The Impala
Brewery: Karoo Brewing
Town: Paarl
Style: American Pale Ale
Color: unfiltered, amber
Head: off-white, rocky, ample
Nose: floral hops
Body: medium, medium carbonation
Palate: a fine mix of malt and hops, balanced
Finish: clean, slightly bitter
Served: from a bottle bought at Berg en Dal Rest Camp store
Impression: I was happy to find the Impala at the Berg en Dal store. I’d seen it at Tindvolu restaurant at Letaba Rest Camp but only had time for one beer at lunch. I had opted for the Jackal after some deliberation despite this one being labeled and American IPA. Oddly, the Impala is 4.5% and the Jackal is 6%. Generally speaking, American IPAs tend to be stronger, even 6% would be considered on the weaker side in the States. The flavor of this beer also seemed to point to a bad choice of categorization. I found the Impala to be very well-balanced and a true session IPA, with quite a bit of flavor for a mere 4.5% whereas the Jackal was a more robust IPA, more befitting the American IPA moniker. No worries, they’re both quite good and you can’t go wrong with either one. The weaker one might be a better lunch beer and save the stronger one for camp.
How about another South African craft beer?
