Tuesday Tasting: Three Little Indians

Over the weekend, Gin hosted a small gathering to celebrate her return from India. For the occasion, she made some tasty Indian food and provided a smuggled batch of one of that country's best beer offerings, Kingfisher. To be safe, I decided to bring my own flavors, but I wanted to match her theme, so I picked a couple of India Pale Ales to wash down the curry.

Kingfisher Premium Lager: This is exactly the kind of beer you'd expect to find in India. A simple, light lager that would be refreshing on a hot summer day. Reminds me of the majority of Mexican and Asian beers on the market.

Left Hand Warrior IPA: I'm a big fan of Left Hand Milk Stout, so I decided to try out this 6.6 percent ABV offering, which is one of Left Hand's seasonal brews. The bitter hops are balanced well with the sweet malt flavors, but it didn't impress me as the Milk Stout did when I first had that. Maybe I'm just not in an IPA mood these days.

Otter Creek Imperial IPA: Compared to the Left Hand Warrior, this 11 percent ABV brew had a lot more of the fruity flavors that I associate with tasty IPAs. However, it was also quite a bit bitterer.

I don't know what it is about me and IPAs in recent tastings, but it gives me the bloat and a touch of the grumble gut. Back-to-back tastings of two IPAs was probably not a good way to get a proper feel for each of these beers. C'est la vie.

Booze Hounds Beer Rating: All better than Natty Light.

• Kingfisher: 2.4 Hiccups
• Warrior: 3.4 Hiccups
• Otter Creek: 3.3 Hiccups

[Drunkard's note: The Booze Hounds Beer Rating scale (0-5 Hiccups) is based on a complex mathematical formula that would be impossible to explain to such a dunderheaded audience. Let's just say the higher the score, the more likely I am to drink it again.]