Three New Beers...Are They Great?Following my brief break after Week 1, I am back on the Fanzine bandwagon with Week 3. If you are reading this then you are probably familiar with how it all works, but if not - refresh yourself here. Whilst Week 1 was a relative success for me, I was still slightly sceptical to see whether this subscription turns out to be a worthwhile investment or not. I'm prepared to keep going with it though as there were some real positives for me and surely it can only get better, right? The BeersThis time round the beers are:
So a couple of big hitters in there, with the Milkshake IPA sounding particularly intriguing! I'm also interested to see if there's any improvement with Zephyr, as I really didn't get on with it in Week 1. Pulp PatriotFirst up we have Pulp Patriot, the 9.5% ABV Milkshake IPA. This was without doubt the beer I was looking forward to the most. It just sounds like it's going to be good! Here's the official description from BrewDog: "New England to the power of two. This juggernaut of a double IPA weighs in at 9.5% delivering a payload of big fruit with mango and peach front and centre. Milk sugar builds and rounds out the full juicy notes." Pulp Patriot pours from the can a hazy golden amber colour, leaving a thin, foamy white head. Aromas are loads of juicy stone fruits; peach, mango & apricot with a hint of pine. Taste is wonderful; peach, mango and a hint of pineapple are combined with slight pine, bitter backbone. It's sweet, and silky smooth, extremely easy drinking for a 9.5% ABV beer - wonderful stuff! This beer is stunning! For me, it is without doubt the best that BrewDog have done (Eight-Bit aside) since Hazy Jane! I certainly would not be adverse to BrewDog making this more readily available as I would snap it up in bulk. 5 out of 5 ZephyrNext up, we have Zephyr, V2 - Lime Gose Edition which is a 4.6% ABV sour ale. Now, I was far from impressed with Zephyr from week 1 - I really didn't like it, so naturally I was hoping for an improvement from this one. Here's the official description from BrewDog: "A zesty gose with a twist of lime and a pinch of salt to crank up the crisp sour character. A juicy, bright beer, with a light acidity resting on a biscuity backbone." Zephyr pours a pale golden straw colour, with a thin white head that disperses quickly. Aromas are zingy lime from the off, with a malty biscuit backbone. Flavours are huge, refreshing sour lime backed by the slightest hint of salt and a biscuit finish. Imagine drinking a Corona - but 10x tastier & less carbonated...that's pretty much what this beer is. It's not mind-blowing, but it's good. This was a massive improvement on V1 for me - super refreshing & very enjoyable to drink. I could easy see myself enjoying a few of these in the sun...I'm impressed! 3.75 out of 5 Ten Ton TruckFinally, we have Ten Ton Truck - Espresso Edition, a hefty 10% ABV porter. Described as an evolution of Nebula from week 1 - a beer that I found pretty tasty, so naturally I was expecting good things from this one. Here's the official description from BrewDog: "Fruity espresso, bitter chocolate and roastiness on the nose. Followed by a payload of bitter coffee red berry, dark chocolate and some floral notes." Ten Ton Truck pours jet black, leaving a thin foamy beige head that doesn't hang around. Huge dark chocolate and coffee aromas with a touch of smokiness rounding it all off. There is huge amounts of bitterness from the off - bitter dark chocolate and bitter coffee combine with the slightest hint of forest fruits...this beer packs a punch! Overall I thought this was a pretty damn good beer. I did feel that the balance was maybe slightly off and there there was maybe too much bitterness to it, however it was still very enjoyable to drink - I just took my time with it. 4 out of 5 Well, it's safe to say that week 3 has been rather impressive, and a massive improvement over week 1 for me. These have been some pretty awesome beers - Pulp Patriot in particular is incredible. I will absolutely be continuing my subscription, and I am counting down the days to week 4 already 🍻
