28/12/2018 0 Comments Beer Review - Yellow BellyBuxton x OmnipolloYellow Belly. Potentially the daddy of all beers, it's most certainly considered the daddy of imperial stouts. This beer has been around for years, and yet it's taken me until now to get round to trying it. Why? I'm not sure really. I think when I first started my craft beer journey, it was partly the price that put me off - paying the guts of £10 for a beer seemed outrageous to me. But as I grew to appreciate beer more, and just how complex and incredible the flavours could be, I realised that it might actually be worth it. Yellow Belly is a collaboration between Buxton Brewery and Swedish giants Omnipollo and is a 11% ABV imperial peanut butter biscuit stout (yes, you read that right). Here's the official description from the breweries: “Yellow belly” — a person who is without courage, fortitude, or nerve; a coward. To us, one of the most cowardly deeds is to act anonymously, hiding behind a group. A signifying trait of institutionalised racism. This beer is brewed to celebrate all things new, open minded and progressive. A peanut butter biscuit stout with no biscuits, butter or nuts. Taste, enjoy, and don’t be prejudiced." You may have seen this beer in the press lately regarding an ongoing legal situation regarding the name, and as a result it is actually being discontinued in its current form. You can read the full story behind this beer here. I picked this beer up from Hop Shop Aberdeen, as usual, as part of my Christmas stash, and Christmas Day seemed as good a time as ever to enjoy this beer. We can't talk about this beer before talking about the presentation. It is striking, potentially unlike anything else on the shelves, and to anyone who doesn't know the full story behind the beer - possibly quite confusing. But when you unwrap the bottle from it's white hood, and read the message on the bottle , then you realise exactly what this beer is all about. Yellow Belly pours from the bottle a dark brown, almost oil black, leaving a thin tan coloured head. The initial aromas are loads of peanut butter, roasted malts, hazelnut and sweet buttery biscuit. It really does smell incredible! After one sip of this beer then you know you are in good hands; big roasted malts up front combine with peanut butter, some bitter chocolate, butter biscuit and a hint of vanilla. This beer is incredibly full bodied, nice and creamy, with low carbonation. The flavours are faultless, and come together wonderfully to make this everything a great stout should be. Was this beer worth the wait? Absolutely. Does it live up to the hype? Absolutely. I'm just regretting the fact I left it so long to try it out, as I would have loved to have experienced it evolve over the years. I am, however, glad I tried it while I still had the chance - and if like me, you have left it this late to try it, then I urge you to do so before it's gone forever, in its current form at least.
Yellow Belly gets 5 out of 5 from me 🍻
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3/12/2018 0 Comments Beer Review - Spresso (2018)Beavertown x CaravanWe are now well and truly in to stout season and back again this year was one of my favourites from last year - Spresso by Beavertown, which is brewed in collaboration with Caravan Coffee Roasters. Spresso is a 9% ABV imperial espresso stout and is now in it's third year of release. Here's the official description from Beavertown: "Made with our pals at Caravan – a big ol’ stout brewed over 160 kg of roasted beans. Full on roasty, bittersweet coffee with hickory & treacle richness." I was highly impressed with last years effort, so I was looking forward to seeing how this years release matched up. Hop Shop Aberdeen were again on point, get this in the fridges shortly after release. First up, we can't talk about a Beavertown beer without talking about the can art, and as usual Beavertown have delivered another awesome looking can - I actually think it looks better than last year. Spresso pours from the can an almost jet black, leaving a fingers width of a foamy dark beige head. Initial aromas are pretty much what you'd expect - LOADS of rich coffee, that combine with roasted malts and a hint of hazelnut to leave your senses tingling. Flavour wise, it's pretty much just a continuation of the aromas; loads of silky smooth coffee, which is complimented nicely by roasted malts are both then combined with bitter dark chocolate and cocoa, with a hint of hazelnut. This beer is extremely smooth to on the palate, and there is loads of booze in there. I think the ONLY downside for me, that it was a tad too much on the bitter side for me. It reminded me slightly of like an 80/90% dark chocolate - which isn't really for me, although it wasn't too overpowering and was masked pretty well by the other flavours. Overall, I really enjoyed Spresso and is an excellent start to my season of dark beer. It is jammed pack full of rich, boozy , warming flavours - everything you want from a beer like this. Do not underestimate the boozy aspect of it though, and I certainly took my time drinking it. If you are a fan of stouts, and if you are a fan of coffee, then this is the beer for you - grab it whilst you still can.
