Technically speaking, this beer might not seem to fit into a so-called IPA Week, given that the label says ‘‘Samuel Smith’s India Ale’’. The lack of a ‘‘pale’’ would seem to make this beer an ‘‘IA’’.

But I’m still calling it an IPA because I’ve never ever heard of an ‘‘India Ale’’ before. Presumably someone at Samuel Smith’s screwed up the printing of the first labels and, by the time someone realised the error, it was too late to do anything about it.

Or something like that anyway.

The back label says the beer is fermented in ‘‘stone Yorkshire squares’’, which I presume means something to smarter beer people than me. For me, it conjures up a picture of fermenting a beer in really uncool Yorkshire people who are made of stone.

Or something like that anyway.

This isn’t one of those super piney US IPAs but rather the more dialled down English versions. The flavour is one of smooth caramelly malts, which mix in nicely with the soft toffee notes of the hops. There’s some gentle bitterness and a noticeable softness in the texture, which I assume is down to the fact they use well water rather than tap water.

It’s a tasty enough beer but more of a sessionable number than something you’d drink to be impressed.

An interesting aside is that I couldn’t find a mention of the alcohol content anywhere on the front or back labels. Which is curious because I was under the assumption that it was illegal to sell beer in Australia without the alcohol content printed somewhere on the label.