Retronym I.P.A.

A retronym is defined as “a term coined in modification of an original term that was used alone (as acoustic guitar instead of guitar) to distinguish it from a term referring to a later development (as electric guitar). Other examples of retronyms are snail mail and analog watch.” It’s also the name of an IPA from the team at Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery. Note: I write an “IPA” and not an “English IPA”—In the copy on the 473mL cans, GLB adamantly opposes that name (at least as far as this beer is concerned) and so I’ll try to avoid it too.

Retronym I.P.A. is a 6% beer brewed with oats. It’s a cloudy copper ale that pours with a generous off-white foam. The beer offers mild aromatics, with lots of malt, some caramel, and a suggestion of floral hops. The flavour is malt-forward, with a streak of brown sugar sweetness. The back end is floral and bitter, with some pleasant metallic elements.

While my favourite IPAs tend to be the West Coast hop gobblers, I have a soft spot in my heart (my liver?) for this style—a “classic” IPA—and GLB’s take is really quite nicely executed. I had eight of these delivered and I’m thrilled I did, because one has yet to prove enough.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Iberian IPA

 

After gaping at Gaudí’s majestic Sagrada Família for a while, the Bitter Wife and I hopped on the subway and headed for La Cervesera Artesana, reputed to be Barcelona’s first brewpub—established in 1996. It has a pretty long list of outside beers, but I stuck with ordering a couple of their house brews. First up, the Iberian IPA (Estil Anglès)—that’s a 5.8% English-style IPA.

My pint showed up bronze-coloured and swampy, with a dense and creamy white head. The beer had an agreeable piney nose accented with caramel. Its flavour was evergreen and bready, with some caramel and malt sweetness at the outset. For mouthfeel, the stuff was hella creamy—almost with a cask ale consistency.

Too low in alcohol to truly wow as an IPA, this Iberian iteration managed a lovely flavour and a velvety mouthfeel all the same. Not a bad craft IPA at all.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Odd Fellows IPA

Brewed on Salt Spring Island, Odd Fellows IPA is an English-style India pale. It’s sold in handsome 650mL bottles and contains a drinkable 6% alcohol. The beer is brewed by the folks at Saltspring Island Ales. Odd Fellows is a hazy and ruddy potion with a thick layer of off-white head. Its aroma has a coppery tang with a bitter flourish. For flavour, the beer has a sweet initial offering, with brown sugar and malt notes. The back end has some hops, but not a lot of bitterness relative to a typical IPA.

True to the English style of IPAs, this one is malt-first, with a whisper of pine through the finish. Lower test than I’d have liked, and not as bitter, I found Odd Fellows IPA to be an agreeable but utterly unremarkable brew.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.