Decided to pick this up on a whim. First taste was interesting but not necessarily IPA like. Went to their site to find out that this is their interpretation of a ‘German IPA’ with sterling and magnum hops along with German pils, Vienna, and Munich malts. Pretty funny that the primary hop is American. Definitely getting citrus and lemon from the sterling. It is 7.5% abv but only 45 IBU so the bitterness is definitely understated. I am getting some decent hop flavor but very little aroma whatsoever. It’s actually quite tasty for what it is but definitely not what I was expecting.
Which hop is American?
Is Sterling not American? Maybe I am confused…
Sterling is indeed American, although it is a daughter of Saaz. It is very noble like at lower hopping rates, but I do like the lemonade note you get from it when you push the hopping rate with it.
no it was me who was - hence why I asked - I knew that magnum is both german and us grown but I’m not too familiar with sterling.
Got ya. I guess they realized it wasn’t the best idea to do an IPA with traditional German or noble hops. I use sterling in a pale lager and it is quite nice. This beer makes me want to try it in something a little more hoppy.
My house pale ale has german malts and yeast but I can’t bring myself to go with german hops until I get familiar with the newer varieties like Mandarina, Huell Melon, etc…