The second light ale in Ferry Ale Brewery's 'Great Character' craft can range, and there's only one type of be it could 'B': IPA.
Their take on a session ale, it uses several hop varieties including amarillo, wolf, styrian and waimea to create a hoppy, fruity profile that will make it a strong addition to any beer fridge.
Hops aside, it also used three kinds of malt: pale, cara and oat to add some real body to the ale and give it a more rounded texture and flavour.
The aroma is mainly malty, with a touch of citrus tang but nothing too strong. It's a curious scent, it reminds me more of a classic bitter, but with some big hops added in there. Certainly intriguing.
It pours quite thin, but with a crisp, clean head that is finely carbonated to give it quite a smooth body - again very reminiscent of a bitter, the colour too is a dark brown that's towards the darker side of many other IPAs.
The texture is very smooth and fine, with a big body that's very malty despite the hop variations inside. The initial malty flavour turns into a slightly sweet taste that's on the verge of fruity, but not a big fruity hit.
It's really quite pleasant, with the hops bringing a subtle fruity sweetness and working well with the malt to make it a very sessionable IPA, with an aftertaste that's slightly bitter, but mostly malty.
The can is pretty much the same as the Great Character 'F' one in that it favours a clean white can and uses big, bold black fonts to create contrast and make it stand out on the page.
This time it's a big old 'B' though, and the little hop picture on this one is purple rather than yellow. Only small changes, but they add in to a really nice aesthetic and branding.
There's loads of information on the back of the can too, just like the 'F' with the details of the hops, malt and character of the beer. Ideal reading for a lovely beverage.
As with 'F' you'll have to buy this in a crate of 12, which works out at £2.92 per can. And as it's a very sessionable beer, you can easily get few a crate of this in a few days.
Click the link at the top of this post to go to the Ferry Ales Brewery site and check out their wares.
