Stone Cali-Belgique IPA

Brewery: Stone Brewing

Supplier: Brewdog Dundee Bottledog

This is from a San Diego based brewery that I had the fortune to visit while I was out there a few years ago, and I'm sure I had this beer whilst I was here. Whilst this is a San Diego based brewery, I think this was brewed in their Berlin based facility. This is one of their regular beers, and is a Belgian style IPA - one of my favourite styles - using Magnum, Centennial & Chinook hops. What I like about this sight is that they have a "fresh for" time, and for this one it is 120 days; as this one was brewed 89 days ago it's well in date. I served this chilled.

Appearance: The colour is slightly more vibrant than the picture suggests. When it's in the glass it has a nice rich, slightly opaque, golden colour; but when pouring it looks more like a livid yellow. The head is a thin pure white head that fades leaving a nice lacing. 

Aroma: There is a nice musky orange note, with a giving a funk reminise of oranges that are turning bad. There are also some of the classic belgian esters. This sounds bad but actually works really well for this beer.

Flavour: Initially a sweet, slightly sugary, malt. This is immediately followed by an intense orange and resin hop note. 

Body: Really full bodied on the front followed by a dry back 

Aftertaste: The hop note seems to develope into a more mature note of dried orange peel, cloves, and a little medicinal note - the hallmark of Belgian beers. There is also a slight underlying sharp sweetness. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, whilst Belgian beers aren't my favourite this was an excellent version of the style. Lots of flavour but really easy to drink.

Price Range: £3.33 (usually £3.50) for a 330ml can, fantastic price.

Food Pairings: A beer like this would cut through fatty foods like cheese so I'm going to pair it with what I had when I visited the brewery - Macaroni and Cheese.

True Blonde Ale

Brewery: Ska Brewing

Supplier: Brewdog Dundee Bottledog

This is another from Ska brewing, this one being one of their flagship pale ales and made with honey gathered from bees local to the breweries town of Durango - supplied by a company called Honeyville. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Pale yellow, thin when held to the light. The head is pure white and quite large, but thins.

Aroma: Typical beer yeast notes with some resin and iron notes.

Flavour: Quite a simple pale note, leading into a slight green hoppy note and a hint of fruit. 

Body: Thin but not too thin, just the way a pale ale should be; very refreshing as well

Aftertaste: The afternote seems to fall into a more traditional British yeast note, with a little yeasty bitterness.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, quite a nice simple pale, more like a British ale, though I couldn't detect any honey notes in it.

Price Range: £2.19 (usually £2.30) for a 330ml can; probably about right for what it is, I wouldn't go out my way for it, but I would be happy with it.

Food Pairings: Simple beer so a simple food - a toasted cheese sandwich.

Tundra IPA

Brewery: Barney's Beer

Supplier: Work

So this one I got free from my work as the JHI worked together with Barney's Beers in this little experiment. For this beer about 40% of the sugars come from Fava beans, with the malt providing the enzymes, and then lots of hops to make it an IPA style. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Gold with a slight amber tints, there is a slight white head that thins to a thin film.

Aroma: Malty with a little apricot hop, there is also some corn notes underlying.

Flavour: A slight hop resin note in the front leading to a sweet malty note like barley sweets. 

Body: Quite a decent, with a nice full mouthfeel, especially for such little malt. 

Aftertaste: A nice subtle lingering of the flavours that settle into the mouth nicely. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, quite a simple beer more like a pale ale with a nice simple hoppy note.

Price Range: Free, don't know what it usually costs, quite a nice beer and I would pay a couple of pounds for it.

Food Pairings: Most pub grub, I would particularly recommend a slightly salty steak & ale pie.

