Guest Video Review by Dave Coulter

When I first opened a beer box received from a friend and spied a gleaming bottle of The Brew Kettle White Rajah India Pale Ale, I was elated. I had already tried two beers from The Brew Kettle (they don’t sell their beers in GA) and they were both delicious. Dark Helmet Imperial Schwarzbier was an interesting take on this classic German lager, imperialized to boot. Old 21 Imperial India Pale Ale, though, was absolutely stellar, one of the best beers I enjoyed in 2013, and that’s saying a lot.

At first pass, I thought this was going to be a White IPA (White Rajah and all that), but turned out it is not. Instead, “White Rajah” has historical significance, referring to a line of English rulers of a kingdom in Borneo (thanks Wikipedia). What that has to do with IPA and a brewery from Strongsville, Ohio, I don’t know.

The Brew Kettle says this about the beer on the label:

White Rajah: a West Coast style IPA full of citrus-like and tropical fruit-like hop flavor and aroma with a (sic) assertive yet smooth bitter finish.

….malt, take a back seat, please.

The Brew Kettle White Rajah India Pale Ale has an alcohol content of 6.8% by volume and 70 IBUs. No details on the website about malt and hop varieties used.

The Brew Kettle White Rajah India Pale Ale pours to a bright orange color with a thick and very rocky head formation and a, well yeah, tropical fruity nose of pineapple and melons. Taking a sip, the beer has a light chewy maltiness up front consistent with the style, then the hops take over, less tropical I think than the nose implied although I do get some melon, but more resiny really and at the last rather grassy if truth be told. A long, really very dry bitterness lingers on the tongue after sipping. Very tasty stuff going on here.

I prefer the term San Diego IPA to West Coast IPA, since that’s where the style originated and we’ve seen IPAs a lot maltier on the West Coast for decades (and still do). With White Rajah, The Brew Kettle proves they can keep up with the best of them, whatever you call this style of hoppier, less malty IPA. Not to be missed, if you can get it.

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