28/6/2017 0 Comments Sessions FestivalAberdeen's newest beer festivalWe all love a good beer festival right? Well it just so happens that there's a brand spanking new one coming to Aberdeen later this year.
Sessions Festival is a product of the team behind Dusk Bar and will take place on the 4th & 5th August at Hazlehead Park. The two day festival will feature craft beers, spirits, street food and live music. The full lineup has yet to be announced and will be revealed over the coming weeks, but the following names have already signed up: Drinks:
Food:
Music:
The event will be held over three sessions; Friday evening, Saturday afternoon & Saturday evening. Tickets for each session cost £20 per person, and can be purchased through Eventbrite. VIP packages are also available for corporate guests. The event itself will run on a token system rather than a cash bar, which should hopefully sped up bar queues. Tickets are already selling fast, so be sure to get your hands on some before they are gone! Find out more on the Sessions Festival website, or keep up to date by following their social media channels:
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27/6/2017 0 Comments Beer Review - M.A.DBeavertown x LervigGods of beer Beavertown & Norwegian brewery Lervig; the brains behind the wonderful Tasty Juice have come together to produce M.A.D, or Mutually Assured Destruction - a 9.5% ABV DIPA. Here's the official rundown from Beavertown: "In a world full of crazy, only one thing keeps us sane. The cold comfort blanket that is “Mutually Assured Destruction”. Brewed in collaboration with insane Norwegian beer despots, Lervig, this hop bomb is the “gift” that keeps on giving. Pure mango juice in the glass it packs a hefty payload of tinned mangos and pineapple on the nose with just the faintest hint of pine-y menthol. On the palate it’s banging fresh, targeting your taste receptors with juicy peach, passionfruit and a lick of zesty lime, then, just when you thought the bombardment was over, a wave of punchy black pepper & liquorice bitterness reinforcements arrive that keep on going, and going, and going until your taste buds are so battle-weary you can’t remember a time before this flavour. Smashable." Beavertown can do no wrong in my eyes, and I absolutely loved Tasty Juice, so I can only assume we're onto a winner here... Before cracking it open, take a minute to admire the outrageous can art on display here...seriously epic stuff! The flavours that we have come to know and expect from a beer like this are all present here; gorgeous tropical fruit aromas fill your nose as you crack the can and pour into a glass, backed by a healthy amount of piney bitterness. The beer pours an extremely hazy amber with a thin beige head that disappears quickly. On your first sip you are hit with a huge bitter hop bomb, however it doesn't last too long as the fruit soon comes into play; orange, pineapple and mango overcome the bitterness to round this beer off with a perfect sweet mouthfeel. For a 9.5% ABV DIPA, the alcohol is hidden extremely well by the flavours...dangerous stuff! I really enjoyed this beer - it's not quite Humuloid, but still very enjoyable nonetheless. Beavertown knock it out the park yet again.
4 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 23/6/2017 0 Comments Beer Review - Hazy JaneBrewdogAt this years #PunkAGM2017, one of my favourite beers of the day was Brewdog's own Vermont style IPA. So when I received an email following the AGM asking if I wanted to retain my shareholding, and in doing so I would be rewarded with a 6-pack of their new Vermont style IPA - it was a no brainier. The beer in question is Hazy Jane - a 7.2% ABV New England IPA. This has fast become my favourite style of beer, so I was extremely excited to get these cracked open. Here's what Brewdog have to say about it: "Hazy Jane is a Vermont style IPA, with low background bitterness, loaded with intense juicy fruit character. Pineapple, stonefruit, mango, light resin and hints of lime peel – this juicy IPA is full-bodied and smooth, enhancing the soft ripe fruit flavours. Unfiltered and only available in cans from our online shop and BrewDog bars!" Everything about this beer sounds great so far - I think we're onto a winner. Opening the can, you are instantly hit with a fruit explosion; pineapple & mango are backed up by the slightest hint of citrus from the lime. There is almost a sort of cereal smell about it too - the oats being the likely culprit. It pours a golden hazy yellow, with a small head that disperses quickly. The fruit really shines through again on taste - with pineapple and mango at the forefront, backed by some slight sourness from the lime. Hazy Jane is extremely easy on the mouth, with little to no sign of the alcohol or any bitterness - perfect summer drinking. Overall, I really enjoyed this beer. It hasn't quite hit the heights of the version from #PunkAGM2017 or the collaboration with Cloudwater, but it is still a great beer to drink and I look forward to working my way through them. The added touch of giving them to Equity Punks first for keeping their shareholding was an extremely nice one, and certainly hope that this beer becomes a seasonal staple of Brewdog.
