VerdantTime for a new beer post! It's been a while since I've done one of these... As of late, I have been doing all my beer reviews over on Instagram - and I have been enjoying it. I definitely feel that it works better as a platform for nice, concise, informative reviews. That's not to say I'm gonna stop posting about beer on here - this blog is called gregwhodrinksbeer after all. I was lucky enough to win a competition over on Instagram, that was ran by @hop.look.listen, where I won three Verdant beers, and a shiny new Verdant glass. For being one of the biggest and best breweries in the UK - Verdant hasn't featured on this blog too much, which is unfortunate! Now, that's not for any reason in particular, other than mainly a combination of my reluctance at buying beer online, and my local bottle shop (Hop Shop Aberdeen) not stocking too much of their beer. So I thought it would be good idea to talk about all three beers in one big review blog post. So lets get into these beauties! MaryLouFirst up we have MaryLou, a 5.2% ABV Pale Ale brewed with Mandarina Bavaria, Citra, Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin hops. First things first - that can art is absolutely beautiful! There's not much on the can in the way of an official description, other than a quote from the great American author Jack Kerouac, and his iconic novel, On the Road. “So I went up there and there she was, the girl with the pure and innocent dear eyes that I always searched for and for so long. We agreed to love each other madly.” - Jack Kerouac, On the Road MaryLou pours from the can a murky bright orange colour, leaving a big foamy white head. There's instantly a HUGE floral hoppy aroma, backed by big juicy tropical fruits. This beer smells wonderful! On your first sip, you are met by that lovely floral hops, followed by a touch of citrus, juicy melon and tropical, slightly bitter finish. This beer is very, very good! It has a nice medium body, not too much carbonation and it is incredibly easy drinking - it would be so easy to smash a few of these in one sitting. Overall, a very impressive start. MaryLou gets 4.75 out of 5 from me 🍻 Even Sharks Need WaterNext up we have Even Sharks Need Water, which is a 6.5% ABV IPA, which again, has some pretty cool can art. Here's the official description: "Murky, thick, juicy and chewy. It’s like a packet of sherbet sweets drenched in tangy fruit layers cuddled by a comforting bready hug. Soft to drink with a slight creamy texture and medium dry finish, it’s tough to stop drinking it." Even Sharks Need Water pours from the can an absolutely outrageous looking murky, milkshake looking pale orange colour, with just over a fingers width of an off-white head. There's initial aromas of citrus, and white grape, followed by a hint of pine. It all smells pretty awesome! The first thing you notice about the taste, is that it's not as sweet as the aromas lead you to believe. There's an initial sweetness of hoppy citrus, but that is soon replaced by an overwhelming amount of savoury, pastry like flavours - now, that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable, it just took me by surprise. Once I got my taste buds around what was going on, this was then all followed by a nice bitter finish to round things off. This beer is silky smooth, medium bodied, and has soft carbonation - it's very easy drinking, and easy to forget it's coming in at 6.5%. Lovely stuff. Even Sharks Need Water gets 4.25 out of 5 from me 🍻 There Was No WhyNow it's time for the main event... Here we have There Was No Why, an 8% ABV DIPA that has been brewed in collaboration with Brooklyn giants, Other Half. I was particularly excited about this beer following my visit to Other Half in November. Here's the official description: "A few weeks ago, Anthony from Other Half joined us in Falmouth to help brew up our latest collaboration with the Brooklyn juice slingers. We decided on a DIPA! We packed in five hop varieties: Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic, Idaho 7 & Sabro. Expect layer upon layer of juicy and fruity hop flavours thanks to a dry hop that consisted of 60% Citra and 10% each of the aforementioned varieties. There’s also creamy, tropical citrus and candy notes alongside a very subtle coconut creaminess thanks to the Sabro. We wanted to ensure this spirit of collaboration was strong with this one, and worked closely with Sam and Anthony at Other Half. They suggested the hop ratios and doubling the percentage of oats we’d typically use in the grist from 8% to 16% to enhance that slick and smooth mouthfeel. We reckon the result is a DIPA carrying the mark of both breweries - and one we’re incredibly excited to see released into the wild!" There Was No Why pours from the can a thick, hazy lemon yellow colour, with a thin white head. Initial aromas are very dank with tonnes of ripe tropical mango and grapefruit, followed by a hint of grassy pine. Excellent start! Those dank, juicy fruit flavours are at the forefront when you take your first sip, with huge amounts of mango, orange, pineapple and a the slightest hint of coconut. Everything is then rounded off by a big whack of boozy bitterness. This beer is full bodied, thick, creamy and properly boozy - everything you are looking for an a huge DIPA! I loved this beer. A beer of absolutely epic proportions. There Was No Why gets 5 out of 5 from me 🍻 Overall - I have been majorly impressed by these three beers, and I would go as far as to say, they have been three of the best beers I have had this year. They 100% live up to the hype. Thanks again to @hop.look.listen for putting on such an awesome competition, and for adding some more awesome glassware to my collection. I'm gonna make it a mission of mine in 2020 to get my hands on plenty more Verdant beer, and who knows... I might even get a hold of the elusive Putty.
