Mangrove Jacks American IPA Review - Craft Series Beer Kit
A big juicy brew with sweet malt character and an intense bitterness.
If you’re looking for a classic IPA characterised by citrus, herbal and earthy notes you’ll have to look somewhere else. But in the hoppy world we live in, the Mangrove Jack’s Craft Series American IPA takes full ownership of it’s style as a new age or on-trend brew.
Spoiler alert. This brew received positive feedback consistently from everyone who tried it and it’s hands down one of the best I’ve made.
Read on, but I can tell you now, we’ve given it a 10/10 on the Home Brew Republic Brew Quality Scale.
The Finished Product
To sum up the drinking experience – an explosion of big juicy flavours balanced with a sweet malt character and followed by an intense hit of bitterness.
The juicy characters have been complex making it hard to point towards specific flavour but there is a definite tropical note. The fruit is perfectly balanced with a nice citrus note and we’ve got checky herbal and earthy back notes.
We flow seamlessly into a sweet malt character and then land with an intense bitterness which leaves a spicy texture or aftertaste in the mouth. Highly enjoyable and safe to say I was sorry to see the last bottle go.
Visually we’ve got a clean finish. The packet suggested we were working towards a vibrant gold colour. The gold tones were there but I feel like we were more of a 9-11 on an SRM Colour Chart which is heading into Pale Amber.
What The Packet Says
Packet Description
Crisp and dry, bursting with tropical fruit aroma, great balance between complex fruit and malt tones followed by an intense bitterness.
Brew Details
ABV Approx: 5.6%
Bitterness: 4/5
IBU 48-56
Makes: 23 Litres
Colour: Vibrant Gold
Mangrove Jack’s Craft Series American IPA Pouch Instructions.
My Takeouts
Not Your Classic American IPA
If you asked me what I would expect from a ‘classic’ American IPA I would be looking for good citrus notes, pine, herbal, earthy and perhaps some floral notes followed by a good malt character and a strong bitterness.
The Mangrove Jack’s Craft Series American IPA is not a ‘classic’ American IPA.
We live in a hoppy world and everyone is looking for the next unique brew. And this brew sits perfectly as a new age or on trend American IPA.
If you’ve tried the Mangrove Jack’s Craft Series Juicy Session IPA, I would also say there are strong similarities between these brews. And, if you liked the juicy you will almost certainly be a fan of the Mangrove Jack’s Craft Series American IPA.
How long do you wait before you drink the brew?
If you’re familiar with my content you know that I advocate
beer improves the longer it is bottle matured and frequently suggest letting
the brew sit in bottles (in the correct conditions) up to eight or nine weeks
will only be to your benefit.
I first tried this brew at five weeks. It was exceptional
then. I drank my last bottle at ten weeks. It was still exceptional.
The only difference was at five weeks the juicy character
was about 30% stronger on account of the hop forward profile. As the hop
characters settled the juicy notes subdued slightly. If you prefer the bigger
juicy character, I would look to drink the brew from four weeks.
I also heard from one of our customers who tried a similar
brew at two weeks and noted they were impressed – don’t be shy to give the brew
a taste test a little earlier around the two-week mark if you really want to.
This brew was hands down the best reviewed beer I have ever made. Not only was it highly reviewed but the Mangrove Jack’s Craft Series American IPA received consistent reviews from all who tried it.
We’ve already said it. The Mangrove Jack’s Craft Series American IPA review gets a solid 10/10 from us on the Home Brew Republic Brew Quality Scale.
