India Ale (Nils Oscar)

Sweden did not colonize India (seriously, look it up), thus they never sent Pale Ales to thirsty Swedes living on the sub-continent. Also, hops are not native to, nor are they grown in, Sweden. Put these two things together and you have a defense when someone bad mouths this beer.

It pours very much like a dark lager. Slightly more bubbly than I expected but the color is a nice dark golden color that reminded me of the IPAs I am used to here in the States. The smell was grassy, not overly hoppy and rather sweet. Its brewed with Amarillo hops from the US so Nils Oscar is going for the American version of an IPA and not an English one. 

Taste is decent. Its hard not to judge this against my favorite American IPAs. Its got a nice citrus taste and a nice balance between malt and hops. It is however rather light in taste and falls more into the pale ale category in my opinion. BUT, that being said, this is a good IPA from a very good Swedish brewery. 

Beer culture is growing in Sweden and Nils Oscar will likely help lead the way as Swedish beers become better and hopefully more available and affordable. The days of crappy continental lager being the staple beer of Scandinavia are slowly coming to an end.

BEER FACTS

Name: India Ale

Style: India Pale Ale

Brewery: Nils Oscar Company AB

Location: Nyköping, Sweden

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Malts: Munich, Pilsner and Caramel

Hops: Amarillo

ABV: 5.3%

IBUs: ?