4 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 16/6/2017 0 Comments Beer Review - HazemakerNorthern Monk x Verdant x DeyaNorthern Monk's Patrons Project has produced some fantastic beers, one of them being the excellent Peanut Butter & Jelly Brown Ale. Hazemaker is a collaboration between 3 of the UK's most exciting breweries; Northern Monk of course, Verdant & Deya. A blend of 3 different hops, Hazemaker is a 7.4% ABV IPA. It also features some incredible artwork by artist Jon Simmons. Here's the official lowdown: "An extraordinary hazy collaboration between Northern Monk, Verdant & Deya. A jab of Amarillo, a right hook of Simcoe and an uppercut of Columbus hops equate to one knockout brew. Put your taste buds to the taste against the juicy tropical fruit flavours and punchy pine notes." Sounds like a winner right? Well this beer is a winner. It pours a hazy golden amber, leaving a thick foamy white head. Very hoppy on the nose, along with plenty citrus and tropical fruits.
Taste is similar to the aromas; plenty citrus and tropical fruits up front - orange, mango & pineapple. These are followed up with some nice piney, hoppy bitterness to give it a great finish. Overall this is a really solid IPA that these fantastic breweries have conjured up - I would highly recommend it. 4 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 14/6/2017 0 Comments Beer Review - HumuloidBeavertownThe kings of beer, my favourite brewery; Beavertown are back with what they claim to be the "natural extension of Lupuloid". Humuloid is a 8% ABV Vermont style DIPA that comes with yet more INSANE can art from these Gods of beer. "This is a powerhouse of a beer. Dense like cloudy apple juice you know this is going to smack you hard with massive slugs of rich, ripe mango and pineapple on the nose and maybe just a hint of shortcrust swaggering around in the background. It weighs in heavy on the palate courtesy of plenty of wheat and oats. Stacks more sticky mango then orchard fruits, apple and crunchy pear finishing with a builders tea like bitterness to pick you up, dust you off and get you ready for another round. Humuloid is the natural extension of Lupuloid, a double IPA with plenty of wheat and oats for a rich body, and fermented with Vermont yeast to lend it some fruitiness. Low bitterness in the boil, but then dry hopped with 18 g/l of Citra and Azacca for huge hoppy aromatics balancing out the sweetness of the finishing gravity." I probably could just stop this review right here. I'm going to love this beer. It's going to be a 5/5, I know it. Well, Humuloid does not disappoint in the slightest. It is damn incredible.
Opening up this insanely designed can by the God of can art Nick Dwyer, you are greeted by the some incredible aromas; pineapple, mango, orange & citrus are backed with the slightest hint of pine. It's basically juice. It pours a thick, murky dark yellow leaving little to no head or carbonation. I don't even know where to start with the taste. Wow. It is the perfect Vermont style DIPA. Those fruits are at the forefront of the flavour; pineapple, mango & citrus with just a hint of bitterness rounding it all off. And this beer is THICK! I repeat; it's basically juice. Humuloid is up there with Tropigamma, New England IPA and the best that Cloudwater has to offer as one of my favourite beers in recent memory. It is simply incredible. Trust me, you will love it. I'll be reviewing Beavertown's other new DIPA - M.A.D, their collaboration with Lervig very soon. So be sure to come back and see how it compares with this. Humuloid is a perfect beer, 5/5 hops from me 🍻 |
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