31/12/2017 0 Comments The 12 Beers of ChristmasChristmas Time Mistletoe and...BeerChristmas time is all about spending time with your family & overdoing it on great food so I thought that should apply to great beer also. For the past few weeks I have handpicking a selection of beers from Hop Shop Aberdeen and putting them away to enjoy over the festive season. I have managed to get my hands on beers from breweries such as Beavertown, Magic Rock, Amundsen, 6 Degrees North, Siren & Brewdog to name but a few. This includes some new exciting beers alongside some favourites from the past year like Humuloid, Cherry Cola Vice, Pineapple Oceans & a dark twist on Neapolitan Pale Ale. In this blog post I'm going to take 12 of those beers & run through my favourites by picking a top 5. Some of these beers are pretty heavy hitters & it's not going to be easy deciding a champion, that's for sure. Well it's safe to say that was an incredible selection of beers. It was hard enough to pick 12 of them...never mind 5! All of these beers were fantastic in their own right; great to drink and full of flavour. But overall, my top 5 is as follows:
Amundsen - Desert In a Can: This beer was INCREDIBLE. Amundsen really have done something special here. The flavours work together so well, it actually tastes like liquid desert. I can't wait to try the rest of the series. PS this is one BOOZY beer, so beer sure to enjoy it in moderation. Northern Monk - Dark Neapolitan: A close second, I actually think I prefer this to the original. Everything just works so well; all the flavours of the original are there & with the addition of dark forest fruits & some coffee notes it becomes something really special. Beavertown - Spresso: A beer that I missed last time round, and one I was delighted to finally sample. It is a BOOZY coffee beer. There's not really much else to say. Beavertown have worked their magic here. Magic Rock - Dairy Freak: This one was great. It is such a sweet & milky beer that I enjoyed every second spent drinking it. Unlike other porters which can feel very indulgent, this is one I feel I could drink a few of in one sitting. Beavertown - Humuloid: I think almost everyone reading this will know all about this one. The only non dark beer that made the top 5 but Humuloid is probably one of my all time favourite DIPAs that it would be hard not to include. I loved the original version & this was every bit as good, maybe even better? So there you have it, my top 5 from my 12 beers of Christmas. The others that didn't make the list were still good, they just didn't have that extra special something about them that the top 5 did. They say winter is stout season and they are not half wrong, there is just something about drinking a warming dark stout/porter that just feels right at this time of year. I'd like to finish this post by thanking everyone of you that has read any of my posts throughout the year. It means a lot & encourages me to keep writing. I'd like to wish you a very Happy New Year & I look forward to sharing even more of my beer journey with you all in 2018 🍻
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17/11/2017 0 Comments The Byron BoxHappy Birthday Byron BurgerByron Burgers recently celebrated their 10th birthday and to mark this occasion, they brewed up a batch of special beers with some incredible local breweries. My wife was lucky enough to win a Instagram competition to win a box of all the beers...and well, married couples share right? So that means I get to try them out... The box features beers from:
They vary in style and were brewed to be paired with a specific Byron birthday burger. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of trying them alongside the burgers...so it's beer only. I'm not going to review every beer from the box, just my top 3 and a runner up. Now this was a fantastic box of beer full of different styles and flavours. It was hard to pick a top 3, but I just about managed…
