Sunday 31 July 2011

An IPA a Day #24

Viven Imperial IPA is not something I drink a lot of, but I'd like to. I've only been lucky enough to have had this beer a couple of times but it's a beer that has class in a glass written all over it.
The packaging might not be cool by recent standards but when a beer is this good, who cares?
Pic from Beermerchants.wordpress.com
Indeed when I look at the label it's one that just looks 'classic' and it immediately makes me think of sitting outside a Belgian beer cafe in the sun, even though I've never done that.
So what is this masterpiece like?
Well, when you pour it into the glass you get a lovely copper coloured beer and the aroma gives you complex flashes of pine, orange, grapefruit and peach! 
It's as complex in the mouth as it is on the nose with the some sweet citrus at the front giving way to the piney resinous bitterness that makes the best IPA's as good as they are! For all the complex flavours and aroma's going on in this beer along with the 8% abv it's still a totally drinkable and very balanced beer. You can get it from beermerchants.com and I recommend that you try this one.

2 comments:

John Clarke said...

Viven IPA is excellent (as is their imperial smoked porter). They usually have a bar at Bruges Beer Festival (now one of the best in Belgium - next one is 4-5 Feb 2012) and sell it to take away at some silly price (it might have been €1.50 a bottle last year). Luckily Le Trappiste belgian bar in Altrincham (a short train ride from where I live) now stocks it too.

rabidbarfly said...

You can get it from Beermerchants.com too which is what I tend to do.