St Austell Proper Job 0.5% IPA

Proper Job 0.5% IPA is the low-alcohol version of St Austell Brewery’s well-established Proper Job IPA, a Cornish beer known for its American hop influence and citrus-led character. It’s an interesting addition to the alcohol-free IPA category, particularly because it takes its inspiration from a beer that already has a fairly distinctive identity.

I’m interested to see how much of the original Proper Job character carries through into this version, especially the balance between hop bitterness, citrus flavours and malt sweetness. At 0.5% ABV, I’ll be looking at whether it has the body and depth I’d expect from an IPA, as well as how its aroma, mouthfeel and finish compare with other alcohol-free IPAs I’ve tried.

Appearance:

A lovely vibrant amber and crystal clarity. Plenty of large bubbles make for a lively beer when poured. The head forms well and remains for some time, adding lacing to the top of the glass as it retreats.

Nose:

Lots of hops, honey, and a mixture of tropical, orchard and citrus notes. It’s also quite an autumnal nose with leaf litter and an earthy quality. I like the aromas rising from this beer. There’s also some clove-studded blood orange notes with a bitter edge.

Taste:

An initial bitterness and nice fizz subside to reveal sweeter, gentler flavours of the honey, golden syrup, more of that clove and blood orange and the tropical element. The lime citrus surfaces soon after. The beer has a pleasing multi-dimensional flavour profile and nice depth to it; it’s a great one to explore and savour (as opposed to just quenching a thirst).

Finish:

The blood orange bitterness, clove and honey last a long time. There’s also some eucalyptus cooling in the dying seconds of the finish too.

Overall:

I really like this one, it’s full-bodied and has a great balance of flavours on multiple levels. Definitely one for the cold and dark autumn/winter evenings in front of the fire!

Drink With:

Not with, but where and when – as above!

Would I buy Again?:

Yep.