This was awarded the #1 IPA of the Year at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival. Let's see how it tastes compared to a previous winner: Pliny the Elder.
Smells of Hops.
A nice, crystal-clear bronze color.
A lacey head.
That's some hops.
I don't know if I think this is the best IPA I've ever had. I understand this beer's supposed to have a lot of hops and, at 7.5 percent alcohol, it acheives its goal. However, the hop flavor isn't as pronounced as I would like. It has too clean of a start, not enough pine/lemon flavor. Then, there's a big hop bitterness at the end.
When it warms up, it gets more malty. This helps cut the bitterness at the end.
By any means, it's not a bad beer. But, I wouldn't say it's the best IPA. Compared to something like Pliny, which I think has a great balance of hop flavor and bitterness, Union Jack doesn't come off as the most balanced.
Overall, a pint and 1/2.
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