Beers Of London Series: 61. Brixton Brewery - Electric IPA 6.5%

Beers Of London Series
61. Brixton Brewery - Electric IPA 6.5%

Brixton Brewery was officially launched with a party at Craft Beer Brixton on October 16th this year. Sadly I couldn't make it (it was my fathers birthday to be fair) but I was fortunate enough to be sent samples of three of the beers by Jez, one of the brewers,  to try and review.

According to the Brixton Buzz - Brixton's listings and news site they obtained a licence for their premises, Arch 547 on Brixton Station Road making it another of London's railway arch breweries, in August this year but the story goes back a little further than that. In fact it goes back to a discussion by two avid local homebrewers Jez and Mike, over a pint in the pub that is now Craft Beer Brixton, the Hive Bar, back in 2011. The idea took root and became a driving passion over the following two years with Head Brewer Dominic bringing some professional expertise to the brewery, having previously worked with Kelham Island, Welbeck Abbey, Sheffield Brewing Co., Sierra Nevada, London Field and Brewdog. They are fiercely proud of their Brixton roots and great believers that beer is best drunk fresh at the source with a possible mission statement on a flyer the sent to me that reads as follows:
'Our dream is for Brixtonites to start drinking local. They say independently made beers are best enjoyed fresh where they're brewed, and we can't think of anywhere we'd rather have a pint than in our own neighbourhood'

Electric IPA is named after Electric Avenue in Brixton, the first market street to be lit by electricity and one currnetly specialising in some of the most ethnically diverse produce in Europe. Made with New World hops, the beer is described as 'packed with energy and attitude', possibly to reflect the area in which it was produced. The branding on the bottle is eye-catching and bright too, the colours and stylised 'lightning-bolt' electric charges make this look rather inviting so I guess it's time to open the bottle and see if it delivers on taste.

It pours a cloudy dirty deep dark orange and it's lively too, throwing a high off-white head that takes a while to settle down, which means that filling the glass takes a little longer than expected, heightening the expectation. The aroma is exactly like the colour with deep dark orange peel dominating, but there's also an underlying juiciness of passion fruit, grapefruit, pineapple and mango all in the mix with some damp pine sap. It caresses the tongue rather smoothly before the stabbingly sharp bitterness announces itself everywhere at the same time with an explosion of ripe zesty citrus fruits, lime, grapefruit and tangerine, all vying for attention before the tangerine wins through quite quickly, flooding the mouth with its sweet juice. The finish is sustained juicy citrus too with a dryness akin to the pith you experience when biting into an unpeeled orange, and when I say it's sustained I'm not exaggerating as it lasts and lasts and lasts for absolutely ages.

This is wonderful debut from a very promising young brewery, full of flavour and very easy to drink despite it's relatively high abv. These guys are clearly keen on you drinking this fresh and preferably locally, so if you're ever Brixton way then I'd recommend that you check this out. It might even be worth a special trip.