X64 - Nils Oscar Hop Yard IPA (Sweden)

This Swedish brew didn´t meet my high hopes for a nice spring IPA.

The nose is big and brawny with notes of sweet peach and pine apple - good one would think, but these fruits comes from a tin... And then there is cat pee, and that interesting note of a wet dish cloth. Too bad. And the glass was freshly washed.

Bu the taste comes to a rescue with nice notes of lemon and peach ice cream (real fruit this time) and some nice gravel/stony elements. The finish is long with a nice bitterness. If it hadn´t been for the nose, this could have been a nice IPA to savour during the spring.

80p   (tasted from bottle - 2011/04)

X63 - De Molen Vuur & Vlam (Netherlands)

A very open, forward, fine nose with notes of sweet peaches, pear ice cream, pine apple and a lovely touch of warm gravel and rock. Some champagne vinegar after a while, that contributes to the complexity. Very, very good.

The taste is tight and fruity with notes of peaches, lime and green pears. A long, slim, nice finish. A little on the gentle side to be really great, but I like this "Fire & Flame" very much.

92p   (tasted from bottle - 2011/04)