1/4/2019 0 Comments Beer Review - Mayday!Brew ToonRemember back when I spent the day at Brew Toon in Peterhead, and they were brewing up a beer with the Peterhead Lifeboat Crew? Well, that beer has finally been released, and that beer is Mayday. I was extremely excited when I found out what kind of beer we were brewing up that day, as it is easily one of my favourite beer styles. Mayday is a 3.8% ABV NE IPA, and here's what Brew Toon have to say about it: "Peterhead Lifeboat Station has been safeguarding mariners along the North East coast of Scotland since 1865. With the help of the Lifeboat team we have brewed up a sessionable NEIPA with waves of citrus fruit flavour, made from the very best of new American hops." All the flavour of a banging NE IPA, whilst being sessionable enough not to knock you out after a few bottles? Great! On top of making an absolutely excellent sounding beer, 20% of all profits from this beer will be donated to the charity - which is pretty awesome if you ask me! Mayday pours from the bottle a hazy, murky golden colour, leaving around a fingers width of a frothy white head at the top. Initial aromas are refreshing, citrus, slight tropical fruits, some light floral notes and a hint of that familiar hoppy goodness that you are so used to with NE IPA's. These familiar flavours continue in the flavour, with refreshing citrus up front and combine with floral flavours - and if I am being picky, maybe slightly too much floral notes here for me. There's then an ever so slight dose of bitter hops, that rounds everything off, to remind you that you are in fact drinking an IPA. This beer is so easy drinking, and the flavours all come together great. For such a low ABV beer, Brew Toon has done a fantastic job in packing it full of flavour. Like I said, my only gripe was that it was perhaps maybe slightly over floral, but that didn't stop me enjoying it at all and I would happily sit and enjoy a few of these in one sitting. Overall, Mayday was another really enjoyable beer from Brew Toon. We're only four months into the year and these guys have been killing it with their releases so far - I'm super excited to see what they have planned next. I find it hard to imagine anyone disliking this beer, it is so easy to drink and for that reason, you should 100% give it a try - plus, it's supporting a great local cause... so what are you waiting for?
Mayday gets 3.75 out of 5 from me 🍻
0 Comments
7/3/2019 0 Comments Happy Birthday Tiny RebelSeven Beers, For Seven YearsTiny Rebel, are without doubt one of my favourite breweries in the UK - they make some great beer, have a fantastic core range and they've featured on this blog several times. So when I received the Hop Shop Aberdeen newsletter, advertising their 7th birthday collab pack, I pre-ordered it straight away. Now, I'm not usually one for ordering special edition boxes of beers, or beer advent calendars; I usually wince at the price, thinking that there's no way I can justify the outlay, but when I seen the lineup for this one (and the glass!) I just had to have it. Tiny Rebel have joined forces with some of the biggest hitters in UK craft brewing to put together a special collection of beers. The 7th birthday collab pack consists of seven collaboration beers with some of the hottest breweries in the UK, and a limited edition glass - all packaged in a rather awesome looking box (that can even be coloured in!). Each can, is a whopping 440ml and is wonderfully designed by the extremely talented Tamsin Baker, with each a interesting spin on a popular style. Unfortunately, due to a supplier issue, I was a few days late in getting my hands on the box - but when it finally arrived, I didn't hang around in working my way through the beers... Beer #1 - Citra Session IPA, 4% ABV, feat. Magic RockFirst up was a beer brewed in collaboration with one of the hottest breweries in the UK - Huddersfield's Magic Rock Brewing. The make some of the most drinkable session IPA's around, so that's exactly what they've brewed up - a 4% ABV Citra Session IPA. Magic Rock are a firm favourite of mine, so this was teed up nicely to be a hit. The beer itself pours a murky dark golden colour leaving a foamy off-white head behind. There's a huge hoppy citrus aroma up-front, just as you'd expect to see from a citra IPA - lovely stuff so far. Flavour wise, there are loads of citrus flavours in there from the off, with grapefruit and a hint of pineapple, before it all becomes a bit of a hop bomb with some sharp bitterness rounding everything off. All in all this was a very drinkable beer, and a really tasty session IPA, reminding me ever so slightly of Cybernaut from BrewDog. Overall, an excellent start to the collab box. BEER #2 - DDH Pilsner, 5% ABV, fEAT. Fourpure Next up, in collaboration with Fourpure was a 5% ABV DDH (double dry hopped) Pilsner. Now, I'm not usually a pilsner/lager drinker, but I do appreciate one when it's made well, and those are both styles that Fourpure have a reputation for. I also don't recall ever having a pilsner from