Initial Impressions:
I thought I had lost these notes, so it is with some pleasure
that I am able to write this review. Alpha King comes highly recommended
as a legitimate IPA brewed in the midwest. On my most recent visit
to Chicago in September of 99, I made a point to sample this beer
early and often. I was warned by Andy Agar that this beer is variable,
which I found to be true. The pint I had at the Maproom was, according
to Andy, on the down side of this variance. In this review, I
combine observations from the Map Room with those a day later
at the Clark Street Alehouse.
At the Map Room, Alpha King was quite hazy, just on the amber side of copper. Andy indicated that I would encounter a brighter version elsewhere; indeed at Clark Street the beer was a bright, beautiful amber.
Nose:
Alpha King has a wonderful citruisy aroma, evident
at both samplings.
Flavor:
My pint at the Map Room commenced with a malty
opening, which muddled its way into a big citruisy hop flavor.
The expected bitterness began towards the end of the hop flavor,
and lightly lingered in the finish. The bitterness in the Map
Room sample was subdued. A nice beer, but one straddling the fence
between timid IPA and assertive pale ale.
As is my wont, I sample these benchmark beers as often as possible in their home turf, a lesson I learned over five years ago when I wrote my first tepid review of Harpoon IPA. Encouraged by Andy's suggestion that Alpha King is a variable product, Alpha King served as my first pint the following evening at the Clark Street Ale House. Bright, as previously mentioned, with a clear, sharp, and delightfully resiny alpha attack. This distinct bitterness combined with the aforementioned hop flavor to create a wonderful IPA experience. I thoroughly reveled in this pint, so much I ordered another.
Final Analysis:
When
this beer is on, it stands in the same league as the great IPAs:
Anderson Valley, Hop Devil, Bhagwan's Best. Sadly, that great
beer only appeared about half the time (in my limited sampling
of 4). When on, this beer goes ****1/2, but I'm tempering that
score in light of the inconsistency.
Rating:
****
(Excellent on my 5-star scale)