Soup IPA By The Spanish Garage Beer Co

Soup IPA is a beer I have been wanting to try for a long time, but it seems to have been able to hide from me for a long time. Brewed by the Garage Beer Co in Barcelona, Spain, I finally got my hands on a can. So what’s it like? I hope it is not going to let me down.

Soup IPA does not let me down, it is a cracker of a beer. It pours a hazy light orange gold with a one finger white top. On the nose it screams tropical fruits with plenty of citrus popping out of those hops. The taste reflects the nose with bursts of citrus hops delivering all the tropical’s like mango, pineapple, bitter grapefruit and lemon. It is bitter, but smooth with it, an absolute joy of a beer which gets a score of 4.8 out of 5.0.

Soup IPA looks good, smells good and tastes good, a great IPA.

Table Of Contents

Soup IPA Review

Like I said I have been searching for this beer for a while, and finally getting my hands on it is exciting. I mean the can says it all, no fancy artwork (which I am not knocking by the way, I love a bit of artwork on a beer can), just an orange label with the words Soup IPA in yellow.

There are no distractions, to me it is a confident can, there is nothing needed on the outside to support what is going on inside.

It is described as a New England style IPA and for me I expected probably Mosaic and Chinook hops, for some reason I don’t think it will have any Citra hops.

At 6.0% ABV it is by no means a session beer, but it is a beer I am looking forward to, so it is time to crack it open.

Drinking Soup IPA

Soup IPA pours a hazy light orange gold with a fluffy white one finger head. On the nose the hoppiness hits you right in the face, and it screams tropical fruits with plenty of citrus popping out of those hops.

There are aromas of mango, pineapple and grapefruit, but there are others hard to identify, it’s just fair to say it is a tropical storm in a glass.

The taste follows the nose with an in your face hop circus swirling around the mouth delivering a tropical party. I get the mango, pineapple and grapefruit, but Lou also gets a lemon citrus bite. Just like the nose there are more flavours lurking, maybe a little orange or apricot.

As you experience these tropical flavours around the mouth a pleasant bitterness hits, but it’s not harsh and gradually fades to a smooth finish.

I thought Mosaic and Chinook hops before I tasted it, but after tasting it I think there could be Citra hops too, because the citrus load is a big hit.

After looking into it, Soup IPA is brewed using Citra and Mosaic.

It looks good, smells good and tastes good, it’s a mellow smooth body full of tropical’s then bitterness that fades back to smooth. I love it and it gets a rate my beer score of 4.8 out of 5.0.

M’Lady likes it too and pretty much agrees with me (unusual). Saying, “It smells good, tastes good and has plenty of tropical fruity flavours. It has a good balance of bitterness and smoothness, that’s a good beer.”

Lou scores it 4.7 out of 5.0, which is pretty high for Lou.

Garage Beer Co

Garage Beer Co was founded by an Italian and an Englishman in Barcelona, Spain in 2015. The two men in question are Alberto Zamborlin and James Welsh and the original premises was a brewpub.

Initially although the brew pub was pretty popular, the beer was not the best, and they knew they had a lot of room for improvement.

There big breakthrough, or at least when they started to produce better beer, was after a collaboration with Brooklyn brewer ‘Other Half Brewery’.

What they learnt on that collaboration took them in a different direction and their beers started to get noticed.

In 2017 they opened a new brewery, but still have the brewpub where some beers are still brewed. In 2021 they opened and new location to enjoy beer and pizzas.

Gargae Beer Co have done their part for the craft beer scene in Spain and are now well known world wide for their beers.

Garage Beers

Garage Beer Co range has grown over the years and they have a decent amount of beer to choose from, although not always easy to get in the UK.

They do seem to change a lot of their beers, one I tried a while ago Porifera DIPA doesn’t seem to be in their range anymore.

So apart from the likes of Soup IPA and possibly a few others, I think the beers come and go. There are a few version of Soup now with Soup DIPA and I think they did one called Soup Strata, which personally I don’t think they need to do.

Anyway here are a few that I have found available at the moment.

Parka

Parka is an English style Porter which apparently has a Garage twist to it. Sounds intriguing, it has a deep rich maltiness with the roast flavour pulled back a little. Flavours of nutty biscuit with chocolate, toffee and raisins, it has a smooth body with a balanced bitter finish.

It sounds like a cracker, and at just 4.5% ABV is ripe for a session. But will it be too rich to have more than one? I shall have to track it down and give it a try.

Compelling Argument

Compelling Argument is a sour beer that has been brewed in the past as is back at the present. It’s a dessert style sour loaded with peach, Raspberry and Vanilla flavours.

Apparently it is rich and smooth with some acidity balancing things out. I am not a sour beer fan, but I would still like to give it a go and if it hits me like any other sour beer, then I know someone who will enjoy it, Lou!

However at 7.5% ABV it is not one to guzzle, but it will be nice if it is the sour beer that breaks me.

Ocata

Ocata is a mix of old style and new style IPA, it delivers a little of both with an understated feel, an IPA they say is made for all beer drinkers.

Using Mosaic and Palisade hops it delivers the Mosaic citrus tropical’s and from Palisade there is floral, citrus and grassy qualities.

It weighs in at 5.4% ABV so still not a session beer, but by the sounds of it this beer my draw you into a second one.

Definitely an IPA I would like to give a test drive.

Final Thoughts

Garage Beer Co are doing their thing and doing it very well. I have only had a couple of their beers, but I plan to seek out more that’s for sure.

I can see why Soup IPA is a well loved beer by many beer heads, and for me the can says it all. They know the beer is good so why go mad with artwork, that’s confidence.

If you have had any Garage beers, especially Soup IPA, then do share your thoughts below. Are you a soup lover?