use of hops. West Coast IPAs are aggressively hopped, using cascade, citra and chinook in order to get big bitter flavours and are added during the boil, where heat extracts more of the hops’ bitter characteristics. They are often a lot clearer and less hazy compared to the NEIPAs. There’s a nice beer fact for you.
But this beer is a mixture of the two. This is dry hopped with amarillo, simcoe, azacca and mosaic which gives it a more tropically flavour. It’s not what I was expecting but I wasn't disappointed in the slightest.
Aroma: Very hoppy on the nose, good balance of tropical and malty notes.
Appearance: Mainly clear but wilt a slight haze. Colour is a marmalade orange.
Tasting notes: This is packed with tropical flavour and then it’s followed up with a kick of orange peel, grapefruit and lemon. The bold hops are very pleasant and you can definitely taste the simcoe and mosaic hops.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, smooths and silky with nice fine bubbles.
ABV: 6.8%
Overall rating: 4.00 / 5.00
This a very tasty West Coast IPA and I would definitely recommend you try it. It is a very interesting take on the West Coast IPA and tries something new and different which I applaud Little Monster Brewing Co for trying. This beer was brewed at Missing Link Brewery in East Grinstead as Little Monster are Gypsy Brewers.
I bought it from The Hornet Ale House in Chichester for around £4.50 but you can find this beer from several of craft beer suppliers online.
About Little Monster Brewing Co.
Little Monster Brewing Company was founded by award winning brewer Brenden Quinn in 2018. The name came from Brenden’s daughter who he calls affectionately, “my Little Monster”. The name came instantly to Brenden as he wanted to dedicate all that he did to his little girl and the inspiration she gave him. The name, Little Monster Brewing is fresh, modern and fun. Exactly the approach to the beer he makes.
Item of interest from the brewery: This beer is dedicated to the brewers late father. His daughter called his father Babu, meaning grandfather (African).