Name: Ube
Brewer: HideOut Craft Brewery (Philippines)
Style: Alternative Sugar Beer (Base Style: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer)
ABV: 5.9%
Review Year: 2020
Tatz Ang of HideOut Craft Brewery unleashes the mad scientist from within with his latest experimental beer, the Ube Milkshake IPA.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as an Alternative Sugar Beer (31B) with the Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer (30A) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP).
TASTING NOTES
The Ube Milkshake IPA pours a pale purple-colored beer in natural light with a white head. As expected, the nose unveils fragrant purple yam notes with a starch-like undertone. Light tartness and faint alcohol were also noted.
Medium-bodied beer with low carbonation. The topmost layer of the flavor profile unearths earthy, vegetal purple yam notes. Underneath are oak-like tones familiar to whisky drinkers. The next layer reveals tartness or acidity and starch-like sweetness akin to sweet potato. These are then supported by light and neutral maltiness and hop-like bitterness. No lactose sweetness noted, which may suggest that the lactose was either overpowered by the other ingredients or took on a supportive role. After a sip, the beer leaves a lingering earthy and vegetal bitterness combined with lychee-like esters.
THE VERDICT
Unlike the other defined beer styles, experimental beers enjoy the luxury of less restrictive parameters. Despite this, this Ube Milkshake IPA by HideOut Craft Brewery is a delightful and novel beer. People who expect purple yam or ube will definitely get it. The tartness or acidity present also adds an interesting and complementing aspect to the earthiness and starchiness of the purple yam. Possible point for improvement: more carbonation.
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