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Fierce BeerWe're finally starting to see some decent weather in Aberdeen. That calls for summer beers. Thankfully, Aberdeen's own Fierce beer seem to have came up with the perfect beers; two ice cream ales, perfect for a summers day - Orange Scream, a collaboration with Norwegian masters Amundsen & also Melba Scream. Since these beers are pretty similar in nature, I'm gonna cover them in a single review. I'd heard nothing but good things about these two beers so I was delighted that Hop Shop Aberdeen got them on the shelves so quickly. Orange ScreamFirst up we have Orange Scream, a 7% ABV orange ice cream ale. Orange Scream has been brewed in collaboration with Norwegian giants Amundsen who are a brewery that like Fierce, are notorious for packing their beer full of flavour. Here's the official description from Fierce: "We love the beers that Amundsen make. They pack in a lot of flavour. For this collab we wanted to make a beer that transports you back to childhood days, sitting on the beach with an orange and vanilla ice lolly. Smooth, decadent and also refreshing." Orange Scream pours from the can a bright orange colour, leaving a thin foamy white head. The orange aromas are literally screaming at you instantly...think of something along the lines of one of those Tango Ice Blasts you have a the cinema, and you're just about there. Then on your first sip big zesty, fizzy, sweet & juicy orange flavours are followed up by a dose of smooth creaminess to hold it all together. It is very sweet, but the smooth creamy texture helps it all work nicely. It really is a surreal beer...an alcoholic Fanta ice cream float beer - it's mad, but it works A LOT. Orange Scream gets 4.5 out of 5 from me Melba ScreamNext up we have Melba Scream, a 6.7% ABV peach melba ice Cream ale. Here's the official description from Fierce beer: "Peach Melba is a dessert of peaches and raspberry sauce with vanilla ice cream. The dish was invented in 1892 by the French chef Auguste Escoer at the Savoy Hotel to honour the Australian soprano Nellie Melba. We’re sure both Nellie and Auguste would approve of us making it into a beer..." Melba Scream pours from the glass a hazy ruby red/orange colour, leaving a foamy off white head. You get the sweet, creamy, fruity aromas instantly - sweet, juicy peaches & raspberries are at the forefront, followed by a vanilla creaminess. The flavours are quite consistent with the aromas; fresh juicy peach combine with the sour tart raspberries to give an almost Skittles like flavour explosion. Again, the smooth creamy texture is there to give this beer an extremely drinkable mouthfeel. As with Orange Scream, it's all pretty bonkers - but it works incredibly well. Melba Scream gets 4.5 out of 5 from me These beers are awesome. I'd love them to become a permanent fixture in Fierce's lineup or even just a yearly summer release. There was almost nothing between them in terms of taste and quality, but I think Orange Scream just about edged it for me as I found it slightly more refreshing. These beers are perfect for summer drinking - stock up and enjoy them in the sun while you can 🍻
13/5/2018 0 Comments Beer Review - Eight-BitBrewDog & FriendsSometimes you just know that a beer is going to rock. As soon as BrewDog announced this beer, I knew it was going to rock. I've been waiting for BrewDog to release an absolute banger of a beer this year, something along the lines of their Cloudwater collaborations...and this may be just the beer. Brewed in collaboration with Northern Monk, Deya, Cloudwater, Magic Rock, Seventh Son, Stillwater Artisanal & The Bruery - Eight-Bit is a 8% ABV New England style IPA. Here's the official description from BrewDog: "Eight-Bit was brewed in collaboration alongside each of the breweries that joined us at this year's #PunkAGM2018 - Northern Monk, Deya, Cloudwater, Magic Rock, Seventh Son, Stillwater Artisanal, The Bruery and of course - us! Each brewery contributed a different hop to the beer, adding a shed load of hop-forward goodness! We tapped into a style that several of the collaborating breweries are masters of, and with all those hops in the mix, it only made sense that we brew a New England IPA. Coming in at 8% ABV, Eight-Bit is as soft and juicy as you'd expect from this beloved sub-style, with the several hop additions bringing out stonefruit, tropical notes and a hit of citrus coming through from the addition of orange peel." I have a good feeling about this one. Starting off with the impressive 500ml can; jet black with eight silver brewery logos and silver text, it looks seriously cool (although it was a pain in the ass to photograph!).