Berry Cubana

Brewery: Nomad Brewing Co. & Cigar City Brewing

Supplier: Fraser's Fruit and Veg

Got this from a local produce shop a little while ago. It's a coalition brew from Nomads down in New South Wales, Australia, and Cigar City in Florida. It's a brown ale recipe using a British yeast strain, but the rest of it is local to Australasia; using Aus and NZ hops and flavouring it with local fruits - Riberries or Lilly Pilly fruits. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A dark colour with brown edges when held to the light. The head is a a slight tan colour and quite thick on pouring, but thins quite quickly. 

Aroma: A few sweeter roasted notes coupled with some spicy fruit, quite a low level though.

Flavour: Some sweet roasted notes in the front, then some red berries and christmas spices. 

Body: Thick in the front then becomes quite crisp and a little dry

Aftertaste: There is a little bit of a more cereal malt flavour along with a bitterness reminiscent of green fruit that dominates. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, quite nice and a little novel, but the dry and green notes make in not as pleasant as it could have been

Price Range: £2.75 for a 500ml bottle, a decent price but probably wouldn't get it again.

Food Pairings: Quite a simple dish of a baked sweet potato, as the sweetness and starchiness of the potato counteracting the dryness and greenness.

Redwood

Brewery: Wild Beer Co.

Supplier: Kris Wines

I decided to do a slightly special one as I've just reached the quarter mark of my PhD, with my review submitted. This is a sour red ale the is made with locally foraged berries, it is an annual beer made in the autumn and left to age for a year . The edition I am drinking is the first, released in 2014 made with sloes, blackberries, elderberries, rosehips and many others foraged in 2013; it was when aged in the second use of Modus Operandi barrels, along with some Burgundy red wine barrels and some Scotch Whisky barrels. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Brown and opaque with a rusty hint around the edges when held to the light. The is a thin, slightly brown, head that dissipates quickly.

Aroma: Some nice subtle sour and balsamic notes with hints of berries in the back.

Flavour: Quite complex, with some red berry notes - that change with every sip - in the front coupled with hints of caramel malts. This leads into the sourness in the back, with a little saltiness. There is also an underlying oak note throughout.

Body: A medium body; not fizzy at all, which is not a bad thing for this style. 

Aftertaste: This may sound weird but there are some cola notes coupled with some tartness and a little bitterness from the wood. There are also some earwax notes, which is unfortunate.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, very complex but not as tasty as I was expecting, and the complexity actually detracts from the fruity notes.

Price Range: £3.60 for a 330ml bottle, quite a good price for a complex beer. Don't think I would get this edition again, but I would get the others when they come up.

Food Pairings: A selection of strong, sharp cheeses.

Black House

Brewery: Modern Times Beer

Supplier: Beer52

I first saw this brewery when it came up on Kickstarter, which allowed them to build their brewery. This is one of their 4 core range beers, which are all canned, and is an oatmeal stout brewed with coffee (75% Ethiopian • 25% Sumatran) which they roast themselves. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Black with brown edges when held to the light, with a steady stream of bubbles. The head is a rust tan colour, but thin and short lived.

Aroma: Burnt toast and coffee notes of the berry variety, there is also quite a cereal-esq note.

Flavour: Those strong berry-like coffee notes right on the front, but with none of the bitter notes that are ususally associated. In the back there are some burnt toast notes. Quite heavy at first but they lighten up with some drinking.

Body: I thought that this was going to be really fizzy but it's not, it is perfect, with an amazing mouthfeel.

Aftertaste: The coffee notes become a little sharper making it a little fresher feeling rounding it off. There is a little clinginess lingering there though. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, the mouthfeel makes this exceptional, and coupled with some simple but well crafted coffee and roasted flavour.

Price Range: £3.14 (usually £3.30) for a 473ml (1 US Pint) can, a great price for a very nice beer, especially as a end of dinner beer.

Food Pairings: As I said before, I think this would be great after dinner beer; so something like a light cream/pastry dessert, maybe something like a Sicilian Cannolo.

