Honeyspot Road White IPA

Honeyspot Road White IPA
1 12 oz bottle, $1.89++, 6% ABV

Purchased at Harvest Wine and Spirits, West Hartford

whiteIPaYou know how the term “whitebread” means boring and pedestrian? Urban Dictionary almost nails my feelings on the word:

Belonging to the class of bland, clean-cut, middle-of-the-road suburbanite breeders. The Cleavers from the old TV show “Leave It To Beaver” are a familiar archetype of whitebread culture. Compare to yuppie.

The term implies profound cultural naïvete, blind consumerism, and an unquestioning “follower” mindset. Common trappings of the whitebread lifestyle include golf, Kenny G and Enya CDs, SUVs, an irrational fixation on lawn care, Golden Retrievers, nominally Christian religious beliefs, Old Navy clothing, moderate to conservative political views, bad Chardonnay, equally bad espresso, cookie-cutter houses, Bath & Body Works hygiene products, and very white-collar employment.

Though whitebread individuals are usually white, the term is not necessarily racial in meaning – the implication lies more with the blandness, predictability, and banality of plain white bread. Accordingly, “wonderbread” is often used as a synonym.

Pretty good.
Pretty good.

Two Roads Says:
The Two Roads interpretation of this emerging beer style naturally takes a road less traveled. Unlike other versions, ours employs an American ale yeast and no spices. The result is a soft wheat backdrop that accentuates the Pacific Northwest hop character.

image.axdSo, as I understand it, Two Roads has taken a rather bland style (so-called White IPA) and blanded it up a bit by removing the usual flavor elements (spices, citrus). Hm. I don’t get it.

Since “White IPA” doesn’t really mean anything, Two Roads is free to brew as they choose. And this is a very light, super highly carbonated beer – along the lines of a hefenweizen perhaps (a style I do not like at all), but it doesn’t have that skunky green bottle taste. The Honeypot Road is clean and even refreshing.

But what is it? I have no idea. There is no hop profile. There are no floral notes. No pine. Very slight citrus. Lots of bubbles. Wheat beer taste I guess.

There’s nothing offensive about it. Just boring, boring beer…

Honeyspot Road Whitebread IPA.

[Aside: The CRRA Garbage Museum was on Honeyspot Road. We visited before it closed in 2011]

Overall Rating: C
Rating vs. Similar style: C

Beer Advocate’s Reviews of Honeyspot Road White IPA
Two Roads Brewing Company
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