400 Pound Monkey - Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont
Style:
India Pale Ale
Serving Type:
Bottle
Alcohol by Volume:
6.7%
Aroma:
Light aroma overall. Slight lemony scent along with malt and the oily hops
Appearance:
Golden brown color, lighter and more clear than I was expecting. Respectable medium sized head of eggshell colored foam
Flavor:
Defintely hoppy, but not overpowering. Loads of malt and grainy flavors. Hint of lemon at first, finishes with a good deal of bitterness
Mouthfeel:
Medium bodied, and a little astringent
This isn't my first 400 Pound Monkey and it probably won't be my last. I first sampled this beer during a Left Hand Beer School event a little over a month ago. The brewer introduced it as a true English style India Pale Ale. He wanted to make it clear that this beer shouldn't be written off as another American IPA, this beer was made with English ingredients following an English recipe. After having my first sip I could tell this beer was quite different from the IPAs I was used to.
Don't get me wrong, this still tastes like an IPA, but it's different enough to make you take note. My first impressions are that this beer is just as strong as other IPAs but has a much better malt to hop ratio, at least as far as my palate is concerned.
The name for this beer comes from an interview given by one of the higher ups at Left Hand in reference to some of the west coast hop bombs. He said that any monkey could throw 400 pounds of hops in a beer and call it an IPA. As you can imagine, this caused a bit of an uproar among west coast IPA drinkers. I think it's a very accurate statement and it's now the name of a pretty good IPA.
The English style 400 Pound Monkey uses Boudiccea hops from England and copious amounts of barley malt. The result is a rich and flavorful IPA that has a lot more going on than just 400 pounds of hops. At 6.7% ABV this isn't a session beer by any means, and it does get a little too bitter (for me) as it warms up. One of two of these beers is enough to keep me happy, any more than that would truly be too much of a good thing
Comments
Agree
This beer is unlike any IPA I have ever had and in a good way. I'm all about the Hop bombs, but this beer has a spicy-hop character that is truely unique (especially to me). I was reluctant to try this one as I'm not crazy about the English, but am really glad I did. This just might be my gateway beer into the English ales.
The label is pretty interesting too!
Great informative review, Thanks!
Slainte`
Beer companies have expanded
Beer companies have expanded their horizon in all over the world. It is very fantastic to having beer in occasions. I would rather have non-alcoholic beer than having alcoholic beer. I got used to have non- alcoholic beer in Arab because there is not allowed alcoholic beer. Anyway non-alcoholic beer is light and can easily digest by everybody whether they are children or women.
Post new comment