Tiny Rebel, so it was certainly an intriguing prospect. DDH Pils pours an almost crystal clear amber colour, leaving a fingers width of a foamy off-white head. Initial aromas are notably grassy, hoppy, and some citrus lemon. The first sip, is clean, crisp and refreshing with some nice citrus flavours before being followed up by a harsh hoppy backbone, and a touch of resin - which, if I'm being honest, don't think worked too well for me. Overall, this was a decent enough beer, whilst not quite suited to my taste. But I'm maybe being too harsh on it as this isn't really my preferred style. Beer #3 - Tropical Sorbet IPA, 4.8% ABV, Feat. Neonraptor Brewing Co.The next beer is one that I was particularly looking forward to - a 4.8% ABV Tropical Sorbet IPA, brewed in collaboration with Nottingham's Neonraptor Brewing Co. Neonraptor are a brewery that I've yet to experience first hand, but their beers are always eye-catching, and come with a good reputation. So that, combined with the beer itself - a Tropical Sorbet IPA, things were already looking good. Tropical Sorbet IPA pours from the can (how cool is it?!) a quite clear golden orange colour, leaving less than a fingers width of a bubbly white head behind. Initial aromas are very pleasant - sharp, zesty, citrus aromas with loads of lemon, grapefruit, pineapple and a hint of mango fill your nose. One sip and you are met with tart, juicy fruit flavours; more lemon, grapefruit, and loads of pineapple all come together nicely to make this very drinkable. Overall, this was a very enjoyable beer - absolutely jam packed full of juicy flavours and extremely drinkable. The only thing I would say is that I would have probably said it was more a sour than an IPA? But that doesn't take away from how tasty this beer was! Beer #4 - Dark Chocolate & Cherry Barley Wine, 11% ABV, Feat. SirenThe next beer, is certainly an interesting one for me, as it's a style that I'm not overly familiar with - barley wine. This beer, in particular, is a dark chocolate & cherry barley wine brewed in collaboration with Siren, that comes in at 11% ABV. Siren are usually on point when it comes to interesting flavours, so I was pretty excited about this one. The beer pours from the can (how cool is this can, by the way?!) a deep burgundy colour, semi translucent, leaving a small beige head, that disperses pretty fast. Initial aromas are very sweet, with chocolate & cherry immediately noticeable, with a hint of caramel running through it. Much like the aromas, the initial flavours are very sweet, with caramel, chocolate & malts, laced with black cherries - it was a bit like liquid black forest gateaux. The flavours all balance out pretty well, and there's a warming boozy finish that packs quite a punch. Overall, I quite enjoyed this beer - the flavours were complex and interesting, and whilst it wasn't perfect - it definitely left me wanting to try out more barley wines in the future. Beer #5 - NEIPA, 6.8% ABV, Feat. DeyaNext up is the beer that I was probably most looking forward to in this box - the 6.8% ABV NEIPA, brewed in collaboration with Deya, who are quite the masters of this craft. A particular favourite beer style of mine - there's not much better than a juicy, hazy, NEIPA hop bomb when it comes to beer. This NEIPA pours from the can, a surprising haze-less dark orange colour, leaving a small foamy white head behind. Firstly, this beer smells absolutely wonderful, with loads of peach, apricot and citrus up front, which is backed up with a piney resin aroma. However, after the first sip - things aren't as great as they first smell. Something is amiss here, sure the peach and apricot show themselves, but they aren't quite working, and I think that there's also slightly too much carbonation. There's a good helping of hoppy bitterness at the end to rescue things slightly, but overall I was left unimpressed - this certainly wasn't what I was hoping for from these two. Sure, it was a perfectly drinkable beer, it just didn't deliver on the levels that I was hoping for. Beer #6 - Imperial Mocha Vanilla Shot Stout, 0.5% ABV, Feat. Big Drop BrewingNext up we have a really interesting one. When I first ordered this box, I thought that this beer was actually 10.5% ABV, and then about a week before it was released, it came to my attention that it actually was 0.5% ABV. Initially I was a bit gutted, as this box was already expensive enough, but the more I thought about it, the more this beer intrigued me. For this one, there was only really one way to do it - join forces with the biggest low alcohol breweries around, Big Drop. Firstly, I just want to mention the can. It is easily the coolest looking can in the box, featuring an awesome pixel art, video game style - I think it actually could be the coolest looking can I've ever laid hands on. This beer pours from the can, a dark black colour, leaving a thin beige head around the top of the glass. There's not much else to say about the aromas other than vanilla and coffee - loads of it! One sip of this beer, and you think you