Gainsbourg Bistro-Brasserie's Orange Tie Wrap IPA (Série Road Trip)


As a beer blogger, nobody should be taking me seriously right now - I regularly break the biggest rule of beer reviews - never age and review an IPA. Unfortunately I'm so stubborn that I end up accidentally aging beer in my fridge. Tonight I'm checking out Orange Tie Wrap IPA by Gainsbourg Bistro-Brasserie out of Gainsbourg (Gatineau), Quebec. I picked this bottle up during my trip back in June, so it's not like it's too too old.. but of course take my review as idiotic if you want.

When I saw the beer in my fridge, I thought it was a saison so I just thought to myself "nah, I'll review it later", but it turns out that the Orange Tie Wrap is actually kind of a saison as it's a saison IPA (saison tropicale à l'orange). I love saisons.. I love IPAs, so I'm excited!

Appearance: Orange Tie Wrap pours a very cloudy orange peel/orange juice with a thick, frothy white head. The foam goes down pretty gradually to leave behind a bit of residue on the glass.

Aroma: Wow, the very first whiff I got out of this beer was "wow, this is nicely hopped!" - but you have to remember by this time I hadn't yet even checked out the label to see that it was an IPA. The aromas I got out of the beer were a nice (fresh!!!!) pine aroma with a great deal of tropical fruit such as grapefruit and pineapple, a heavy amount of barnyard funk from the yeast and a hint of pepper for spice. I'm loving the medley of aromas here a lot!

Taste: An upfront galaxy hop-like citrus flavour is the very first thing that pops onto my palate - it gives off a great pineapple, orange and papaya sweetness that I could savour all day long. I also get a bit of a peppery spiciness to it that tingles to tongue every time I take a sip (yet no heat). There's a bit of barnyard funk that you come across in many saisons now days. The beer is only 25 IBU so has a nice hop presence compared to many 65 IBU beers I drink that seem to be missing hops completely. This is a very juicy saison.

Overall Thoughts: Sure sure.. this is likely best before its prime, but HOLY EFF.. this is an incredibly delicious Saison IPA as it has your typical yeasty, spiced yet sweet flavours as well as an abundant of various hops that simply compliment you and the beer on every sip. I'm going to put Gainsbourg on my list of breweries that I will look for more of their products when I'm in Quebec in February. 7.5% ABV - I thought it would be 5.5%ish.

http://www.gainsbourg.ca/

No comments: