Peculier IPA

Review Date 9/1/2025  By John Staradumsky

  Style: India Pale Ale   Brewery: Theakston   Country: England   State: N/A   $ Per OZ: N/A   ABV: 5.1%

People don’t read enough Michael Jackson these days. They don’t watch enough Michael Jackson, either. I was thinking this while I was enjoying a Peculier IPA, a new beer from England’s Theakston brewery. This is, as you may have guessed, from the same brewery that gives us the classic Old Peculier Yorkshire Ale.

I was enjoying the beer on August 31^st of 2025, toasting the memory of Jackson as he passed 18 years earlier the day before. Where does the time go? I had to toast him with an English beer, because, well, he was English. I always toast him with a German beer, too, and a Belgian beer, but those would come later. I think he would have liked the idea of Peculier IPA, a new fangled (but at the same time classis) IPA from a long standing brewery.

Here's what Theakston says about the beer:

An instant classic, worthy of the ‘Peculier’ name.

Originally brewed as a seasonal ale, its bold flavour and exceptional quality earned it a permanent place in our core range.

Brewed with 100% British ingredients, Peculier IPA pays tribute to the historic origins of India Pale Ale — a beer style born in the 19th century to accompany British troops on long sea voyages to India. The high hop content and alcohol strength were designed to preserve the beer’s freshness, creating a robust, characterful ale that has since inspired a global brewing phenomenon.

Theakston Peculier IPA is brewed with Harlequin, Jester and Olicana hops. The Harlequins are an English hop said to impart tropical and stone fruit notes, though I did not really get the tropical and a only a hint of the peach. The Jester and Olicana are Cascade derivatives, and I was thinking Cascade before I even knew what the hop varieties were.  

Theakston Peculier IPA has an alcohol content of 5.1% by volume and I paid $4.49 for my half pint can from Half Time. This is the only pricing information that I have. My can was stamped BBE May 26 on the bottom.

Theakston Peculier IPA pours to a bright orange amber color with a thick fluffy white head and a nose of grassy, earthy hops. Thick Brussels Lace forms on the sides of my glass. Taking a sip, the beer is medium in body with a bit of caramel malt and lightly toasted biscuit.. It’s flinty, slightly buttery with just a hint of diacetyl, and intensely infused with grassy, earthy, herbal hops. It’s perfumey in aroma with a long dry bitter finish and just a beautiful English IPA. American IPA this is not. The Cascade like citrusy piney note and English hop character remind me of Grant’s IPA. If you know of finer praise than that, let me know, and I’ll use it.

 Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??