Right, lets start by getting the hippy and marketing crap out of the way...
For the envirohippies; Innovation is brewed in a new energy efficient plant, the glass is thinner and so uses 34% less glass, and the cardboard box is made using recycled waste.
For the marketing drones, it's a limited edition beer. I have bottle 1533.
So let's now get on to the important stuff... The beer! Comes in a 500ml bottle and is 6.7%ABV, so 3.4 UK units.
Described as "golden" by Adnams, I have to disagree and say it's more copper/bronze. I've seen and held a gold ingot (Bank of England museum in London), and this beer is not the same colour!
The nose is very muted. Because I have an almost full glass at the moment, I think I'll try and come back to that later!
On the tongue, it's very much about the hops. According to the ingredients list, Innovation is made using 3 hops: Boadicea, Styrian Goldings and Columbus. These combine to produce a very floral beer. The taste lingers, perhaps with slight bitterness developing in the finish.
I said earlier Innovation is 6.7%ABV, but it doesn't taste it. Certainly not a weakling though... I'd probably have put it closer to the mid 5% range. Also, unlike many bottled beers, the level of condition (i.e. the CO2 content) seems quite low, so is unlikely to lead to the usual bloated feelings you get with some bottled beers.
So back to that nose now that I have room to agitate the beer. It's hops. Again! Perhaps a slight lemony citrus in there somewhere.
So the main characteristic of Innovation seems to be summed up in one word... Hoppy.
So a score... Despite it being, to me, very one-dimensional I can't really grumble about it. It is a pleasant beer, once you get past the hippy and marketing gimmicks. It's not a beer I'd spend a night drinking. Quite possibly a mildly warm and sunny summer evening sat out in the garden relaxing type beer. I think that overall I'm going to give it a 7 out of 10. It may have got an 8, but I'm afraid the hippy/marketing side confirm the lower end of what I was considering.
And thanks to Dire Straits for providing the music while sampling this beer.