Brewery: Thornbridge
Location: Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire, England
ABV: 7.7%
Version: Bottled
Source: Courtesy of Beermerchants.com

I’ve been aware of Thornbridge for a while now – a brewery with a reputation for a dynamic and interesting approach to brewing and a great reputation for the high quality of their finished product – but somehow I just hadn’t managed to encounter any of their beers. So I was very happy indeed when Phil of Beermerchants.com fame decided to send a bottle along for me to sample.

Thornbridge Halcyon’s unique selling point is that it’s a a green-hopped IPA. ‘Green’ that is, as in the freshly-picked, un-dried hops that are used in this particular brewing process to infuse the brew with as much hop-resin flavour as humanly possible. The result, particularly when applied to a 7.7% abv India Pale Ale, is pretty damn impressive, I can tell you.

Halcyon pours a cloudy golden colour – the cloudiness being an entirely natural ‘hop haze’ due to the lack of any sort of filtering to remove the, um… hoppy bits (you can tell my knowledge of the actual brewing process is pretty much exhausted at this point) – with a citrusy, fresh, grassy aroma. The dominant flavour is one of big, big hops (obviously) cut through with grapefruit, bitter orange, and a hint of vanilla sweetness as well, with further orangey notes on the after-taste. It doesn’t have that acidic bite that some lesser IPAs have, either; it’s rounded and well-balanced, with a mouth-feel that’s rich and creamy-smooth even out of the bottle.

This is one that fans of Meantime’s IPA, or BrewDog’s Chaos Theory and Punk IPA will definitely want to try: one of those big, bold, impressive, brassy-yet-classy beers that probably wouldn’t be safe for a session but should definitely be tried – and savoured – at least once by anyone who considers themselves even a bit of connoisseur.

So, yes, definite and sincere thanks to Phil for this one! And I’ll be making a point of actively tracking down Thornbridge’s brews in future. For a start, I’d love to try a pint of Halcyon on draught, I can tell you. And their Jaipur is by all accounts a world-class taste sensation. I think a pub with those two on tap would be a pub well worth travelling to.