India Pale Ale
Shepherd Neame
6.1%
Faversham, UK

I’ve had the Shepherd Neame India Pale Ale sat on the shelf in my kitchen for a while waiting for the right time to consume it. I am of the opinion that pale ale is tastier than IPA but I can always appreciate a strong IPA like the Shepherd Neame IPA. The ale is produced by the Shepherd Neame brewery in Faversham and happens to be the oldest brewery in the UK. It was first founded in 1698 and has been family run since 1864. In a time when there are microbreweries popping up every few months it is always important to taste beer that has been crafted for centuries.

Unlike some other IPAs that I’ve tried recently the Shepherd Neame IPA is very bitter and at 6.2% you can certainly taste the strength. It has a fruity fragrance and leaves a spicy yet hoppy taste in your mouth. It has a rich and golden colour to it like most IPAs.

It is available in some Morrisons stores around the UK or you can get it on cask in in the various Shepherd Neame pubs across London and Kent. The fantastic eye catching logo on the front of the bottle was what attracted me to it whilst scouring the shelfs in Morrisons for an ale I’d not seen before. With the old school Shepherd Neame logo that appears on the bottle top too it is great branding from a brewery that has been around since 1698, impressive indeed!

As I mentioned before despite enjoying many IPAs I do find them slightly bitter. This is the sort of beer I could imagine accompanying a curry fantastically well. Here are the scores:

Taste: 3
Design: 4
Bottle Top: 4