Name: Mr. Arès
Brewer: Les Intenables (France)
Style: Mixed-Style Beer (Base Style: Specialty IPA: New England IPA)
ABV: 10%
Review Year: 2021
Mr. Arès is a Triple IPA loaded with hops (30g/ liter) by Les Intenables (Mundolsheim, France). A part of the brewery’s Mythical Series, Mr. Arès is based on a recipe that featured Solero, Azacca, and Idaho Gem hops.
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 pale gold; white head with good retention. The nose was dominated by hop aromas, namely prominent ripe peach, orange pith, and cantaloupe. This fragrant profile was backed up by a low bready malt character. Medium-full-bodied, moderately low carbonation. The mouthfeel felt slightly heavy, approaching that of a sipping beer such as a barleywine. Strong flavors of orange marmalade and soothing cantaloupe were at the forefront with additional impressions of tea and ginger (medium low). Backbone was bready and supportive. Mr. Arès is on the sweet side with residual sweetness noted to be a notch above moderate while bitterness was medium-low. Spices (anise, white pepper) orange pith, and a honey-like sweetness characterized the aftertaste.
THE VERDICT
The Triple IPA is not yet an explicit and official style; hence it may still lack a comprehensive set of style guidelines. This interpretation of a Triple IPA by Les Intenables is one that doubled down on orange marmalade and cantaloupe characters. Both aroma and flavor, in fact, are strong points of this beer.
As mentioned, Mr. Arès is on the sweeter side with a heavy mouthfeel approaching that of an American Barleywine. These mentioned qualities surfaced at the expense of the beer’s drinkability. Despite having an ABV of 10%, Mr. Arès can be considered a smooth beer without any hints of alcohol, harsh bitterness, and astringency. Finally, we would prefer lower residual sweetness and a soft “pillowy” mouthfeel, but considering everything else, this is an excellent beer in our opinion.
Recommended Readings:
Flavor Fever: Seeing Through the Haze of Double and Triple Juicy IPAs (Craft Beer & Brewing, 2020)
Related Reviews:
Les Intenables
Beers From France
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