Anchorage says: "One of the new trails being blazed on the frontier of beer is the style
known as White India Pale Ales. Galaxy White IPA represents a
significant new landmark on that trail. With its use of fresh kumquats,
Indian coriander, and black peppercorns, Galaxy pays homage to the
early explorers, who sailed unknown seas in search of rare spices and
exotic fruits. Captain Cook travelled from Australia to Alaska, and so
have the Galaxy hops used to create this adventurous brew. Just as a
true explorer never stands still, the presence of brettanomyces
guarantees that Galaxy White IPA will keep evolving in the bottle for
years to come."
So, there you (almost) have it. The bottle I'm drinking from is labeled Batch 1/Jan 2012, so while I don't know what the future of this beer is exactly, I'd guess they plan to make it again eventually. I was able to get it here in Los Angeles, but I don't really know what the distribution pattern for this one was like, since we see Anchorage only very sporadically as well. This IPA is 7% ABV and was aged for a spell in oak barrels.
Appearance: Light honey or straw colored, slightly cloudy, with a tall head that is about 3-4 fingers in height. The head recedes and leaves a fairly thick layer of foam on the beer, as well as some sparce lacing on the sides of the glass.
Smell: Caramel malt, faint piney hop character, and a huge blast of funk. Rubber tire, horse blanket, all the good stuff.
Taste: It's a quandary with these oak-aged IPAs, that the hop character is really diminished, leaving mostly the notes from the malt backbone along with whatever character is acquired from the barrel. Interestingly, I don't mind that with this beer, since it has the Belgian white characteristics as well as definite funk from the Brett fermentation. Coriander, grass, oak, musk, pepper, a bit of sweetness from the malt, light orange, and just a bit of funky band-aid (and I feel like I have to say this every time I review a beer with Brett, that these flavors are not for everybody, but I really don't mean things like 'horse blanket' and 'band-aid' in a bad way!)
Mouthfeel: Thick, dense, and creamy. Not a completely dry finish as I might have expected from a Brett beer, but considering how heavy the mouthfeel is otherwise I suppose it is pretty clean.
Overall: Anchorage's blurb was all about adventure and bending genres and exploration, and I definitely think they've accomplished something unique, special, and interesting here. Is it the most outright tasty beer I've ever had? No. But for all of the wanking in the beer community about being bold and different, this beer actually lives up to the promise. If they brew it again, I would love to have the opportunity to drink a bottle super fresh so that I can get more of the hop character. 6 months isn't a very long time to sit on a bottle of "age-able" beer, but the purpose of ageing here is to let the Brett develop, and I definitely did get some Brett characteristics that I don't think I would have needed much more time to reach peak. Overall then this is a pretty solid beer that gets points for actually being creative.
4/5
So, there you (almost) have it. The bottle I'm drinking from is labeled Batch 1/Jan 2012, so while I don't know what the future of this beer is exactly, I'd guess they plan to make it again eventually. I was able to get it here in Los Angeles, but I don't really know what the distribution pattern for this one was like, since we see Anchorage only very sporadically as well. This IPA is 7% ABV and was aged for a spell in oak barrels.
Appearance: Light honey or straw colored, slightly cloudy, with a tall head that is about 3-4 fingers in height. The head recedes and leaves a fairly thick layer of foam on the beer, as well as some sparce lacing on the sides of the glass.
Smell: Caramel malt, faint piney hop character, and a huge blast of funk. Rubber tire, horse blanket, all the good stuff.
Taste: It's a quandary with these oak-aged IPAs, that the hop character is really diminished, leaving mostly the notes from the malt backbone along with whatever character is acquired from the barrel. Interestingly, I don't mind that with this beer, since it has the Belgian white characteristics as well as definite funk from the Brett fermentation. Coriander, grass, oak, musk, pepper, a bit of sweetness from the malt, light orange, and just a bit of funky band-aid (and I feel like I have to say this every time I review a beer with Brett, that these flavors are not for everybody, but I really don't mean things like 'horse blanket' and 'band-aid' in a bad way!)
Mouthfeel: Thick, dense, and creamy. Not a completely dry finish as I might have expected from a Brett beer, but considering how heavy the mouthfeel is otherwise I suppose it is pretty clean.
Overall: Anchorage's blurb was all about adventure and bending genres and exploration, and I definitely think they've accomplished something unique, special, and interesting here. Is it the most outright tasty beer I've ever had? No. But for all of the wanking in the beer community about being bold and different, this beer actually lives up to the promise. If they brew it again, I would love to have the opportunity to drink a bottle super fresh so that I can get more of the hop character. 6 months isn't a very long time to sit on a bottle of "age-able" beer, but the purpose of ageing here is to let the Brett develop, and I definitely did get some Brett characteristics that I don't think I would have needed much more time to reach peak. Overall then this is a pretty solid beer that gets points for actually being creative.
4/5
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