VIPA

Brewery: Tyris

Supplier: Amazon

This brewery was started in 2009 in the Spanish city of Valencia, inspired by the beer culture in Germany. This beer is an abbreviation of Valencia IPA and is their core IPA. The hops they use are Northern Brewer, Styrian Goldings and Citra; it also contains wheat malt and bitter orange peel similar to a wheat beer. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A dark gold colour with hints of amber. There is only a few white bubble for a head that stay throughout, not enough to cover the surface. 

Aroma: A reasonable amount of citrus and resin hop notes. 

Flavour: Traces of citrus and resin hop notes as found in the nose, but watered down by a more general and no distinct hoppy bitterness. Towards the end there is some malt notes.

Body: Very refreshing of the front, and well carbonated, but with a dryness towards the end. 

Aftertaste: The aftertaste is more like one you would find in a commercial lager, a typical "beery" note. However, this turns into a bitter tang sort of a cross of hops and a little earwax. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 3, but close to a 4, it's drinkable and there are some nice notes in it, but that waxy note in the back pushes it down.

Price Range: Another from the box of 6 Spanish beers for £13.74, so this works outs as £2.29 for a 330ml bottle; a bit too much for what it is.

Food Pairings: This is quite a plain beer and so it would go with quite a lot of things, to get rid of that waxy taste I would suggest something meaty, maybe something smoked, a bacon or smoked sausage sandwich with crusty bread would do the trick.

Mariana Trench

Brewery: Weird Beard Brew Co.

Supplier: Beer52

Part of Weird Beard's core range, this is their pale ale that uses both American (Citra) and New Zealand (Pacific Gem) hops. I had this a couple of times a few years ago, the first time I loved it, and the second time I didn't think much of it; hopefully the second bottle was just a mistake. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A rich golden colour with straw around the edge and a nice trickle of bubble coming from the bottom. There is a thin but lasting white head.

Aroma: Smells a lot like gin, but without the high alcohol, so lots of juniper berries and citrus peel. 

Flavour: Tastes just like it smells, with lots of juniper and citrus peel hop notes. These flavours die down a bit 

Body: Refreshing but a medium body, smooth on the front but it turns a bit dry at the back (it would have been better if it didn't).

Aftertaste: Lots of cereal notes rather than malt, and a little bit of skunky hop bitterness (but not enough to make it a bad taste). 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, lots of pleasant notes with few bad ones, a nice a sessionable beer.

Price Range: Part of the box of 10 I got for £14 (usually £29), so it works out at £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; a very good price for this, I would definitely get it again for twice this price.

Food Pairings: I think this would go quite well with Sushi (using raw fish) as the juniper notes would compliment, and not overpower, the subtle fish notes.

Er Boquerón

Brewery: Premium Beers From Spain

Supplier: Amazon

I bought a box from Amazon during their lightning deals getting 6 Spanish beers for £13.74. This is a beer from Premium Beers From Spain which I know little about and can't find a website for. As far as I can tell the head brewer is a guy called Rafa Suñer and the individual beer have their own website (here is the one for Er Boquerón). This is a pale ale but mode unique by the use of fine Mediterranean seawater that has been partially desalinated and meticulously filtered, which reportedly makes the beer hangover free due to the mineral content. Er Boquerón has won multiple awards including two gold stars (out of three) for exceptional taste from the International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi) in 2014, meaning it was rated as a remarkable product with marks between 80% and 90%. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A nice pale golden colour with a thin and fading white head. It is quite hazy, and there are some lumps of sediment floating around.  

Aroma: Peach and grapefruit hops up front with some cereal notes similar to those in a wheat beer. 

Flavour: The wheat notes definitely come through along with a sweetness from the malt; there are some nice fruity notes, more like stone fruits such as apricots and peaches

Body: Very thick with a round ending, a little refreshing but just a tad too thick for this type of beer. A little too carbonated as well, but it is a softer carbonation (aka smaller bubbles). 

Aftertaste: Still the peach notes, but coupled with some of the grapefruit notes that were in the aroma. Also, the sweet malt from the flavour turns to a more savoury note. This aftertaste is very short lived though. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, a nice beer that is drinkable but a bit low on taste and has a few minor flaws.

Price Range: 6 Spanish beers for £13.74, so this works outs as £2.29 for a 330ml bottle; that price is about right, especially if you include the novelty factor.

Food Pairings: As it is made with sea water, I would say this would go well with a nice flat white fish covered with lots of lemon.

Mad Squirrel’s Czech Pilsner

Brewery: Red Squirrel Brewing Company

Supplier: Beer52

Part of the Red Squirrel's Mad Squirrel range that was was inspired by the consumer and the craft beer scene. This was the first (and so far only) beer in this range, and is a dry hopped version of a Czech Pilsner. I served this chilled.

Appearance: An incredibly clear golden colour with a thin, and fast clearing, white head. 

Aroma: Grape notes with a sweet caramel back, there are some strong phenolic compounds in it as well. 

