Union Jack India Pale Ale - Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

rodney45

New York

4.33/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into my chimay chalice. I felt this beer needed something more than a standard pint.

A: Tangerine or princeton orange with good clarity. Quickly dissipating pearl white head.

S: Pine trees, clove, grapefruit, and roasted barley. Very west coast.

T: First profile is of grapefruit, citrus, mango and passion fruits. .Secondary notes of roasted barley, walnut, clove and lemon zest. Slight hints of black pepper . Dry aftertaste.

M: Medium to medium light body with moderate carbonation. Very bitter.

O: This is a fantastic, top tier example of the style. Its pushing the limits of a DIPA, but one could argue that the abv is on the low end of the border line, and its more balanced than a standard DIPA. I would absolutely recommend for a hop head. Get it if you can.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2012 12:04:02 | More by rodney45

markhobbs1

California

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%

05-26-2013 02:22:09 | More by markhobbs1

JJWIGHT

Minnesota

4/5  rDev -6.5%

05-25-2013 13:02:23 | More by JJWIGHT

Teddy-Pickles

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%

05-25-2013 12:19:03 | More by Teddy-Pickles

vfalstad

Illinois

4/5  rDev -6.5%

05-25-2013 01:20:47 | More by vfalstad

bmurray10

Texas

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%

05-25-2013 00:36:48 | More by bmurray10

jricharc

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -12.4%

05-24-2013 21:27:11 | More by jricharc

tectactoe

Michigan

3.88/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Big thanks to Wowcoolman for hooking me up with some nice Firestone Walker wants, including this one. Union Jack pours with very nice clarity; it's kind of got a median amber color, but ranges from bright, golden yellow to deeper, ruby-brown depending on the intensity of the light shining through it at the moment. The three-finger, off-white cream cap is slow to sink and leaves sick lacing all the way down. Fantastic looking beer.

"Pungent" is probably the best word to describe the aroma of the hop bill in Union Jack. Loads and loads of dank hop oils; weedy, spicy, earthy, herbal. The dank is equally matched with shining grapefruit and tangerine aromas - bitter, tangy, and raw. Despite what many other people say, I felt the malt presence in the aroma was quite high and noticeable; big-time toasted bread notes from start to finish. The bottling date was only about 7 weeks ago, so it's definitely not old.

The flavor follows through with what the nose was promising, although unfortunately I feel that it does so half-heartedly. There's a big, up-front smash of earthy, dirty, and pungent hops including light pine and oily resins. There's also a good bit of citrus peels, less discernible on the palate, however. Some light pepper seems to be sprinkled over everything, too. I mean, I like the taste, but for some reason it doesn't seem as "standoutish" as the aroma did.

Malts are a bit heavier on the palate, I'd say, displaying substantial amounts of sweet bread and toasted crackers. Hard to tell exactly what types of malts were used thanks to the large color gradient, but I'm not getting anything as dark as caramel malt in here. Warming brings out a slight booziness, even at only 7.5% ABV, that I'm somewhat hesitant but forced to identify it with nail polish remover. It never gets overwhelming, though, but it wouldn't be missed if it were gone.

Solid body for an IPA, medium, slick, and toying on the edge of being sticky. Carbonation was on-point, too. Much like Double Jack, I feel this is a bit overrated for what it is, albeit it's still marvelously crafted. They (obviously) have similar hop flavors, so perhaps this particular bill and schedule doesn't completely vibe with my palate. In any case, it was still a very enjoyable IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 16:14:47 | More by tectactoe

HopLuva

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -6.5%

05-24-2013 04:55:30 | More by HopLuva

SwG237

New York

4/5  rDev -6.5%

05-24-2013 04:01:25 | More by SwG237

Jmick28

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -12.4%

05-24-2013 03:50:56 | More by Jmick28

Tacoboomerang

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +5.1%

05-24-2013 00:18:52 | More by Tacoboomerang

ATXboozer

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +5.1%

05-23-2013 23:43:15 | More by ATXboozer

morefackinghops

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%

05-23-2013 21:40:29 | More by morefackinghops

DRTBrewster

Arizona

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%

05-23-2013 21:38:31 | More by DRTBrewster

sjanowiak

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%

05-23-2013 20:17:00 | More by sjanowiak

NeverSettle

Texas

3/5  rDev -29.9%

05-23-2013 20:02:06 | More by NeverSettle

visionaries

California

5/5  rDev +16.8%

05-23-2013 15:19:14 | More by visionaries

Nightrain87

California

4/5  rDev -6.5%

05-23-2013 06:00:51 | More by Nightrain87

slimntubbs

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +5.1%

05-22-2013 23:50:49 | More by slimntubbs

firecrack0r

California

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%

05-22-2013 23:07:58 | More by firecrack0r

notchucknorris

California

4.14/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A: Pours a clear deep golden color with a one finger cream colored head. Some nice lacing down the glass. Looks really solid.

S: Mango, apricot, candied grapefruit, and some nice citrus hops.

T: Opens on the sweeter side with some mango and caramel, then quickly pulls back with some piney hops and some bready malt. Finish leaves a tingling of pine resin on the tongue with just a touch of bitterness. Very smooth, incredibly easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 18:25:50 | More by notchucknorris

yoyo

New York

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%

05-22-2013 14:36:55 | More by yoyo

MarkIntihar

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -18.2%

05-22-2013 13:39:20 | More by MarkIntihar

Hopinista

Nevada

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%

05-22-2013 06:29:52 | More by Hopinista