Despite having seen beers from Salt Steel Brewing Co a handful of times in passing while scrolling through various social media posts, I hadn’t managed to get my hands on a can of Strip Tees from the Teeside brewery...until now! I went in with zero expectations other than knowing what a west coast IPA should taste like and being excited to try brewery new to me for the first time (you only get that one shot to try a brewery for the first time).
Pouring the IPA into my appropriately coordinated glass, it appeared golden-orange in colour with a light, white, foamy head thinly resting on top. There was a slight murkiness to it – the type that you can see through but does create a minor distortion to objects on the other side of the glass.
Taking in the aroma, I was greeted with a malt-forward, biscuit-y scent that was balanced with a lighter, more citrus-y/lemon note. For me, it landed in a similar way to how iced tea smells (just to try to liken it to something that you might be able to envision). On smell alone, I could already predict there would be bitterness and bitterness there was – though it was comfortably balanced out with the flavours of pine, citrus, and – I would argue – a slight touch of something nutty.
The mouthfeel was fuller and heartier than I would've expected for a 5% beer. The combination of all the flavours present paired with the dry finish made for a beer that was particularly more-ish and highly drinkable. I planned to just have it casually while making dinner, but I kept finding myself stopping what I was doing to take another sip.
As it warmed up, the biscuit-y notes started creeping into the taste more and brought a mellow sweetness into the undertone while the piney element mellowed. It continued, however, to remain balanced from pour to final sip.
This turned out to be more complex in flavour than I would’ve guessed but all the flavours blended together so well that it makes it enjoyable and something you'd want to keep coming back to. Really good demonstration on how an IPA can be so much more than a popular juice bomb (saying that as a fan of popular IPA juice bombs). On my next trip up to Whitby to see my father-in-law, I may need to detour restock (if the brewery allows pick-ups).
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