(512) IPA - Review
Labeled as ‘Austin’s Original India Pale Ale,’ a drinker knows they are in for a real Texas treat. Oddly enough, this long-time Texas drinker has never drank this beer. We’ll blame the San Antonio-Austin rivalry for this great injustice. It’s not really a rivalry at all, we all know who the hands-down winner is, and we’re betting on another win with (512)’s IPA.
While not having drank this beer before, I can say we do have some previous experience with (512), and being great fans of their Amber ale and Juicy IPA, we’re anticipating a hop forward beast with heavy additions of Simcoe, Glacier, and Columbus hops all balanced with a simple and classic malt bill of American 2-row and Crystal malt. This all comes in at 7.0% ABV and 60 IBU.
IPAs have transformed and broken off into many categories over the last decade, but a classic IPA, west coast-style, is still a Brew house favorite, and we have high expectations for ‘Austin’s Original.’ Let’s see if it holds up.
First Impressions:
On the Eyes--Gold with a touch of tangerine topped with a tight-pored, shiny, and cream-colored head that maintains well.
On the Nose--Aromatic from the crack expressing an approachable grapefruit mingling with sharp passionfruit, sweet stonefruit, and bubblegum. The aroma is Simcoe to a sweet T.
On the Palate--The grapefruit is ramped up from the aroma with floral and dank flavors following with a touch of pepperyness—very Simcoe, and very original IPA. It’s smooth in the mouth and a touch of malt sweetness lends some help to the sweeter hop notes (with an interesting hint of melon) that take a back seat to the zesty, dank, and piney notes. IPA coats the mouth nicely, leaving a dank bitterness and reminding one of those first sips of a west coast IPA.
Food Pairings: IPAs really are the best bar food beer, so pair them with pub classics like burgers, pizzas, and nachos, or with any house specialty. They undoubtedly built that dish around their classic IPA.
Final Thoughts:
There are bad IPAs out there (I’ve even brewed a few of them), and if you’re just looking for bitterness and pine, those are the beers for you, alongside biting right into tree bark. I think it’s safe to call those IPAs ‘bad’ because they don’t follow some basic rules of balance that all good beers adhere to. IPAs are hop-forward, undoubtedly, but the bitter notes need to be counteracted by sweet malt character and, if possible, sweeter hop character. This is where IPAs get challenging, but (512) has accomplished this well.
I’ve consumed dozens (possibly hundreds) of IPAs, so it takes something special to get me pretty excited, and (512)’s IPA did just that from the cracking of the can. The aroma is wonderful, and with the sweeter side of grapefruit, stone fruit, and bubblegum coming up alongside zingy passionfruit, it really gets the mouth watering. And that sweet aroma is the first step in balancing the bitterness we know is coming next, which (512) has in bushels. It’s really heavy in grapefruit zest and resiny, piney notes, but it has a simple malt bill to cool it all down and a hint of melon that keeps it fresh. It helps that it falls into our favorite ABV spectrum from 6.5-7.5%, as well as our ideal IBU realm of 60-65. That’s where we like our IPAs to be at, and (512) delivers.
(512)’s IPA is traditional to the west coast style, offering a more diverse and approachable aroma than most in the category, a classic and aggressive bitterness, and the right amount of simple malt sweetness to add balance. I wouldn’t be surprised if Austin’s Original IPA is also their favorite.
Cheers!
Mr. Brew
Click the links if you’re curious about (512)’s Juicy IPA and Amber. We approve of both for year round drinking.