Irresistible Premium Ale – the other IPA?
Sitting on the bottom of the beer shelf at my local Sainsbury’s the other day was a newish-looking beer I didn’t recognise, with a dark green and silver hop-covered label. The rather lengthy title of ‘Natural Brewing Company Irresistible Premium Ale’, and the limited information on the bottle gave little away. But as it was an unknown quantity, into the basket it went, along with the seven packets of Super Noodles and the toilet roll. At 4.3% it screams session ale, and the description on the back of …“Barley, hops and spring water – and nothing else” throws up the prospect of a Reinheitsgebot-style offering, particularly as it is apparently gravity tower-brewed. Despite the rather ridiculous title, NBCIPA seems to talk the talk.
After a bit of digging, the sideways-scrolling website lists the three founders of the NBC (Mark, Julian and Gary) as your typical ‘chuck the city jobs and start a brewery’ types – which is always pleasing to read (even if it makes one envious). I guess those who can, brew, and those who can’t, start a beer website. The NBC seem to trade heavily on their environmental credentials, and the site is full of admirable pledges about saving the planet, carbon footprints, and community wells in India. They have some serious brew knowledge behind them too however, as their Julian is Julian Herrington, who spent 15yrs as master brewer of Shepherd Neame before joining London’s Meantime. It seems he’s now coupled with the marketing and business brains of Mark and Gary to go it alone.
Anyway, the pour is highly carbonated, very frothy, and extremely clear, with a light amber or very pale chestnut colour. The aroma is mostly citrus – First Gold giving their characteristic zesty orangeyness. The taste is really surprising – for such an unknown quantity it’s extremely nice – bitter, fruity and with a simple flavour. That’s not meant as a slight at all – simplicity can work when the mild components are balanced correctly. A rising bitterness comes through at the end after a while, as the hops nudge their way to the top on the palate. It’s highly sessionable, and is a classic example of that easy-drinking style. I had no idea what this would be like, but was very pleasantly surprised. I’m not so sure about the name, but that’s something I can live with when you have a beer as well constructed as this.
