Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout

Brewery: Odell Brewing Co.

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Thought I would do a special on for Christmas :) This has a lovely story attached to it as it is named after  the dairy farmer that uses the spent grain and hops from the brewery for feeding the cattle. This brew is made with milk sugar and milk chocolate. The bottle shows an expiry date as the 3rd of May 2013..... they bottle it 4 months before (so 3rd of January) thus it is nearly a year old.  I served this at cellar temperature.

Appearance: Completely black with a thick but short lived mocha/maroon head.

Aroma: Smells like a mix of whisky, port, and black olives.

Flavour: a bit of an acidic sweetness right off the front with some sweet malty notes mixed in with a bit of savory towards the end. The sweetness isn't a malty sweetness and probably comes from the lactose; it is a little too sweet. Some roasted burnt toast notes do develop with drinking. The flavours seem to change quickly.

Body: Lovely silky body but a little too fizzy for the style.

Aftertaste: The sweetness spreads through. After some time there is some green taste from hops. Some brandy/whisky notes develop with time.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a nice beer with a unusual flavour that I can't place that doesn't quite work. Not any chocolate coming through though. The flavours were unlocked with the warmth so definitely serve it at room temp. A bit too sweet to be any higher.

Price Range: £4.59 for 355ml bottle, way too much for a bottle.

Food Pairings: I can't think what this would go with as it is quite sweet and robust by itself, I would say that it would complement a desert that is creamy with berry fruit; such as Eaton Mess or Cranachan.

First Frontier IPA

Brewery: To Øl

Supplier: Beers of Europe

This is an "IPA done the American way" by a Danish brewery using three American hops (warrior, simcoe, and centennial). I served this straight from the fridge.

Appearance: An opaque dirty gold colour with an off-white head that thins but stays.

Aroma: That lovely lychee lemon hop smell dominates this smell, nothing else.

Flavour: Quite sharp on the tongue initially and then develops into that classic citrus hoppy taste with a little hoppy sourness before a strong but not unpleasant hoppy bitterness.

Body: A little light and a little fizzy but not bad.

Aftertaste: A little too much bitterness that it tastes green, like a plant. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, a simple beer that displays a clear hoppy profile but nothing else, close to a 7 but the aftertaste is a bit to unpleasant.

Price Range: £3.69 for a 330ml bottle, a nice beer but this is too much for a bottle of this, I think it is carried by the breweries name (for me at least).

Food Pairings: Something gamey like roast pigeon, the floral hops would balance the gameyness of the bird.

Smoked Rye IPA

Brewery: Bierbrouwerij Emelisse

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Thought I would have this as a little celebration for finishing my exams! This if from a well known Dutch brewery and is part of their "Innovation Series". This is an IPA brewed with 20% rye and 10% smoked malts. I served this straight out of the fridge.

Appearance: A very murky amber colour with no head. Pours incredibly thick, so much so that it has notable legs.

Aroma: Hugh waves of peach hit you when you pour this but as you smell closer you get a mixture of spices and BBQing herbs.

Flavour: Initially tastes just like honey (later going into a more fruity syrup), this goes into a woody smoke and Barbecue sauce finish, turns into a kind of hickory smoke. There are also hints of fruity hops towards the end.

Body: Nice and thick, a good substantial body whilst still being fresh.

Aftertaste: The smoke lingers and there is that classic hoppy bitterness.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, lots of single bold flavours that really stand out from one another, usually I find smoked beers not smoke enough but this is! (maybe a little too much). But is probably THE perfect BBQ beer and very close to being a 9.

Price Range: £2.89 for a 330ml bottle, definitely worth it!

Food Pairings: Brisket and Spicy chicken wings. It goes well with meats due to its smokiness, I don't know what vegetables go well with smokiness.

Framboise Boon

Brewery: Brouwerij Boon

Supplier: Beers of Europe

This is the Boon Breweries lambic made with raspberries. First made in 1976, with this one being made in 2012, it is made to display the Raspberries and uses not artificial flavourings. The recommend to drink this young even though it says it is best before the end of 2016. I served this slightly chilled

Appearance: Cherry red with a faint and very sort lasting pink head, when you hold it to the light it becomes ruby in colour.

