Thornbridge Brewery Jaipur Beer Review - The First UK Craft IPA

Usually recognised at the First UK Craft IPA, Jaipur is the flagship beer of Thornbridge Brewery, the one that really helped solidify the brewery’s presence on the craft beer scene back in 2005. To this day, it continues to be their most popular beer, with Jaipur alone accounting for more than 65% of the total output for Thornbridge Brewery, who develop and distribute a huge array of craft beers around the world.

Based in the heart of the Peak District, Thornbridge Brewery gets its name from their original dwelling - Thornbridge Hall. This Jacobean country house is located just outside of Bakewell, and dates back to the 12th Century. Jim and Emma Harrison bought this house in 2002, with much work ahead of them. They set out restoring the house bit by bit, starting with basics likefreshwater and missing walls. (NB: 2 decades and £20m later they have nearly restored and saved every inch of Thornbridge)

 Not so long after moving in, they built the original Thornbridge Brewery in a converted joiner's and stonemason’s workshop within the grounds of Thornbridge Hall. Jim Harrison, with help from business partner Simon Webster and two other young brewers, set out with aims "to make a small range of quality cask and bottled beers using new recipes, innovative approaches and the use of local fresh ingredients". Its first beers appeared in February 2005, brewed on a second hand 10-barrel kit in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall. The Lord Marples beer was born - a 4% traditional bitter - named after one of the previous occupants of Thornbridge Hall. This beer continues to be a part of the Brewery’s core range.

The infamous Jaipur IPA was invented and brewed here in mid 2005 - on their third attempt. A 5.9% IPA packed with American hops and like nothing else in the beer industry at that time. Following an array of awards and national recognition, Jaipur catapulted Thornbridge into the spotlight, and the need for a new craft brewery became clear.

You might be thinking - why the name Jaipur? Well, as with many of their beers, the naming comes from a more sentimental side of the Thornbridge brewers. Jaipur was the location where founders Emma and Jim Harrison were married. The famous pink walls of the Indian city are also why the beer’s label is the same colour.

 In 2009, they built an enormous brewery on the Riverside Estate in Bakewell - where the Tap Room, Brewery and Shop still reside today. This allowed Thornbridge Brewery to meet with demand they were experiencing and continue to develop and expand their range of beers.

Venturing to this taproom on the outskirts of Bakewell seems only fitting to try this infamous yet local brew. Poured fresh from the cask, pints of Jaipur seem to be all that everyone is drinking here, despite their vast array of offerings from cask to keg; porters to sours and imperial stouts. All of these (aside from the cider) are brewed a mere 100ft away, in the next warehouse across from the Tap Room.

It is understandable why Jaipur is, and remains to be, such a popular beer. Light and golden in colour, this 5.9% India Pale Ale is incredibly smooth. There are citrus, primarily grapefruit notes, with a tropical mouthfeel. However, it is the bitter, lingering aftertaste that holds on your tongue, creating an elongated drinking experience.  

Surrounded by Jaipur signs, memorabilia, merchandise, and cans ready to be filled with the beer within the next few days, it is impossible to ignore the impact of this single drink on the success of Thornbridge Brewery.

So successful in fact, that it is not the only version of this beer. In 2015, to celebrate 10 years of brewing Jaipur, Thornbridge went on to create Jaipur X - a 10% Imperial IPA - the ABV reflective of each year this beer has continued to be a success. Alongside this, you can find DDH Jaipur, which uses the same recipe as Jaipur, but is double dry hopped creating an even punchier tropical fruit character. Not forgetting Chaipur, the Chai IPA version, complementing the original IPA recipe with spices such as cinnamon, ginger, clove, black pepper and cardamom.

Although the Jaipur Beer is English from production location through to traditional bitter taste, make sure you check out our other India-related beer reviews, such as the Kingfisher Premium, Kingfisher Storm and Kingfisher Ultra.

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Written By Ellie Seed

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