Bentspoke Brewing Co ‘Crankshaft’ IPA

Rating:

16939276_652106744973474_8219403015183364968_n“Similar to a West Coast IPA. Floral nose with notes of citrus and pine. Medium bodied with a nice punch of hops and a solid malt finish. A great beer for lovers of big full flavoured brews – it cranks!”

Served in an IPA glass. A nice looking amber glow holds a fluffy two finger head on top. It falls away gradually and establishes a thin film with healthy lace work down the glass.
Lovely showing of orange citrus hops, mandarin, tangerine, pine needles and stone fruits like peach and apricot. Really getting that nice caramel malt sweetness at the base, working in to balance out the gorgeous American hops. Certainly not like your typical smack-in-the-face West coast IPA’s, this one is well mannered but still highly aromatic.
The feel is medium bodied, crisp and a little dry in texture. Just the right amount of Co2 to make it pop. Definitely on the lower scale in regards to ABV (5.8%) but it adds to the overall session ability of the beer.
Good continuation on to the palate. The taste buds are introduced to the tangy citrus hops and get along like a house on fire. The sweet caramel malts and subtle pine also come on strong upfront and ease in to the sweet-ish middle. It’s about here that the hops really show up and progressively intensify in to a reasonably dry and bitter finish with hints of boozy warmth and orange citrus on a length.
Thank goodness Bentspoke decided to start canning their delicious product! For many years our annual trips to the Snowy Mountains was our only chance to load up on this liquid gold. It may be a little hard to find but if you see these bad boys on the shelf….then bag em! Or go one better and drop in to the brewery. You won’t regret it.