St Austell - Proper Job

They're not kidding! This is an IPA done well, this is an IPA with big powerful hop flavours that leave a little tingle in your mouth, have a tinge of bitterness and medium carbonation, all of which adds up to a deliciously satisfying pint of bottle conditioned ale that I could drink for days and weeks and months and years until my liver turned to sponge and my kidneys became petrified statues of crying gargoyles. Back in September I wrote a review for Tribute by St. Austell and said that Tribute should be the standard against which all other ales should be measured, I would now like to suggest that Proper Job be the benchmark to which all good IPAs should be measured, I'm not talking about Greene King, though I guess that has more flavour than most mass produced rubbish out there, no, I'm talking about IPAs like Jaipur and Skrimshander, Goose Island and Torpedo, all of the ones that are slightly off the beaten path, the ones that occupy the dustier shelves in supermarkets.

Proper Job really is that tasty, it tastes clean with little hints of a milky texture and the after taste is not unlike the very end of a bag of sour Haribo. That's all just a sideshow though, the real star of the show is the combination between the big, bitter, hop tastes and the carbonation which makes this as drinkable as chilled cream soda and as likeable as freshly ironed, tight fitting, underwear on a snowy day.

I can't help but gush about St. Austell because they make beer that is far reaching enough to appeal to supermarkets (though this one is not available everywhere,) whilst still retaining the strength of character to outshine beers like the ridiculously popular Doom Bar as well as most offerings from their local rivals Skinner's. Proper Job is a beer for the beer drinker in everyone from the beer drinker who knows he's a beer drinker to the casual ale-curious individual to the poor folk who are completely baffled by all the funny looking labels. It's not, by any means, the most complex or most interesting beer I've ever tasted but it sure is one of the most accessible, one of the most friendly and one of the most inviting. Proper Job doesn't judge you, I get the impression that Proper Job just wants to be your friend.

Food Suggestion: Pork roast, lovely pork roast with crackling and some nice, crispy, spuds. Yeah, that'll do it.

Drink this if you like: The Meantime IPA is a similar beast to Proper Job, whilst having a higher percentage. Torpedo IPA by Sierra Nevada is like Proper Job... Just bigger... So that's something to consider.