Pivo Pils

Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Company

Supplier: Brewdog Dundee Bottledog

From the famed Firestone walker brewery, this is one of their core "Lion & Bear" beers - a hoppy pilsner. Using a traditional pilsner base, but dry hopping with west coast hops - Magnum, Spalter, and Saphir. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A pale yellow with a slight hint of gold. The head is medium, but very airy, and pure white; it fades quickly.

Aroma: A bit metallic on the front with a hint of hoppy resin in the back.

Flavour: A little butyric acid on the front, with some pale malt in the back.

Body: I can't really tell as the carbonation is overpowering.

Aftertaste: No flavour in the back, but it does become quite refreshing. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 2, more towards being unpleasant to drink, disappointing from such a well renowned brewery.

Price Range: £2.46 (normally £2.60) for a 355ml can, any price isn't great.

Food Pairings: Anything really, it's just non-descript. Probably good with a curry.

Cannonball

Brewery: Magic Rock Brewing

Supplier: Brewdog Dundee Bottledog

This is one of the core beers from the famous Magic Rock Brewing. The style is a quite strong IPA made using 6 different hops; Amarillo, Centennial, Citra, Columbus, Magnum, and Simcoe - self described hop bomb. I served this chilled.

Appearance: An opaque pale brown ale with a medium and quickly fading white head. 

Aroma: A little off in the front, but then turns into something like sticking your head in a bucket of hops.

Flavour: A thick decent malt on the front followed by a large, sweet resiny hop profile with tropical and lychee notes.

Body: Quite thick, like you would expect for an IPA this strength. 

Aftertaste: Initially it is intensely perfumy from the hops, but this turns into a dank hoppy note with drinking. This is mixed with some cereal and grassy notes, with a little seaweed. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, very hoppy and quite an easy drinker, but not too sessionable.

Price Range: £3.09 (normally £3.25) for a 330ml can, not a bad price, but maybe a little on the steep side.

Food Pairings: I had this with a tomato and pepper soup, the intense hops seemed to work quite well with the vinegar and umami notes.

Gose To Hollywood

Brewery: To Øl

Supplier: Brewdog Dundee Bottledog

Another from To Øl, this is their sour Gose. Like all gose's this is made using salt, but it's also made using California oranges. This one is brewed and bottled at the De Proef Brouweru in Belgium. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Pale and slightly orange, and slightly opaque. The is also a thin but lasting pure white head. 

Aroma: Orange and a little funky, maybe my imagination, but it smells a little like the sea. 

Flavour: Sour on the front, with some saltiness, then some faint orange notes.

Body: Refreshing, but a little too fizzy. 

Aftertaste: The orange notes turn to a more tropical notes, particularly passion fruit. After the sourness, it turns a lot juicier. However, the tropical notes start to fade with drinking

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, I love sour beers and this is a fine example, with lots of lovely tropical notes that give a sweetness to complement the salt and sour. Would have been a 9 if the tropical notes didn't fade.

Price Range: £3.71 (normally £3.90) for a 500ml can, a great price for a great beer.

Food Pairings: A nice light white risotto.

Jet Black Heart

Brewery: BrewDog

Supplier: Brewdog Dundee Bottledog

Thought I would christen my new Brewdog glass with a brewdog beer. This is one of their newest core range beers, and is an oatmeal milk stout; made using Magnum and Sorachi Ace hops along with some oats and wheat. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A deep black, even when held to the light. There's a thin head that fades quickly, and is a light mocha colour. 

Aroma: Coffee and a little acid.

Flavour: Sweet on the front with some berries, chocolate, and coffee.

Body: Smooth, but a little too fizzy.

Aftertaste: The back continues with coffee and a little coffee, but with a bitterness. This sweetens up, and a little tobacco coming through. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, a nice easy drinking sweet porter. Hits my sweet tooth.

Price Range: £1.79 (normally £1.89) for a 330ml bottle, a great price - I can see why it's part of their core.

Food Pairings: Some nice sourdough, or rye bread. Something simple and salty to go with the sweet complex notes.