Devils Backbone American IPA
Initially brewed at Banks’s by Devil’s Backbone’s head brewer, Jason Oliver, in September 2014, then contract brewed by Banks’s for Devil’s Backbone. Exclusive to Wetherspoon’s pub chain.
Ingredients: A mix of English (East Kent Goldings and Admiral) and American hops added late in the process. Single-infusion mash of Pale Ale malt, fermented in open vats.
American IPA is the first Devil’s Backbone beer to be sold outside of the United States. The beer is an original Devil’s Backbone recipe showcasing American hops and brewed especially for the English palate. Bank’s traditional brewery is significantly different from Devils Backbone’s in the US. The experience left Oliver nostalgic for the early days of his brewing career: "I started out at an English inspired brewery in Baltimore, and brewing at Banks’s really took me back, especially seeing the open fermentations. You can smell them, almost hear them slowly churning, and all but touch them. They’re tangible, alive and something I haven’t experienced in a long time."
Devils Backbone was impressed with Wetherspoons commitment to selection and freshness. "We visited quite a few Wetherspoon pubs and I was struck by the number of options offered to consumers, even in the country pubs, and by the knowledgeable managers we met who really cared about the quality of the beverages they were serving", explained Chief Operating Officer Hayes Humphreys. "We’re confident that our beer will be well tended to."
Ingredients: A mix of English (East Kent Goldings and Admiral) and American hops added late in the process. Single-infusion mash of Pale Ale malt, fermented in open vats.
American IPA is the first Devil’s Backbone beer to be sold outside of the United States. The beer is an original Devil’s Backbone recipe showcasing American hops and brewed especially for the English palate. Bank’s traditional brewery is significantly different from Devils Backbone’s in the US. The experience left Oliver nostalgic for the early days of his brewing career: "I started out at an English inspired brewery in Baltimore, and brewing at Banks’s really took me back, especially seeing the open fermentations. You can smell them, almost hear them slowly churning, and all but touch them. They’re tangible, alive and something I haven’t experienced in a long time."
Devils Backbone was impressed with Wetherspoons commitment to selection and freshness. "We visited quite a few Wetherspoon pubs and I was struck by the number of options offered to consumers, even in the country pubs, and by the knowledgeable managers we met who really cared about the quality of the beverages they were serving", explained Chief Operating Officer Hayes Humphreys. "We’re confident that our beer will be well tended to."
3.2
161 reviews
Roseland, United States
Community reviews
At Sheffield Doncaster Airport
Aromas- Light and sweet of tropical fruit, mainly pineapple with a touch of light caramel malts
Appearance- clear deep am er colour with a medium but strong white foam.
Palate- Medium body with smooth texture leaving light but dry finish.
Taste- Sweet grassy and hoppy with light herbal bitterness and a touch of orange peel.
Overall- Not bad, easy and refreshing
Bottled. 40cl sample. The aroma has pine, some flowers, toffee malt. Clear, amber coloured beer with a thin head. The taste is light bitter, bit piney harsh. Good.
Beautiful American IPA.. Strong grapefruit taste that really works well and doesn't overpower the beer
Clear dark-golden to amber pour, with foamy white head. Mild hoppy aroma, first bit earthy, later more fruity. Taste mild bitter, earthy & malty. Good carbo. It's not really an American style IPA, more an American pale ale.
Bottle at Prince Arthur, Fleet. Low key spicey pine aroma. Amber. Fluffy white head. Light bitter. A tad raw. Medium bodied. Slick. Average carbonation. Pretty abrupt finish. Bland.
Was so disappointed I had to find the true origins of this beer and surprise surprise it’s a marston’s product. Avoid.
Average apa, very bitter
Aus der Flasche 2015-05 getrunken. Dieses IPA hat eine schöne Frucht, ein angenehme Hopfenbitterkeit und ein kräftigen Körper. Ein schöner Durstlöscher.
Fles 50cl bij The Holland Tringham in Londen. Fruitig, citrus, hoppig, redelijk volle smaak, bitters. Redelijk goede balans. (9-2-2019).
it looks like a beer... taste of malt. pretty naff for an ipa, i probably would have liked this beer when i was 6 and my parents had dragged me down the pub and I'd snatched a swig to wash down crisps, but I'd have probably preferred lemonade
A golden/amber IPA with a thin with a fruity aroma and a nice fruity flavour not too bitter but a good IPA
Lys brun lett tåkete med lavt offwhite skum. Lukter aprikos og karamell. Lett. Smaker bitter sitrus, karamell og noe blomster. Kort
Tried a bottle at JDW Bloxwich Showman.