Aroma: Predominantly raspberries (surprise surprise) with hints of other berry juices, maybe cherry.

Flavour: Quite tart on the front, like nearly ripe raspberries and this persists (berry taste maturing slightly) though until a little bit of a weak finish. Quite crisp and tart.

Body: Nice and light, but with enough body to support it.

Aftertaste: It has a nice clean finish with only a slight puckering in the aftertaste. It is just like after eating a nearly ripe raspberry. Later a nice sourness develops

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, very close to an 8, this just screams raspberries and is a great refreshing beer, perfect for the summers.

Price Range: £2.09 for a 250ml bottle, a good price despite the small bottle size; the 250ml bottle size is actually the perfect amount. I would definitely get this again as a standard summer drinker.

Food Pairings: It will go well with pretty much anything that raspberries go with; I'm picturing with a nice sharp cheddar and some water crackers at a picnic.

HopDevil IPA

Brewery: Victory Brewing Company

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Apparently named after farmer folklore (although I'm dubious this isn't just said in jest), this is one of Victory's all-year round brews that came about in 1996. Made with German malts and American whole flower hops, I served this chilled from the fridge.

Appearance: Quite murky and not pale, more of a fiery amber colour Has a thin, off-white head that dissipates quickly

Aroma: Has a faint smell of that sweet hop resin. 

Flavour: A bit carbony on the front which then goes into a lovely sweet hop flavour in the back.After some time this lessens and an ok malt body comes through that does pair with the hops quite well.

Body: On the higher levels of carbonation to still be a nice level of fizzyness. Nice, light and refreshing.

Aftertaste: A hoppy bitterness that is just a tad too green in flavour and has a hint of grapefruit. This green taste gets more and more dominant until it is unpleasent. Hints of sugar.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, good beer but little things make it not a great as it could be, but mainly it is the after taste which caused me to drop it from a 7.

Price Range: £2.89 for a 355ml bottle, a bit too expensive for what it is.

Food Pairings: It's quite a dominant flavour that is hard to pair with, so I think it would go best with curries that are also dominant.

Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company

Supplier: Beers of Europe

I don't know too much about this beer other than it was made by Anderson Valley in Boonville California (in the north) and is one of their year round brews that they occasionally put in a can.

Appearance: Pitch black with a large but short live latte coloured head. Very effervescent.

Aroma: At first very metallic but this lessens into a almost pretzel like smell with hints of dark chocolate. 

Flavour: Very creamy and sweet on the front with some smooth chocolate notes. Some freshly baked bread flavours with dried berry notes (looking at their description I realize that i was tasting dried cherries). 

Body: Not as thick as I would expect for the still and not as fizzy as I would have expected from the looks. What it is is a very smooth and silky body that complements the flavours well. Surprisingly fresh

Aftertaste: Turns into a really pleasant burnt toast flavour coupled with a hint of un-roasted peanut that works well as an underlayer of taste. Does develop into a slight metallic taste. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, possibly closer to a 7 but I really like this style. Not many if any off flavours with this one. Afterwards it does leave your mouth puckard though...

Price Range: £2.89 for a 355ml bottle, great price for this beer!

Food Pairings: Would be perfect with Black Forest Gâteau!

Anchor California Lager

Brewery: Anchor Brewing Company

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Based upon the first Califonian true lager brewed in Boca that came about with the railway being able to transport ice from the mountains; a great story that you can hear in their video. I served this straight out of the fridge.

Appearance: Pale golden straw colour with a little white head that fades pretty quickly. A steady trickle of bubbles

Aroma: That classic lager smell but cleaner and more inviting with a bit more of a fruitiness.

Flavour: Creamy on the front with a good lager like middle and a sharp back with hints of blackcurrent. Nice and crisp and fresh, easy to drink. After some time it develops some strawberry notes.

Body: Nice solid body that doesn't linger.

