Hop House 13

Guinness have been bringing forth a new array of beverages of late (such as the West Indies and Dublin Porters) and the latest offering from the Irish Empire is a lager: Hop House 13. I love lagers as  any who have read this blog will know and I'm always keen to find one with flavour and balance to make it both the perfect summer-quaffer for those warmer evenings and a tasty beer that doesn't just achieve both being wet and cold. I have tried this in two forms: bottled and draught and there is a difference and these differences bring a delightful dimension - proving further how bottle and pump can vary.

As a bottle, this beer sails ever so close to the coastlines of American IPA's but fear not, it doesn't follow the current trend for being over-hopped and unpalatably bitter. There is a real tendency for many new nectars to follow in the American style and when I first opened a bottle of this golden brew, I feared the worst as I sipped before smelling: bitterness was at the front along with the almost mossy grassiness something like a Pale Ale would thrust forwards. However, the finish was malty and sweet. This hooked me back. The next sip I took came before the almost peachy-floral nose wafted into my foolish nostrils - a striking aroma the likes of which I haven't seen since Badger's Golden Glory. Served cold, this was a lager with a difference and one that nearly bailed me out but a malty surge at the end won me over.

In draught however, this is closer to a Czech Pilsner something akin to Pilsner Urquell in that the body is smoothly carbonated, the front is sweet and malty but the finish is bitter and lingering with a final smack of the field of richly toasted summer crop. I expected the peachy flowers but none of it came (no matter how hard I sniffed!) and it would seem that this quality is reserved for the bottle.

With either presentation, I really enjoyed this beer and what with the weather improving, I can see it becoming a staple at BBQ's and pub-garden catch-ups. A delicious drop and one that I urge you to try in any way that you can get it!

Try if you like: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Pilsner Urquell.