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20/6/2019 0 Comments Beer Review - Tremendous IdeasCloudwater X Other HalfIt's great when someone gives you a beer...even better when it is a beer of epic proportions! That's exactly what happened when fellow beer, and running enthusiast, Mark Ramsey (aka the_king_of_aberdeenparkrun on Instagram) messaged me on Instagram to ask if I fancied a can of Tremendous Ideas, the DIPA collaboration between brewing giants Cloudwater & Other Half. Needless to say, I said yes. I haven't had a Cloudwater beer on this blog for quite some time (no reason in particular), so I couldn't think of a better beer for them to make their return, in collaborating with Other Half. Tremendous Ideas is an 8% ABV DIPA, and here's the official description from Cloudwater: "Tremendous Ideas was the first collaboration brewed in Manchester with our friends from Other Half back in 2017, and we've revived it just in time for the second edition of their Green City festival. Combining a huge, pillowy body with vibrant citrus and tropical fruit flavours from a selection of punchy, modern hop varietals, this is a smooth and decadent DIPA." I was super excited to try this beer. I'd seen so much hype around it on Instagram, and kudos again to Mark for sorting me out...go and give him a follow if you don't already! Tremendous Ideas pours from the can a slightly murky yellow/orange colour, leaving an almost non-existent head. There's loads of citrus in the aroma, with lemon, grapefruit and orange all combining with a hit of tropical mango pulp and a dose bitter pine. Lovely stuff so far. Those citrus aromas are there at the forefront of your first sip with a juicy tangy assault on your taste-buds before those dank, bitter pine flavours round everything off in stunning fashion. Wow. This beer is so easy to drink, it's sweet, juicy and just bitter enough - there's also little to no carbonation present too. As far as DIPA's go, they don't come much better than this. There's no doubt about it, deciding to brew this beer was a helluva tremendous idea. This was a phenomenal beer, and has easily made it's way in to my top three of the year so far. To be honest, I didn't expect anything else with the level of talent involved. There are two breweries at the top of their game here. I would encourage anyone to seek this out and get their hands on it - you will not be disappointed in the slightest.
Tremendous Ideas gets 5 out of 5 from me 🍻 29/5/2019 0 Comments Beer Review - DIPANorth Brewing x Other HalfHello! It's been a while since my last post, and I think it's been even longer since my last beer review. That doesn't mean I haven't been drinking them - I've just been lazy! Thankfully, I have chosen a rather special beer for my latest review - a collaboration between one of the UK's hottest breweries, North Brewing, and Brooklyn powerhouse, Other Half (a brewery I hope to visit later this year). This beer doesn't have an actual name as such, and it just referred to as "DIPA", which comes in at a whopping 8.3% ABV. Here's the official description from North Brewing: "We are in awe of this beer! Super chuffed, humbled and proud! This is what it’s about, people coming together to create something great. During the madness of Hop City Leeds, Antony from Other Half Brewing Company squeezed us in his busy schedule to weigh in on how we should brew this beer together. With plenty of Mosaic, El Dorado and Ekuanot in the early dry hop, this beer is a hefty Double IPA with heaps of tropical aroma and flavour, an absolute mouth full of smooooothness and a nice bit of 8.3% booze to carry it all and give you that giddy feeling." As soon as I read about this beer, I had to have it. With the level of talent involved, I couldn't imagine this beer being anything other than spectacular. I couldn't wait to get it open. DIPA pours from the can hazy, murky, golden yellow colour, leaving behind a fingers width of a foamy white head behind. Aromas are huge amount of tropical fruits - pineapple, mango, orange, along with a touch of lime combine with a nice hoppy backbone...wow, mouthwatering stuff! The first sip gives you loads more of those tropical fruits - thick gloopy pineapple, mango and orange are there are the forefront with a splash of pine at the end to give the right amount of bitterness, and reminding your brain that this is in fact a beer, and not straight out of a Tropicana carton! It is super fresh tasting, and the booze is well hidden too, making it extremely drinkable, for an 8.3% beer. This was an extremely enjoyable beer to drink. I loved every second of it. This, in my mind, is exactly what a perfect DIPA should be - thick, juicy, fruity and just enough hoppy bitterness in there to round everything off. Bravo. This was an utterly phenomenal beer, and without doubt one of the best I've had this year. North Brewing are a UK brewery at the top of their game, and Other Half come with a reputation that speaks for itself - I can't wait to visit their brewery and tap room later this year. Should you buy this beer? Absolutely, and I can't recommend it enough.
This DIPA collaboration gets 5 of of 5 from me 🍻 |
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