Five Points Jupa Beer (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

I seem to be a little late to the party where Five Points Jupa is concerned, as lots of other beer bloggers have written about it. So I feel as if I need to catch up. I had a quick butchers at what Jupa meant. All I could find was that it either means 'good' or 'head', I'll try not to delve into that too much… I try to find out the meaning behind some beer's names, but they often escape me. I'm sure The Five Points Brewing Company know why they called it Jupa.

Jupa is a 5.5% volume Pale Ale and is described as "juicy and fruity", and with "citrus flavours and a tropical fruit character bursting with pineapple, mango and papaya." This beer was "hopped with Simcoe in the boil and dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic". It's sported on the back of the can as having a "low bitterness for a refreshing taste." That's where it lost me a little. I have a preference for bitter beer and smooth coffee, not usually the other way around. So I'm hoping this Jupa Pale Ale has more of a bite than the can is letting on.

On opening the can there was a pretty sharp tropical citrus smell from the hops. This citrus smell overpowered any hope of smelling the sweeter pale malts. On taste this is indeed a smooth beer. Those sharp bitter smelling hops on initial opening seemed to nip rather than bite at my palate to start with, and then those sweeter pale malts kicked in pretty quickly during each mouthful.

A taste journey took my tastebuds on a refreshing tropical boat ride around the bay of some Caribbean island to find a pub that sells real beer. This golden coloured Jupa Pale Ale shines like the sun on a hot day and even breaks through the clouds on a dim afternoon. It's bright, slightly tangy with those tropical notes to begin with, and then there's the perfect balance of sweetness from the malts that reminds me that a hard week spent at work is always best to finish with a beer with a good head!