Aftertaste: A tangy almost citrus like after taste with a good lager malt taste, very smooth. Some grape juice notes come about.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, very clean and crisp for when you fancy a lager; I doubt that there would be beer of this style that beats it by much.

Price Range: £2.19 for a 355ml bottle, good price and I would definitely get it again. This would be one of my regular go to beers if I could get it easily.

Food Pairings: Pretty much any meal like most lagers, but this would go very well with meaty tomato based pasta dishes.

Bristol Hefe

Brewery: Bristol Beer Factory

Supplier: Beers of Europe

This is the Bristol Beer Factory's Hefeweizen; a brewery founded in the early 1820's and re-established in 2004. This brewery bottle conditions so there was a hefty amount of sediment (especially as it is a Hefe). I served this at room temp.

Appearance: Gold, with a slight hint of orange; large head with large bubbles that reduces quickly but stays for a while. 

Aroma: An interesting concoction of lemon, yeast, and tiny bit of  bonfire smoke on the nose.

Flavour: Not much on the front and then some carbonated lemon banana. This then fades leaving an iron carbonation taste with a fruity bread back.

Body: Way too fizzy which kind of ruins it, can't really tell the body. Leaves your mouth dry and puckered in an unpleasant way.

Aftertaste: First a hint of cloves and yeast but then very very distinct taste of honey (not as sweet though).

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 3, just way too fizzy to be nice; some good initial flavours though.

Price Range: £2.39 for a 500ml bottle, a good price but not really worth it.

Food Pairings: The breadyness and the fruits would complement the spices on a piece of barbecue flavoured chicken.

Impale IPA

Brewery: Williams Bros. Brewing Co.

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Designed by Ed Young if Heriot Watt Uni for the IBD homebrew competition which he won and thus got the recipe brewed by the Williams Bros. This is part of their Chapeau series. They say that this is "Micro-brewed for maximum flavour". I served this straight out of the fridge.

Appearance: Murky straw colour with absolutely no head, even when I poured it quite violently. 

Aroma: Dominating sour lemon nose with some sweet hop resin penetrating through later. Some hints of apple.

Flavour: Dominant caramel malt coming through with a turn towards the hoppy resin (slightly peach like) towards the back. These two flavors seem to merge nicely with drinking.

Body: Quite light with a bit of a thickness on the back.

Aftertaste: A tangy not to pleasant sourness, with a very carbonated tasting back and a bit of a skunky berry taste.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, nice flavours that nearly make it a 6 but nothing special and a bad aftertaste.

Price Range: £1.79 for a 330ml bottle, good price for a nice beer. As it is quite cheap I would probably get it again as a sessionable beer.

Food Pairings: Some sort of ginger bread - biscuit or cake, the fiery ginger would bring out the sweetness from the malt and hops.

Smog Rocket

Brewery: Beavertown Brewery

Supplier: Kris Wines

Beavertown was set up in London a couple of years ago with this being one of their first brew. It is porter with lost of smoked malts and a low IBU (bitterness). They say that this was inspired by the industrial revolution ... and Mordor! I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: Quite light for a porter (still too dark to be a brown ale though), when you hold it to the light you can see through it and it is the colour of cola. Think off white head that dissipates quickly, looks very fizzy.

Aroma: Smells a bit off/homebrewesk at first with hints of soap, but this gets dominated by chocolate and a nice burnt smell.

Flavour: The best way I can explain the initial taste is sort of a flavourless build up hinting at more to come. This does come as a roasted taste with hints of sherry. At the back there is this OK green hoppy taste that is just misplaced. Hints of grapes and dates throughout, this increases with drinking but develops into a familiar but implacable taste. Not much smokiness though. 

Body: Great body, just the right thickness (reasonable thick as best suited for this style), and carbonation. It also has a nice velvetyness that I think comes from oats.

Aftertaste: All the flavours bar the green hops carry on into the after taste (which is good), they then fade into a dry, coffee taste that is OK. Hints of Marmite. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, decent beer with nothing too offensive.

Price Range: £2.75 for a 330ml bottle, a nice price for a good beer, I would get it again.

Food Pairings: Some sort of homely fruit pie, like apple or blackberry.