Karl Strauss IPL (India Pale Lager) - Karl Strauss Brewing Company

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

On cask, via handpump, @ the Toronado (San Diego, CA) on 11/10/09. Served in a pint glass. I was a little confused at first by this, as the board mistakenly called this an "Imperial Pale Lager". Based on my experience with this beer though, I'm pretty sure that this was the (already added to the database) India Pale Lager.

Pours a fairly clear coppery amber, with just the thinnest bit of a brite-white head. Pretty fizzy look here to both the retention and lacing. The aroma has a deep tangy smell to it, with plent of tropical fruit flavors and some beefy, yet tight, bready malts behind it. I'm also getting a good bit of floral hops, spice, and pine, giving the overall impression of a extremely fresh hoppy Lager here.

That strong hop presence carries over to the taste, with lots of pine and spice character to the bitterness. This has that same thick backing of tropical citrus flavors and some really tight feeling bready malt character. The hops hang well past the finish here, with a dry, spicy, and sticky feel. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a certain amount of crispness to it that flows a little easier thanks to the cask serving. Unfortunately, what holds this body back though, is the strong amount of alcohol beef in the feel. Just too much thickness here, which despite the bold (and overall quite good) flavors, really hindered the drinkibility of this.

Yeah, after seeing how much alcohol presence this had (which honestly felt like much more than 7%), I'm inclined to think that maybe the board at the Toronado had it half right. Could this have actually been an Imperial India Pale Lager? Well that would have been a new sub-style for me! Or it could have been that the cask conditioning just allowed that much more of the ABV to show in this. I can't be sure, so until I get more info, I'll just keep this review under here for now.

Serving type: cask

12-04-2009 13:10:54 | More by Kegatron