Style: Imperial IPA | ABV: 8.5% | VIC, Australia

When milling down the aisles of your local cellar, it’s difficult to define what makes you stop and examine a bottle more closely. In this case it was the swatch of colour and retro comic-book graphics of Bling Bling. It’s even harder to realise why I didn’t put this bottle back down again after seeing the gaudy name, but hey, what’s really in a beer label? Bridge Road boasts a hopped-up double IPA which looks promising enough. I find myself eager to to discover if there is any substance to this brew or if it is nothing but flash braggadocio.

Appearance (8/10):

The look of Bling Bling is not dissimilar to the stained wood tones of an old English bitter, on-top of which lies a head as billowy as down pillow.

Smell (9/10):

It’s aroma is its best attribute, a whiff giving powerful and complex smells. Pineapple and tangerine fall away to salty butterscotch and herbal hop undertones. The combination of fragrances are unexpected but worked well to whet my thirst.

Taste (7/10):

Pleasantly sweet and citrus flavours driven from a dominate hop taste, Bling Bling conjures up tastes of caramel and salty choc-chip biscuits offset well with a lingering floral hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel (8/10):

Well balanced consistency and carbonation that avoids being dry despite its strong alcohol content. Resin from the abundant hop oils give a moment of stickiness on the tongue.

Overall (8/10):

Bling Bling managers to be interesting and unique whilst striking a good overall balance. It was delightfully smooth and well received, but I was disappointed it couldn’t bring the flavour complexity to the next step. In all other ways this was a fun and elaborate drop, although I do feel somewhat perturbed that I couldn’t come to any conclusions on my philosophical musings.