

+1lancsSteve wrote:Cascade and centennial are hardly 'traditional British IPA' though it uses Britis ops rather than all american C hops so I guess it's more British than many..
Goose Island will want to market it as exotic (yes this country is exotic to some! Just add distance...) and the BJCP guides to British IPAs leave a LOT to be desired!
I'd call it American IPA straght up but like the fact they don't just ram it full of chinook. Goose Island are the best IMHO (well 'were' the future is dark since INBev takeover and head brewer's retirement) and have a nuanced understanding of international styles tempered by some marketing intelligence too that sometimes strethces the credulity of their claims...
This should help locate some real ale for you BW, it looks like a couple places in Dallas have cask ale:Barley Water wrote: I really wish there were bars over here that served real ale from the cask but at least in Dallas that's pretty hard to find.
Ah you need to come over here! It's always an interesting question - do hops or nations make 'beer styles'? British and American ales share some similarities and I guess the c hops can often mask enlgish ale yeast's contribution. What about belgian beers doene with C hops though - would houblon chouffe Tirppel IPA and La Rulles Trippel get 'marked down' as 'not belgian style' while actually being Belgian trippels?Barley Water wrote:If I run across a beer while juding a contest that has that character, it better be entered in one of the American categories above or it's going to lose points. I am noticing on these forums however that you guys are starting to use alot of American hops so I suppose the distinction is starting to get blurred.
I was lucky in New York and then Vermont a couple of years ago - handpulls in both places, though one of them was blocked by hops (hop filters in casks seemed to have been forgotten) - great beers but lacking the subtlty and balance a handpull makes you expect (if you're a Brit).Barley Water wrote:You are also correct in that we see British stuff as slightly exotic (expecially those wierd hand pumps, one day I'll get one for myself) just as I suppose you guys see some of our beers as exotic. I really wish there were bars over here that served real ale from the cask but at least in Dallas that's pretty hard to find.