Eight-bit pours from the can an extremely hazy golden yellow colour, leaving a thin white head. The aromas are absolutely glorious - tonnes of big juicy fruits; pineapple, mango, orange & peach combine with a whack of piney bitterness get your taste buds going before the first sip. There is loads going on flavour wise too; sweet peach flavours are at the forefront, combining with juicy mango, pineapple & a slight grassy bitterness at the end. The carbonation is soft, and it is extremely smooth drinking - part of me was worried that this could be a case of too many cooks, but man was I wrong...this beer is glorious. This beer 100% lived up to the hype and more. This is what I've been waiting for this year from BrewDog. I know they had a little help from their friends but it speaks to the fact that when BrewDog are good, they can be up there with the best. Try this beer if you get the chance, you will love it. Eight-Bit gets 5 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 10/5/2018 0 Comments Beer Review - Axe^XBuxton bREWERYBuxton, a brewery renowned for making some incredible beer including some world class collaborations with Swedish brewing giants Omnipollo, have just released their latest core beer, which is also their first ever canned beer. Axe^X is a 6.8% ABV IPA that contains Citra, Amarillo, Mosaic hops and here is the official description from Buxton: "Where X is dry hopping increased by 200%. 20% oats added to the grist for enhanced mouthfeel and character and IBU's significantly reduced." Axe Edge is a beer that I have a very high opinion of, so my expectations were pretty high for this one & I was delighted that Hop Shop Aberdeen got it on the shelves so quickly following release. Starting this off with the can - how cool is it?! It features a blueprint like design of various sketches of hops along with various dimensions & scribbles. Coming from an engineering drawing background, I found this label pretty awesome.
Axe^X pours from the can a hazy orange colour leaving a thin off white/beige head. The aromas are instantly citrus & tropical fruits; loads of orange, pineapple & mango are followed by the slightest hint of caramel. Flavour wise, it's full on from the off; the orange, pineapple & mango are at the forefront combining with the oats and malts before being rounded off with a big whack of bitterness. It all worked amazingly for me, it was so easy drinking and the addition of the oats give this beer such a fantastic silky smooth mouthfeel. This beer is world class. Perhaps one of the best IPA's in the UK right now in my opinion, and easily in my top three beers this year. If you get the chance, then you have to try it - you will not be disappointed. Axe^X gets 5 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 7/5/2018 3 Comments Beer Review - SharknadoNorthern MonkSometimes a beer comes along that is just bat-shit mental. That's exactly what Northern Monk have done here. Teaming up with UK movie distribution company Tribal Films, they have brewed a beer to celebrate the home release of the 5th instalment in the Sharknado movie franchise, titled Sharknado 5: Global Swarming. Sharknado is a 5.5% ABV blood orange & sea salt IPA. Here's the official brief from Northern Monk: "To coincide with the Home Entertainment release of Sharknado 5: Global Swarming, the latest in the comedy-horror-disaster film franchise, UK distributor Tribal Films has partnered with us to produce a limited run of Sharknado themed beer! A Blood Orange and Sea Salted IPA with milk sugar addition for a smoother mouthfeel." Now, I have absolutely no idea how this collaboration came about, and it seems utterly mental...but I love it. It will be interesting to see how this beer compares to other blood orange IPA's such as the mighty Bloody 'Ell by Beavertown. First up, the can looks absolutely awesome - it is basically a movie poster, featuring the lead characters, wrapped around the can.
Sharknado pours from the can a translucent ruby red colour, leaving a slightly pink, foamy white head. The aromas are instantly zesty bloody orange, sweet sugar strawberries & a hint of grapefruit. Taste wise, the blood orange is full on from the first sip; sweet, juicy & ever so slightly sour. It's then all rounded off with the slightest hint of the sea salt - it's there, but it's definitely not overpowering or off putting, it all tastes rather great. This beer is very easy to drink, it has the perfect balance between an IPA & a sour beer that I can imagine would make for perfect summer drinking. Overall, this was an awesome beer that I didn't want to end. For something that could be laughed off as a marketing gimmick, and whilst their beers rarely disappoint, Northern Monk really have pulled it out the bag here. It doesn't quite edge out Bloody 'Ell as my favourite blood orange IPA, but it is still a damn great beer. Sharknado gets 4.5 out of 5 from me 🍻 |
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