Craft Beer Review #2 - Dry & Bitter Brewing Company: Christian Bale Ale

The Brewery

Dry & Bitter Brewing Company are a brewery from Gørløse^[1], Denmark. They opened their doors in early 2015, and their "ambition was always to brew super fresh IPAs". Not to be earmarked as one-trick ponies, they've also embarked on sour barrel ageing "adventure" of fifty barrels^[2] of different beers, which will be blended, bottle conditioned and released. 

Don't be fooled by their self-proclaimed description though. A quick look at their beer history has a lot of IPAs and sours, which was to be expected, but also some stouts, pilsners, kellerbiers and darks.

To date, I've had ten of their beers^[3] for an average score of 3.85, with my favourites being the Guavalanche and Interacting Galaxies, which I scored at 4.25. I like this brewery because they seem to be excited about what they're doing, and they do their core styles really well. However, I've never tried a session beer from them, but I hope that this one earns its place in the so-far great line up^[4] of Dry & Bitter beers.

First Impressions

I really like the presentation. The name is excellent, but the label really stands out. I don't think you should judge a beer on its marketing, but it certainly helps a beer call out to you! This one has a comic book theme, and I love that aesthetic. The panels are separated, and the artwork is dotted like in old comics. "Christian" is written in a little speech bubble, and "BALE ALE" is written like people "POW!!"^[5] in a comic book. Side note, if you read the can you'll discover that it is a vegan beer^[6], which is definitely important to some customers, so that's helpful.

The poured beer has a pale gold colour with good head retention. There's no real haze to speak of, which I wasn't expecting. I only mention this as some of the reviews I read after my tasting claimed a hazy appearance^[7]. 

The smell is a bit like tangerine and oranges, with pine in the background, and maybe some grapefruit. There is a lot going on here for a low alcohol content beer. However, there are no overpowering characteristics, and  my guess is that balance is what you want from a session IPA anyway^[8].

The Tasting

The first taste is definitely pineapple and orange citrus. Some grain comes through in a biscuity way, but it's pretty subtle. There's hop bitterness to finish, but it's not too bitter, and it lingers.  It is a little thin on the mouthfeel, but not overwhelming in any way. I liked that there was a soft start to this beer, but that it finished clean and hoppy. This is a really enjoyable beer, but it's definitely aiming to be a session beer, and has made to make some concessions to get there.

The website tells me that it's a hop monster, and while it is one of the hoppier side session IPAs I've had, I'm not sure it's a "monster". The website also tells me that I can enjoy my hops in quantity due to this beer^[9].

Final Thoughts

This is a good IPA, but a really good session IPA. The problem for me is that session IPAs are never amazing beers as they have to compromise on what it is that makes a big IPA so good. It can't be too hoppy, or it's not sessionable. It can't be too dank and juicy, or it's not easy going enough. It can't be rich and boozy, or your definition of session could get people killed^[10]. This particular session IPA is good because it makes less of these compromises. 

While Christian Bale Ale is a little thin, it's also extremely drinkable because of it. I think this beer is more complex than you'd expect too, given the low alcohol content. I shared a can, and I was definitely pining away for the other half. I could easily recommend this beer to session IPA drinkers, people just moving into over-hopped beers and probably Christian Bale.

Brewery	Dry & Bitter Brewing Company
Beer	Christian Bale Ale
Style	IPA - Session / India Session Ale
Alcohol	4.6%
IBU	No IBU
Price	6.49€
Untappd Global Score	3.62
My Untappd Score	3.75

Footnotes

[1] If you would like to know how I pronounce "Gørløse", then the answer is "very slowly".

[2] I'm not sure how large these barrels are. If they're 5L each, then that's not so adventurous. I'm sure they're not 5L though.
[3] All IPAs and sours so far.
[4] Unlike a certain Ms Spelling didn't really earn her place in the line up of an award-winning teen drama of the 1990s.
[5] Very much in the style of the old Batman TV show which was not at all a drug-fuelled snapshot of the 70s.
[6] People might not understand how a beer isn't vegan. Well, brewers can use things like animal-sourced gelatin to clarify their beer, which isn't vegan friendly. This doesn't affect me personally, but I'm at least relieved that there definitely won't be any chicken feet and lamb's blood in here either.
[7] Maybe they were a few beers deep at this stage?
[8] Personally I have two criteria for a session beer: mild taste, and not too expensive. I couldn't bring myself to throw a ping pong ball into a cup of expensive beer.
[9] I assume that they are saying that I can drink many of these hoppy beers, because they're a low-alcohol beer. I don't think I have the sort of self control around high alcohol hoppy beers that they're implying I should have.
[10] Or at least lost in their own bathroom.

Sources

Figure 1: https://www.dexterandjones.co.uk/products/dry-bitter-christian-bale-ale-1

Figure 2: https://www.eebriatrade.com/products/beer/kirkstall-imports/4189-dry-bitter-christian-bale-ale