Harviestoun Brewery, in Scotland, was at the forefront of using American hops to create Indian Pale Ale in the UK way back in the 1980s. This 5.8% volume Harviestoun IPA has a baseball theme to it sporting four heavy hitting American hops; Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Apollo which are all native to the West Coast of the USA. Tony Christie really ruined the word 'Amarillo' for me, as soon as I hear it I get his song stuck in my head. Though I have to admit that it is a catchy tune. Anyway, the bottle's label warned of a citrusy hop bomb, big on flavour and long lasting - like a baseball game, so I've heard. I played softball when I was a lad at school I didn't take to it much, and have never got my head around the fascination some folk have with cricket, but each to their own. I prefer Sumo or Touring Car Racing…
On opening the 330ml bottle there was certainly a citrus hop smell and a touch of malted barley to the pale golden beer bubbling into my glass. There was certainly a good whack of citrus hops on first taste. I could see what the label meant by a long-lasting flavour, as this citrus bitterness run rings around my tastebuds straight into the aftertaste like a baseball player sprinting for a home run. There was an underlying subtle sweetness from the malted barley that really made this Harviestoun IPA a well balanced brew. Undoubtably a well crafted forerunner with four American hops for a big final score!
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