Spresso gets 4.5 out of 5 from me 🍻 16/11/2018 0 Comments Beer Review - CybernautBrewDogI feel like I've been neglecting BrewDog quite a bit on this blog as of late. Sure, I love going to their bars, and drinking their beers - but they haven't actually featured on here much recently, not since I cancelled Fanzine anyway. So I thought it was time for them to make a return! I'd read a lot about this beer online, on Instagram/Facebook etc and it's been in Hop Shop Aberdeen for a while now so I thought I would check it out. Cybernaut is a 4.5% ABV New England style Session IPA and here's the official lowdown from BrewDog: "Our new seasonal beer is upon us! For the first time we have brewed a pale and hoppy beer to fill this special slot - a tuned New England Session IPA! This beer has been lightly filtered in line with our core range, giving this beer less haze than most New England styles, but retaining the tropical and juicy profile we know and love to give it that twist! If you love a tropical fruit salad, you’ll love this beer! The mango, peach and apricot flavours, layered with strong grassy and pine dust notes, give this beer a smooth, juicy and light finish. Soft in bitterness with a mango juice character create a hoppy freshness!" All sounds great right? And I'd read nothing but good things about this beer, so I had high hopes for it... Cybernaut pours from the can a bright, hazy gold colour, leaving behind a big lively, foamy, off-white head. There’s loads of big fruits in the aroma, with grapefruit, pineapple and mango all in there alongside a hint of pine – so far so good, with this smelling like a very tasty beer. Flavour wise, this beer continues to impress with those fruit flavours at the forefront of it all again - loads of pineapple and mango, with a hint of grapefruit all come together with a hoppy bitterness, combined in a slight creamy, oat texture. This beer is very easy drinking , with it maybe only being ever so slightly too fizzy for my liking. Also, for being a session beer, at a relatively low ABV, it tastes surprisingly much stronger than it actually is, almost bordering on a full on NE IPA - but it all works really well. This is everything you want from a session beer – easy drinking, not too heavy and absolutely jam packed full of flavour. I would quite happily sit and work my way through a six-pack of these. Cybernaut was a thoroughly enjoyable beer from BrewDog and at around two quid a can, it is an absolute steal! A session beer, that packs a whole load of the flavour of a full on NE IPA is something I can truly get on board with, and I certainly hope it becomes a staple in their seasonal releases. For me, in terms of quality and price, this is one of BrewDog’s best releases recently and I would highly recommend that you try it for yourself.
Overall Cybernaut gets 4.25 out of 5 from me 🍻 9/11/2018 0 Comments Beer Review - DIvision 1 NE-IPABig Fish BrewingIt's shocking that it's taken me so long to get round to reviewing this beer. Firstly, Big Fish Brewing are a great local brewery that make awesome beer and secondly, the beer itself - an NE IPA (New England IPA) is is one of my favourite beer styles. This beer has been on the go for a while now, Hop Shop Aberdeen have had it on their shelves for ages, and it's even started popping up on tap in bars, but for whatever reason I've just never got round to it, until now! Division 1 is a 6.7% ABV NE IPA, and is also Big Fish Brewing's first beer to come in a can. NE IPA's are typically packed with big, juicy flavours, so I was curious to see how this one turned out. Division 1 pours from the can a hazy amber orange colour, leaving behind a lively off white head - it actually started escaping from the can as soon as I opened it! There's an initial sweetness in the aroma with a touch of orange and grapefruit before being rounded off by some grass/pine at the back end - so far so good. And flavour wise, it's all pretty good as well; those sweet, juicy fruit flavours are there from the off before combining with a piney bitterness that you are so used to in this style of beer. There is almost a slight creaminess there too which gives this beer a really nice mouthfeel. The alcohol is also well hidden for the ABV, making it extremely easy drinking - almost session like. This was a very enjoyable beer to drink, not perfect - but still pretty damn good! Overall, I really enjoyed this beer and it's another solid release from Big Fish Brewing. As far as NE IPA's go - it certainly can't rival some of the greats, but for a small, local brewery like Big Fish Brewing it is excellent and a great addition to Aberdeen's beer scene. I'd definitely recommend giving this a try. Big Fish Brewing are doing some big things, including soon releasing their own gin - I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next.
Division 1 NE-IPA gets 4 out of 5 from me 🍻 26/10/2018 0 Comments Beer Review - OctopodWander Beyond BrewingSometimes a beer comes along and I need to question whether it is actually a beer or not. Sometimes a beer can be so jam packed full of fruit flavours and creaminess that it borders on being some form of alcoholic smoothie. That's not necessarily a bad thing though, I love it. And that's pretty much what we have here. From the minds of Manchester's Wander Beyond Brewing comes Octopod, a 12% ABV Mango & Passionfruit Imperial Milkshake IPA. Yes, you read that right. Here's the official description from Wander Beyond: "We have brewed a hyper-viscous Imperial Milkshake IPA and re-fermented it on nearly half a ton of mangoes and passionfruit. Post-fermentation we generously dry hopped it with Citra and Mosaic. Octopod is thick, fruity and at a deceptive 12%, it's not as innocent as you think." I'm no stranger to Wander Beyond Brewing having reviewed their Sakura Twilight Cherry Chocolate Imperial Stout on this blog previously, and having enjoyed their Mini Milkshake Table Beer also. I'd heard nothing but great things about this beer, so it's safe to say that expectations were high... Before getting in to the beer itself, lets take a minute to appreciate the can art. Seriously, how cool is it? These guys are starting to give Beavertown a run for their money. I haven't been able to figure out who their artist is, but they are doing a helluva job! The first thing you notice when you open this beer is the smell - It absolutely smacks you in the face as soon as you crack the can...WOW! Huge amounts of vanilla, juicy mango and sweet passionfruit fill your nose - you'd be forgiven for thinking you just cracked open a smoothie. Octopod pours from the can a thick, murky orange, leaving behind little to no head. After the first sip you realise exactly what sort of crazy witchcraft that Wander Beyond Brewing have been up to...THIS IS NOT A BEER! This is some kind of delicious, refreshing, juicy tropical fruit smoothie. Loads of mango, pineapple, passionfruit and orange combine with the creamy oats and lactose to create a flavour explosion in your mouth. But just when you thought this beer had you fooled you get hit with the right amount of hop burn to remind you that this is indeed a beer that you are drinking - and a tasty one at that! I couldn't really fault this beer. The fruit flavours were insane on, the mouthfeel was incredible and there was just the perfect amount of alcohol there to keep you grounded. There's not really much else to say about this beer, you really just need to get out there and try it for yourself. That's three beers now by this brewery that I've been majorly impressed with and Wander Beyond Brewing are fast becoming a firm favourite of mine. I have no doubt that this beer will be one of my beers of the year.
Octopod gets 5 out of 5 from me 🍻 |
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