Heart & Soul, Vocation Brewery

Brewery: Vocation

Brew: Heart & Soul

Type: Session IPA

ABV: 4.4%

Another serving from Hebden Bridge. Vocation Brewery faired alright in the review of there Life & Death brew, I awarded it a 3/5. Will their lighter, Session IPA do better?

Well, like Life & Death, we’re told this is likely to be a fruity ale with aromas of a range of tropical fruits creating an “intense fruit-salad character”. They achieve this by filling this beer with a generous amount of US West Coat Hops. Heart & Soul is a session IPA. A session IPA, as I think we discussed in a previous post, is essentially a beer brewed to be less hard hitting, usually with a lower ABV. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s light on flavour.

Sat in front of me is a familiar little black can with white doodles on it, looking a lot more inviting now the Grim Reaper isn’t staring from just above the ABV (see Life & Death). The artwork on this packaging is a lot less daunting. The immediate smells from the can as it’s opened are intensely tropical. Mango punches through the most, followed by a slight of gooseberry and a hint of something sweeter, which after a second becomes pineapple. First impression are important and this was pleasant and fresh.

Not surprisingly, when poured, it’s not too carbonated, medium really, flows light, more lager like in colour, before settling to a light golden colour. The head that forms is crisp white and is only there for a little bit before bubbling off.

The tropical aromas are still wafting about, drawing you in.

It’s a deeper taste than I was expecting. The strong mango smell somehow turns into a grapefruit taste. The hops pile through but not so much as to over power every other layer of taste. The more you indulge, the more pineapple the flavour becomes, which provides and interesting compliment to the hops. It’s is slightly bitter, meaning the fruits don’t because too sickly. What doesn’t come up is that heavier hoppy after taste that some IPAs carry about. Pleasing, because thats pretty much what you don’t want in a session IPA. That suggests Vocation have cracked it.

Heart & Soul is lighter in the mouth than your standard ale, but has that gut feeling that, if you drink it a little too quick, could leave you feeling bloated. I think think larger drinkers would like this one. This is a brew with a good balance of fruit and hops. Its not got a flavour that will overpower your or become too much too soon. It really is quite easy to drink. The downside is that bloatyness that I started feeling, and that was after one can. Bit of a shame.

3.5/5