Stevens Point Amber Lager and Founders Centennial IPA

Right, a little bit different this time. Decided to waffle on about two different beers in one post: Stevens Point Brewery's Amber Lager and Founders' Centennial IPA. I'll set the scene...

It's a Saturday afternoon and once again we find ourselves at Ship In A Bottle, browsing shelf-upon-shelf of ales, aiming to find something new and exciting to drown out the tedium of Strictly. It is at this moment I realise that I judge beers far too quickly, simply based on the design on their label. Time for a change. I settle on a small collection of three or four different brews from Michigan's Founders Brewery, spend a short time reading the descriptions (and ABV) of each, pluck the Centennial IPA from it's place on the shelf and plonk it onto the counter.

With one choice made my eyes again began to wander. In a break from tradition, I perused the bottom shelf, sifting through a range of bottles, unappealing in both style of beer and description. It is then that I realise that half of this shelf is occupied by the wares of one brewery in particular: Stevens Point. A brewery based across the water in Wisconsin. The helpful shopkeeper was keen to recommend the brewery, in particular their Amber Lager. Although initially sceptical (I'm not a huge lager fan), Stevens Point are the cheapest range in stock. I go with his recommendation and head home.

Hours have passed and it's now time to crack open the first of my two new brews. As I'm feeling a little more excited by the prospect of supping the Centennial IPA, I opt to start with the Amber Lager.

Now, I know I mentioned that lager isn't my favourite style of beer, but I can appreciate when something has been brewed with a certain amount of passion. Seemingly, this hasn't.

As I poured the lager it was immediately apparent that my palate was not in for a treat. With no distinctive smell and a head that vanished within seconds, what I found was a drab, boring, and somewhat pathetic beer. As I sipped at the Stevens Point brew whilst cooking, my mind kept flitting back to nights out in Southport during my time at college, drinking awful beer and trying to fool my body into enjoying it. It really is questionable as to how a brewery can allow such a sub-standard product to bear their name. Something has gone wrong here. With not much in the way of taste (think can of Carlsberg on K1) I slowly reached the end of the glass. Job done. Finally. Let's move on.

Feeling like I'd done my bit, I opened the second bottle with a sense of enthusiasm mixed with apprehension. Surely this will actually taste of something?

From the very second I cracked open Founders' Centennial IPA my fears were allayed. The aroma of hops and citrus filled my nostrils. This IPA wasn't messing about. The head retention was decent and a nice amount of foam lacing was left around the rim of the glass as the head dissipated.

From the first sip I was blown away by the Centennial IPA. Masses of citrus and hops balanced with an almost pine-like after taste were the main points here. This is a bold IPA which exudes every bit of it's ABV of 7.2%. You can tell the folk at Founders have taken a long time in perfecting this recipe. It simply tastes like a high quality IPA; a perfect mix between a session ale and something to drink slowly and savour. It reminded me of Brew Dog's 'IPA Is Dead' series, particularly the Waimea, which I was fortunate enough to enjoy from the tap at Leeds' Brew Dog bar.

Overall, it's safe to say I loved Founders' Centennial IPA. Is this because I'm already a big fan of American IPA's? Probably. Perhaps I enjoyed it that little bit more as it had been preceded by Stevens Point's Amber Lager? Who knows. One thing I am sure of is that I will be picking up another bottle soon, as well as trying another of Founders' creations. Recommended.