You probably guessed this was going to happen. But my favourite beer was absolutely Little Furry Animal by Beavertown. Little Furry Animal is a beer that I found to be absolutely excellent. It is without doubt classic Beavertown; refreshing, hoppy, murky & full of flavour. It’s a shame this was a limited release because I would 100% drink it again. Close behind in second was Pith & Love by Vocation Brewery; a 4.5% ABV pale ale. This beers was great! It’s actually the first Vocation beer I’ve ever had (I know) – that is definitely going to change though! It was citrusy, light, refreshing & I can just imagine how great it would have been with a burger! The next beer on the list was Hells USA by Camden Town Brewery, a 4.6% ABV unfiltered lager. Camden Hells is a great beer – anytime I’m out in somewhere like Revolution, it is my go to beer. So I was looking forward to trying the unfiltered version, because well, unfiltered beer is normally better! Safe to say I wasn’t disappointed; Hells USA was a belter of a lager – crisp with a real refreshing, citrusy, distinctive flavour. I would definitely drink this beer again. And last but not least was Kuro by Camden Town again; a 5.1% ABV black lager. This beer was absolutely FULL of flavours! Distinctive lager flavours, with a hint of a porter about it - I can imagine that this beer would go very well with a spicy burger. The other two beers; Zehn & Elation were decent, however they just didn't quite match up to the others. All in all, this was a great box of beers from Byron Burger - they definitely celebrated their birthday in style! Also, if you have never checked out their burgers, I highly recommend you do so. I am normally an advocate of trying to keep it local, however Byron's burgers are excellent! Oh, and thanks again to my wife for winning the competition 🍻 https://www.byronhamburgers.com 16/9/2017 0 Comments Beer Review - BeaverilliumBeavertown x TrilliumFollowing my review of West Side Beavo, the second Beavertown review of the week is Beaverillium - a collaboration with Trillium Brewing from Boston, USA. Beaverillium is a 7.5% ABV IPA and here's the official blurb from Beavertown: "This baby drinks like mango lassi transporting you to a lazy hazy Indian summer day on the beach in Goa, pouring like thick mango juice, rich, sticky mango juice. That aroma of tropical overripe mangos and pulped peaches hits your nose a yard from the glass bathing you in sweet fruity sunshine. Fluffy, moussy, velvety and smooth as it passes your lips the mango and peach is pricked up with fresh, zesty tangerine that lingers to a black pepper bitterness for a bit of exotic spice." Trillium were a brewery that I'd heard a lot about but never experienced - so with them teaming up with the big dogs Beavertown, it's safe to say my expectations were high. Beaverillium pours a hazy gold with a thin beige head. There's big aromas of ripe fruits; mango, peach & apricot with some grassy pine. There's a huge amount of sweetness up front; maybe from the fruits, but it's almost too sweet for my liking. That is followed by some bitter hoppyness with a slight amount of spice also. Body is medium, with a nice creamy texture and not too much carbonation.
This was a good beer, however not great. Something just wasn't quite right for me - I think perhaps the sweetness up front put me off a little. In a week of two Beavertown collaborations, I would have expected Beaverillium to be my favourite. However I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by this one and West Side Beavo was definitely my favourite of the two. 3 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 13/9/2017 0 Comments Beer Review - West Side BeavoBeavertown x Firestone WalkerIn the first of two reviews featuring Tottenham giants Beavertown comes West Side Beavo; a collaboration with US based Firestone Walker. West Side Beavo is a 6.5% ABV IPL (Indiana Pale Lager) that was released last month. Here's the official lowdown on the beer: "West Side Beavo is a one-off collaboration by brewmasters Logan Plant (Beavertown) and Matt Brynildson, inspired by a friendship forged at the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest. West Side Beavo was fittingly brewed with hops from the Pacific Northwest and the United Kingdom, most notably Jester. The result is an IPL, a beer that speaks to both breweries’ penchant for brewing hoppy beers with complexity and balance. " I think that we could be in for a treat with this one... West Side Beavo pours a clear golden amber colour with a foamy white head, that slowly disperses. Initial hoppy, malty aromas are followed by some citrus fruits; lemon & grapefruit. Flavours are crisp; citrus, floral lemon with a biscuit malt backbone - no where near as hoppy as expected. Mouthfeel is light, slightly oily with medium carbonation - extremely drinkable!
This was a lovely beer, and I must admit, one that was unexpectedly great. West Side Beavo is one of the best tasting lagers that I've had in quite some time, and you should definitely check it out. Up next is Beaverillium, a DIPA collaboration with Trillium Brewing out of Boston, USA. 4 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 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 🍻 |
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