17/7/2017 0 Comments Beer Review - King SlayerBuxton BreweryHow can you still count yourself a knight, when you have forsaken every vow you ever swore? - Catelyn Stark, A Clash of Kings I've been waiting for the return of the epic TV show, Game of Thrones to crack this one open. Bearing the same name as one of the the show's titular characters; Jamie Lannister, Kingslayer is a 8% ABV New England style DIPA. Buxton are usually purveyors of the highest quality of beer - so a New England style DIPA from them can only be a good thing... Popping open the bottle (complete with dragon!) you are greeted with sweet, tropical fruity aromas with a backbone of pine. It pours a golden amber, with a thin white head and little to no carbonation.
Those smooth, sweet tropical flavours show themselves again on taste; pineapple, mango & grapefruit are combined with some slight piney bitterness that gives this beer the all familiar awesome taste that we are so used to with a New England style IPA. This is such a smooth and sweet beer, it is incredibly easy to drink and the 8% ABV is well hidden by the fruit flavours. Overall this was an extremely enjoyable beer - one that is certainly worthy of a king. 4 out of 5 hops from me. Valar Morghulis 🍻
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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 🍻 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 🍻 25/5/2017 0 Comments Beer Review - Half CutMagic Rock x Other HalfEarlier this year when I was researching breweries for our trip to New York City, one brewery that caught my eye was Other Half Brewing; they seemed to be extremely highly rated & had plenty of cool looking cans on their Instagram page. Now, unfortunately I did not get to sample any of their beers when I was there...however it now seems that they have come to me. Half Cut is a collaboration between Huddersfield based Magic Rock & Other Half Brewing out of Brooklyn, NYC. Sold in 500ml cans, Half Cut is a 8% ABV DIPA that currently has a 99% overall rating on RateBeer. Here's what Magic Rock have to say about it: "A DIPA collaboration with our friends from Brooklyn, Other Half Brewing. Along with our pale malt Golden Promise, the beer uses a reasonably large percentage of oats in the mash for a creamy body and soft mouthfeel. A low bitterness target (for a DIPA) of around 60IBU was aimed for and Citra, Mosaic & Denali hops added to the whirlpool for loads of tropical/citrus flavour. We went heavy on the dry hopping with lots more Citra and Mosaic as well as some Simcoe, Amarillo & HBC 438. The finished beer has a really punchy aroma as well as a super juicy fruit like flavour and soft mouthfeel." My ever dependable bottleshop Westhill Service Station managed to get some of these in, and I was delighted to get my hands on one. Well this one is a bit special.
Opening the wonderfully designed can instantly releases big hoppy aromas, fused with loads of tropical fruits; mango, pineapple, passion fruit & some citrus orange. It fills the glass a wonderful hazy, murky golden orange with a big foamy beige head. The taste is incredible. Quite bitter on the first sip, with big hoppy, piney flavours but that soon relaxes to make way for the fruit. Again, tropical fruits combined with citrus orange give this beer an excellent mouthfeel that balances the bitterness perfectly. I've raved about Magic Rock in the past. They make excellent beer. Teaming up with these heavy hitters from NYC has resulted in an outstanding beer. I can't recommend this one enough. 5 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 www.magicrockbrewing.com www.otherhalfbrewing.com/ 15/5/2017 0 Comments Beer Review - NW DIPA CitraCloudwaterBack in my review of DIPA v13, I mentioned that Cloudwater were planning on launching a new line of DIPAs to replace the "v" series. Well NW DIPA Citra is one of these beers. I had seen various posts on Instagram regarding this one. I knew it was going to be good. And I was delighted when Westhill Service Station got some in as part of a glorious beer haul this week. Cloudwater also launched this beer in the new shop section of their website. NW DIPA Citra is a 9% ABV special edition DIPA. Here's what Cloudwater are saying about this beauty: "Introducing our new DIPA style which showcases yeast from one of Manchester's oldest family brewers and fresh 2016 harvest hops. Citra takes the lead backed up by Simcoe, with JW Lees 4792nd generation yeast." The aromas that come from cracking open this beautifully designed can are wonderful! Big citrus fruits; orange, and pulpy mango are backed up with just a hint of pine.
New England style IPAs are the best looking beers around when poured into a glass, and there is no exception here; a cloudy, murky deep orange liquid with a foamy white head that disperses quickly. I'm running out of words to describe Cloudwater DIPAs. This beer is incredible. The flavour is absolutely out of this world. Those wonderful aromas carry straight through into the taste. BIG juicy fruit flavours lead the way; pineapple, orange & mango, followed by some slight grapefruit which rounds it all off nicely with some piney bitterness. Wow. As seems to be the case with Cloudwater DIPAs of late, there is almost little to no hint of the 9% ABV in there. This beer is dangerously drinkable. I am delighted I got the chance to drink NW Citra DIPA. It is another world class beer from Cloudwater, I'm just gutted I don't have more. Do yourself a favour and buy this beer if you get the chance! This is one of my top 3 beers of the year so far. 5 out of 5 hops 🍻 http://cloudwaterbrew.co/ |
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