Name: Totter
Brewer: Gravity Well Brewing Co. (United Kingdom)
Style: Mixed-Style Beer (Base Style: Specialty IPA: New England IPA)
ABV: 10%
Review Year: 2021
Totter is a thick and hazy Triple IPA packed with El Dorado and Simcoe hops. This Triple IPA was fermented with a mix of Kveik yeast strains and was brewed straight out of Gravity Well Brewing Co. in London.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Mixed-Style Beer (34B) with the Specialty IPA: New England IPA (21B) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
As of this writing, the “Triple IPA” is not an official and explicit style in the BJCP; thus, these beers still lack a comprehensive set of style guidelines. For the hazy and juicy variants, these Triple IPAs could simply be bigger-than-double versions of a New England IPA or Hazy IPA with an ABV of around 10%.
TASTING NOTES
Hazy straw, medium white head with fair retention. Moderately high peach, passion fruit, lemon bar, and strawberry were the most prominent aromas. These were followed by resiny and “dank” aromas, which were more notable as the beer settled. Medium-full-bodied; moderate carbonation. Totter unveiled intense flavors of semi-ripe mango, peach, strawberry, and passion fruit against a moderately low bready and cracker-like malt backdrop. Upon revisiting, medium-low impressions of resin and spice as well as low alcohol and a peppery “hop burn” were present. The balance favored the bitterness at a fairly high level relative to the residual sweetness noted at a moderately low intensity. The aftertaste lingered with low spice, peppery heat, and a slight dry fruit character.
THE VERDICT
The Triple IPA is not yet an explicit and official style; hence it may still lack a comprehensive set of style guidelines. However, we think Gravity Well’s take on this massive beer style is a very good one. Totter packs a mouthful of flavors such as fruits, resin, and spice as expected from the style. The peppery “hop burn,” low alcohol, and the perceived heaviness on the palate, which were more evident as the beer settled, seemed to have diminished the drinkability of this beer. We personally would prefer less of the peppery heat and more of the fruity ripeness.
Recommended Readings:
Flavor Fever: Seeing Through the Haze of Double and Triple Juicy IPAs (Craft Beer & Brewing, 2020)
Related Reviews:
Gravity Well Brewing Co.
Beers From the UK
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