Williams IPA

The second annual Sainsbury’s Beer Competition has just concluded, with the winners announced at the end of last week. After 115 different entries were received for this year’s judging, 100 of them were whittled away during the process leaving the final shortlisted fifteen vying for the two prizes. Bath Ales Golden Hare (4.4%) and Hambleton’s Taylor’s Tipple (4.5%) came out on top, and will be released nationwide in over 250 Sainsbury’s stores, joining last year’s winners O’Kells IPA and another from Bath Ales – Barnstormer.

I’ve managed to sample Taylor’s Tipple, and was very pleasantly surprised – it’s a supremely drinkable nutty bitter in the traditional English style. Check back later for a full review – but the shortlist threw up a number of other fascinating beers, many of them from here in Scotland. Taking up a quarter of the spaces in the final were Alloa’s Williams Brothers, and Fraserburgh’s BrewDog had three shortlisted beers of their own. Despite not getting the prizes, to take up almost half of the final places was a tremendous achievement for the two producers. It’s a pity that neither managed to claim one of the winner’s spots.

We’re unabashed fans of Williams Bros ales here at the BeerCast, having reviewed Williams Gold and Red, and we really need to feature Joker at some point – their previous IPA. Their newer range have been well received too – Good Times and Midnight Sun made the final shortlist in 2008, and their newer golden ale Birds & Bees was in this year’s final fifteen. Also in the select group for 2009 were their 80/-, which is good to see for a brewery who started off producing traditional ales, and another new one, Ceilidh lager.

Williams IPA though has a blend of Bramley X and Amarillo hops to give “real alpha bite”. I’ve tried it before, having been given a sneaky sample by Scott Williams at an Edinburgh foodie fair when it was still in the production stages. At the time I likened it to something more at home from a producer such as Sierra Nevada – it seems the headier North American style IPA is what they were attempting to emulate. Of course, there are other Scottish producers working along those lines too, most notably the aforementioned BrewDog, and also Windie Goat with their fantastic Gutter Slab.

Anyway, Williams IPA pours a rich yellow colour with a slight opaque haziness – not really the ‘bright gold’ mentioned on the label. The aroma is mildly hoppy, and the head on mine dispersed within seconds. Taste-wise though, it’s really very good – bitterly astringent with a strong, but not overpowering, hop taste. It comes out stronger in flavour than most 5% IPA’s, but it’s not as punishing as those that weigh in at over 6%. It tastes very much like a North American session IPA, with it’s dry finish and crisp, biting hop taste. I love bitter IPA’s, and in particular the ones you can keep at without crumbling. Williams IPA is a real corker, and although it didn’t come out on top, hopefully it will be made readily available in beer retailers across the country.

Sainsbury’s Beer Competition website
The final shortlist of fifteen