15/1/2018 0 Comments Beer Review - Indie Pale AleBrewDogHello & Happy New Year. A new year means lots of new beer & for my first post of 2018 I will be going back to where it all began; BrewDog, with a review of their latest beer - Indie Pale Ale. Indie Pale Ale isn't just a new beer. It is a new headline beer. So this puts it alongside Punk IPA, 5AM Saint, Dead Pony Club, Jet Black Heart & Kingpin. Indie Pale Ale is a 4.2% ABV pale ale & here's what BrewDog have to say about it: "Indie Pale Ale is an icon of independence, destined to live independently. This is Craft Beer for the People. A 4.2% pale ale for the 21st century; stripped back and sessionable, this beer is designed to be accessible. Indie Pale Ale delivers a profile of tropical and citrus fruit set against a caramel and biscuit malt backbone. It is suitable for any drinking occasion and ready to go when you (or anyone else) needs it." BrewDog are serious about this one...let's see what it's all about. Well I don't know what else to say, other than that was a extremely disappointing.
Indie Pale Ale pours a clear, golden straw colour leaving a foamy white head. There is not much that stands out in the way of aromas for me; biscuit malts with a minor whiff of tropical fruits. On the taste front there isn't really much more to report. It is crisp, dry & very bland tasting; mainly comprising of biscuit malts & only the slightest hint of tropical flavours - certainly not what you'd expect from a pale ale. It really doesn't taste much like a pale ale to me and instead, far more like a cheap lager. BrewDog already make a lager and it is a much better beer than this. I'm struggling to understand why this beer has been added to the headliners range; it just seemed really sub-standard to me & a lack of judgement on BrewDog's part. In their first new beer of 2018 BrewDog have left me massively disappointed. It is a rare miss for them & here's hoping they can come back swinging with their next beer. 2 out of 5 hops from me 🍻
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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 🍻 BrewdogBrewdog know how to market a beer. So when the time came to market their latest release; Make Earth Great Again, they decided make a video dressed like Donald Trump. Along with sending a case of it to the White House and tweeting President Trump about it...it's safe to say they have made an impression. Make Earth Great Again is (MEGA) a 7.5% ABV saison & here's what Brewdog have to say about it: "In protest against the potential withdrawal of the USA from the Paris agreement, we've brewed a saison (which ferments at high temperatures) with melted ice caps (glacier water) and cloudberries (an Arctic berry). Make Earth Great Again is a imperial strength saison, with spicy and bright citrus notes of spiced orange, nutmeg, clove, and caramelised banana, with a dry yet warming body and a hint of acidity to balance the sweet notes. All proceeds from Make Earth Great Again will be donated to 10:10, a charity lobbying for legislative changes to tackle climate change." Lets see what it's all about... Before we open the bottle, lets talk about the label. It features a robot Donald Trump shooting lasers at a polar bear. I'm pretty sure that's a metaphor for something...
MEGA pours a golden amber leaving a tiny white sliver of a head, with little no carbonation present in the body. Big floral aromas are backed by spiced cloves, sweet banana & caramel. Taste is spiced from the off, from the cloves, nutmeg & spiced orange. That is rounded off with a combination of sweetness, followed by a dose of sourness from the raspberries. Something wasn't quite working for me with this beer...it felt like the flavours were a bit all over the place and the balance was off. Overall; whilst good, but not great, I definitely enjoyed this beer & recommend that you check it out even if just for its worthwhile cause alone. You can read more about this climate changing polar bear loving beer here. 3 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 22/9/2017 0 Comments Beer Review - Slot MachineBrewdogBrewdog make some fantastic seasonal beer - Hop Fiction, Candy Kaiser & Arcade Nation to name a few. Yesterday they released their last seasonal beer for 2017; Slot Machine, a 5.2% ABV Red Rye IPA. Designed to bridge the gap between summer beers and winter stouts, Slot Machine is laced with a warming spice that is perfect for drinking as the dark nights draw in. I must give a shout-out to Westhill Service Station for having their shelves & fridges packed with this the exact moment it launched in the bars. Here's what Brewdog have to say about it: "Slot Machine is 5.2% ABV and packs a bitterness of 55 IBU from being kettle hopped with Magnum, but also a hit of citrus from Amarillo in the whirlpool and dry-hop. We have also added a third wave; the herbal spice from German hop Callista bringing a nobility to the proceedings. Added with the Amarillo, this new hop (it was first released in 2016) also gives a berry fruit and gooseberry character, so Slot Machine has a series of interlinked hop flavours to unravel! The beer was also brewed with Pale, Carafa and Crystal malt to give notes of caramel, toffee and bread crust as a baseline, and then layered in we added a generous addition of rye. We love brewing with this ingredient, despite the potential it has to make brewers think twice. In Slot Machine it adds a depth of spice to go with the hops and balance out the caramel from the Crystal malt. In short, as any brewer will tell you, rye holds everything together." Have Brewdog hit the jackpot with this one? Lets find out... Slot Machine pours a dark deep red - but not quite brown, leaving a foamy beige head. The aromas are great - the spice of the rye pierces through to the forefront, backed by malts and sweet toffee. The spice is ever present on taste too, but works great with the bread, malts and the slight sweetness of the toffee. There's a touch ot bitterness from the hops showing at the end too, which rounds everything off nicely. The alcohol is well hidden by the flavours, making it extremely drinkable.
Overall, Slot Machine was a very enjoyable beer with interesting flavours - the ever present spice from the rye making the difference for me. Brewdog can be happy that they have rounded off their seasonals for the year with a winner. 4 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 BrewdogWhen it comes to small batch releases, anything by Brewdog is usually worth getting excited about. The beer is usually something a bit different and the can art is usually insane; Pump Action Poet, Self Assembly Pope & Neon Overlord are all perfect examples of this. Nine to Five Wizard is their latest small batch release - a 7.5% AVB Weissbier that was launched a couple of weeks ago. I was lucky enough to try it on draft on the day and found it extremely enjoyable. Here's the official blurb from Brewdog: "Nine to Five Wizard majors in the classic German Weissbier aromas of banana and clove, layered with New World hop notes of orange, mango, pine and grapefruit. The combination of the Magnum, Cascade, Mandarina Bavaria and Ariana hops give a rising and refreshing citrus complement to the smooth mouthfeel from the wheat and the fruity esters of the Bavarian yeast. Listen to your inner 9-5 wizard and you’ll do very well indeed." Sounds like a winner to me. Nine to Five Wizard pours a deep amber with a long lasting, medium foamy beige head. Aromas are initially musty, with some spice from the cloves and the combination of cereals, yeast and banana giving off a banana bread like smell.
These flavours combine again on taste; spicy clove & sweet banana brought together with by cereal grains - lovely. There's little to no bitterness, little carbonation and the finish is full bodied and sweet. This is a great beer that is bursting full of flavour and I highly recommend you try to get your hands on some whilst it's available. 4.25 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 |
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