Pours a ginger/amber colour.
Mild aroma of grass.
Slight citrus taste and a sweet/bitter aftertaste.
The bottle was fridge temperature and I'd like to try it at cellar/cask temperature to see if it'll bring out more of the flavours.
500ml bottle. Pours golden amber, off white head. Aroma is biscuit, caramel, and citrus zing. Taste is malty, sweet and some bitterness on the back end. A little Orange, grapefruit and hint on pine from the hops. Not bad for an English ale, disappointing for AIPA.
Bottle at home from Morrisons. A good pour and drunk alongside a roast chicken dinner with the family. To me this is a good best bitter, with perfect drinkability and a very good malt and bitter hop balance. Despite it being called an APA, but what do I know!
Creamy, frothy white head stayed on a dark amber coloured effervescent body.
Malt & pine aroma.
Medium bodied, smooth over the tongue & a cloying back.
Pine, cattiness, heavy malt & caramel.
JDW's use to sell this on draught but only in bottles now. I was wary when I saw Marston's on the label.....
Nice intro into Craft beers....
500ml bottle from Wetherspoons. Work there and some customers were raving about it tonight, so took one home (after paying of course). Usually easily impressed after a shift, but this left me disappointed. Bland. Almost tasted flat. Minor hints of some hops or something floral, but I'm stretching. Inoffensive, but won't be going out of my way again.
Not a bad beer though it’s not too good if you’re comparing it to US IPAs. Lacking in hops, bitterness and character. A pretty average amber ale pretending to be a craft brew
500ml Bottles from Co-op, Kirkby Stephen and Mini-Cask from Morrisons, Birtley, Gateshead.
Bottle: Golden coloured with a thick white head. It has a citrus but slight soapy flavour with tropical fruit and pine on the finish. Not bad.
Mini-Cask: Pale golden coloured with a very thick white head of foam. It has a malty, toffee and gentle citrus flavour with pine and sweet floral hops on the finish. Good, but a strange mouthfeel as it is a cask conditioned IPA!
Ok ipa very easy drinking for its kind, floral and a little resin aroma but distinct lack of bitter flavour
Bottle pucked up in morrisons. Amber sofr lemon cheesecake taste low carbonation
unfortunately seems to have disappeared off draught now, and is confined to bottles, which is great (we don't want it going for good) but not quite the same. on draught, this was a fantastic glass of beer and worth visiting a wetherspoon for. interesting blend of malts and hops, with a strangely dry aftertaste. bottle seems "darker" on the palate, somehow.
Bottle at The bridge House, Belfast. Pours deep golden color, white head. Aroma is malty, some citrusy hops. Taste is medium bitter, lightly sweet, malty, bitter finish.
On tap @ Ray's Place. 21st birthday celebration.
Bottle. Pours a dark orange colour with a fluffy white head, light hop aroma with some fruit, the taste is medium bitterness and fruity with a dry bitter finish.
Bottle. Bronze with a small head. Amazingly lacking in hops for a beer that claims to be an IPA. All the information on the label seems to indicate that it is an IPA from Virginia when in fact it was brewed, using the term very loosely in Wolverhampton.
Just another boring brewery trying to jump on the craft beer wagon. One for the avoid list.
Butelka 500ml. Zloty kolor. Piana mala,biala zanika prawie natychmiast. Wyrazny chmielowy aromat z cytrusowa podstawa. W smaku raczej wodniste z cytrusowym akcentem i wyrazna chmielowa goryczka. Grejpfrutowe albedo dodaje jeszcze wiecej goryczki ,ktora minimalizuja ciastka i karmel.
Bottle at JDW’s Windmill at stansted airport. Pours clear amber with a small off-white head. Aroma of hop, light citrus and tropical fruit, malt, floral and caramel. Medium sweetness and moderate bitterness. Light to medium body, slight oily texture, soft carbonation. Only ok.
Tasted this at the Paddle Steamer, Largs (JDW) on the 31st March 2017. 500ml bottle poured into DB glass. Clear pale amber in colour with a thick foam white head. Very little aroma present but slight hop prickle noted. Thin resiny mouthfeel and good lacing. Pale malt base gives light digestive biscuit with grapefruit pith but very thin otherwise. Strong metallic tang imparts a harshness to the bitter hop resins. Finish is slightly bitter with metallic notes evident in the mouth. Very poor American Pale Ale - there must be better examples of this style out there. One to avoid - unless your having a vindaloo?
Bottle at weatherspoons, broadstone. Decent offering but not a huge amount to say.