are drinking a rather tasty iced coffee; lots of sweet vanilla combine with lovely coffee and chocolate flavours to bring this beer together nicely. It is incredibly sweet, silky smooth and the lack of alcohol make it very easy drinking. I was very impressed by this collaboration. If this is what low-alcohol beers can be, then I am all for it. It is about time we had a bigger, tastier selection on the shelves. Beer #7 - Pomegranate & Molasses Belgian Strong Ale, 8% ABV, Feat. Yeastie BoysFinally, we have a 8% ABV Pomegranate & Molasses Belgian Strong Ale, brewed in Collaboration with Yeastie Boys. Yeastie Boys have been part of some of the biggest collabs around over the last year or so (including the epic stout with Vocation), so it only makes sense for Tiny Rebel to team up with these guys to celebrate their birthday. This was another style that I was unfamiliar with, but the flavours sounded extremely interesting, so I was rather keen to check it out. This beer pours from the glass an amber brown colour, leaving a thin beige head at the top of it. Initial aromas are caramel, orange, sweet fruits with a hint of spices. The first sip is full-on sweetness, with brown sugar, caramel and molasses followed by a hint of pomegranate and some orange. There's then a warming finish from some festive spices to round everything off. Overall, I found this beer to be...Ok. There was something with it that I couldn't quite put my finger on that didn't work for me. It certainly wasn't horrible, and I drank the whole thing, but I think the combination of all the flavours just wasn't my thing. And that's it! Although there were a couple of slight mishaps along the way, I really enjoyed working my way through special box of beers. In particular, my favourites were the Citra Session IPA (the first one I had!) with Magic Rock, and the Tropical Sorbet IPA with Neon Raptor, followed by the low alcohol stout with Big Drop.
If you are up for trying some really interesting flavoured beers, along with an awesome glass, all packaged together in a really cool box, then I would highly recommend picking this up whilst you still can. I guess the only thing left to say is happy birthday Tiny Rebel, here's to the next seven years! 🍻 16/11/2018 0 Comments Beer Review - CybernautBrewDogI feel like I've been neglecting BrewDog quite a bit on this blog as of late. Sure, I love going to their bars, and drinking their beers - but they haven't actually featured on here much recently, not since I cancelled Fanzine anyway. So I thought it was time for them to make a return! I'd read a lot about this beer online, on Instagram/Facebook etc and it's been in Hop Shop Aberdeen for a while now so I thought I would check it out. Cybernaut is a 4.5% ABV New England style Session IPA and here's the official lowdown from BrewDog: "Our new seasonal beer is upon us! For the first time we have brewed a pale and hoppy beer to fill this special slot - a tuned New England Session IPA! This beer has been lightly filtered in line with our core range, giving this beer less haze than most New England styles, but retaining the tropical and juicy profile we know and love to give it that twist! If you love a tropical fruit salad, you’ll love this beer! The mango, peach and apricot flavours, layered with strong grassy and pine dust notes, give this beer a smooth, juicy and light finish. Soft in bitterness with a mango juice character create a hoppy freshness!" All sounds great right? And I'd read nothing but good things about this beer, so I had high hopes for it... Cybernaut pours from the can a bright, hazy gold colour, leaving behind a big lively, foamy, off-white head. There’s loads of big fruits in the aroma, with grapefruit, pineapple and mango all in there alongside a hint of pine – so far so good, with this smelling like a very tasty beer. Flavour wise, this beer continues to impress with those fruit flavours at the forefront of it all again - loads of pineapple and mango, with a hint of grapefruit all come together with a hoppy bitterness, combined in a slight creamy, oat texture. This beer is very easy drinking , with it maybe only being ever so slightly too fizzy for my liking. Also, for being a session beer, at a relatively low ABV, it tastes surprisingly much stronger than it actually is, almost bordering on a full on NE IPA - but it all works really well. This is everything you want from a session beer – easy drinking, not too heavy and absolutely jam packed full of flavour. I would quite happily sit and work my way through a six-pack of these. Cybernaut was a thoroughly enjoyable beer from BrewDog and at around two quid a can, it is an absolute steal! A session beer, that packs a whole load of the flavour of a full on NE IPA is something I can truly get on board with, and I certainly hope it becomes a staple in their seasonal releases. For me, in terms of quality and price, this is one of BrewDog’s best releases recently and I would highly recommend that you try it for yourself.
Overall Cybernaut gets 4.25 out of 5 from me 🍻 |
|