Today’s beer is from Glasgow based Drygate Brewing Company. I have had one of their beers previously, their Disco Forklift Truck Mango IPA, and from what I recall it was quite good. Found this in the supermarket with what I think is some new artwork and branding. This beer is also from their core range and is Crossing the Rubicon IPA coming in at a fairly high 6.9% ABV!

Visually the beer is mostly clear with a dark amber hue to it and producing a large white head. On the nose you get a really nice punchy, citrus, orange mixed in with some of those typical tropical notes of mango and passion fruit. Flavour wise the beer has a tasty fruity front as the beer hits the mouth. This transitions not abruptly into an intense long lasting bitterness that chases down the throat. A sipping beer for sure that doesn’t shy away from it’s high hitting ABV.

A quick note on the can art: The art matches the name very well. The roman iconography linking to when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river is very funky. A lot more creative compared to their previous base design they use for their cans.

An interesting one because the level of bitterness on the back end is certainly not for me. However, the side of the can says bitter finish so it isn’t doing anything it shouldn’t. The nose is really good and that initial flavour hit is great. I probably won’t pick this up again, especially at that high an AVB for a standard IPA, but from an objective standpoint its a pretty good beer and if you are a fan of that level of bitterness you will love this I’m sure.

Score: 7/10

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Additional Information:

• Hops: Ekuanot, Cascade
• Malt: Pale, Crystal 150, Naked Malted Oats
• IBU: 75
• ABV: 6.9%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes!
• Purchase Price: £1.50 (4 for £6)
• Purchase Location: Morrisons