Flavour: Some grape notes but there is pretty much no flavour in it at all. 

Body: A medium body that is light enough to go well with this style, a bit too carbonated. 

Aftertaste: A mix of caramel and cereal, with a little hoppy bitterness; probably the most flavoursome part of it.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 3, not unpleasant but it's almost like drinking water, neither nice nor unpleasant.

Price Range: Part of the box of 10 I got for £14 (usually £29), so it works out at £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; an OK price for something that is drinkable, it is comparable to the more commercial lagers.

Food Pairings: Some sweet but spicy chicken thighs/drumsticks, it will overpower the beer a bit but most things will.

Cross Pacific Pale Ale

Brewery: Firebrand Brewing Company

Supplier: Beer52

The Firebrand brewery is a relatively new company that started just over a year ago in Cornwall. This is one of their original beer and is one of their four core beers; using British Maris Otter malt, and hops from America (Centennial & Citra) and New Zealand (Motueka). I served this chilled.

Appearance: Golden with a hint of amber. There is no head on it though.

Aroma: Lots of hop resin with hints of lemon rind and peach. Not really any malt flavours coming through except for some sweetness. 

Flavour: Not really any hops coming through in the taste just mainly some pale malt flavours with a hint of hoppy bitterness and a hint of hoppy lemon rind.

Body: Very refreshing with a bit of thickness on the back, before becoming quite dry in the aftertaste. 

Aftertaste: A moderate amount of bitterness from the hops, not much else. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, it's nice, refreshing, but not many flavours in it.

Price Range: Part of the box of 10 I got for £14 (usually £29), so it works out at £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; not a bad price but not great.

Food Pairings: It would go well with something simple like chips, maybe some chilli fries like Piri Piri fries.

Blandæ Doble

Brewery: Cerveses Popaire

Supplier: Beer52

Another brewery from the small town in Blanes, Spain. Originally a couple starting as homebrewers in 2009, until they opened their own brewery in 2012. This is their version of a Belgian Dubbel, made with four different caramelized malts. I served this slightly chilled.

Appearance: An amber colour with hues of rose and orange when held to the light. There is only ever a patchy off-white head, but it does linger the whole time

Aroma: Very fresh smelling with lots of underripe fruity hop notes, there are also some very faint hints of ethanol. 

Flavour: Initially a very powerful flavours comprised of hops, malt and alcohol. This dies down into a more refreshing strawberry and oranges flavour - however, these flavours don't mingle well together. 

Body: A very thick a syrupy, maybe a bit too much for this

Aftertaste: Lots of alcohol in the back coupled with some green hop notes and a hint of overripe fruit. Some cereal notes in the back. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, drinkable, and nice in some aspects - but there were some not so nice flavours, and the good flavours didn't always work with each other. Not much like a Dubbel as there were way too many hops in it, not that that is a bad thing, and the malt body didn't stand out at all.

Price Range: Part of the box of 10 I got for £14 (usually £29), so it works out at £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; not a bad price, but would only really get again if there was a limited choice.

Food Pairings: Something with orange marmalade in it as I think it would go quite well with the strong flavours, and over power the less desirable ones; maybe something like this bread and butter pudding that my dad made once, that uses marmalade and croissants.

Peter, Pale and Mary Gluten Free

Brewery: Mikkeller

Supplier: Beer52

This is one of Mikkellers more frequent ales, it's a gluten free version of their American style Pale ale - with a gluten content of less than 20ppm. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Golden, with a hint of amber, and cloudy that you can just make out your fingers behind the glass. The head is a medium crisp white one that last throughout. 

Aroma: Loads of lychee coupled with hop resin and citrus.

Flavour: Orange on the front followed by lots of lychee hop notes. The malt body is very faint but you can definitely get some more cereal, rather than malt, notes underneath.

Body: Refreshing on the front but then quite thick at the back, odd but works quite well. 

Aftertaste: Orange rind, mango, and raspberries. There is also a little, but not unpleasant, bit of soapiness from the hops. Some peach notes come about towards then end also. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, but very close to a 7, it's got some good but common hop notes and it is a nice substantial beer for quite a low ABV.

Price Range: Part of the box of 10 I got for £14 (usually £29), so it works out at £1.40 for a 330ml bottle, but I think it costs a lot more than that usually; definitely worth the price I paid, but maybe not worth the prices Mikkeller beers usually sell for as it's not quite at Mikkeller's usual excellent standard.

Food Pairings: Something with lots of subtle intermingling flavours like a medley of grilled vegetables, or a BBQ'd veggie burger.

Devil's IPA

Brewery: Cervesa Marina

Supplier: Beer52

This is from a relatively new brewery (2012) that started in a little village just north of Barcelona. This is their amber IPA, brewed with roasted malts and a huge amount of Citra, Galaxy and Columbus hops to give a very high IBU of 150 (to be an IPA it just needs to be around 40 IBU). I served this chilled.

Appearance: A lovely amber colour, very slightly murky, with a thick and long lasting off-white head. 

Aroma: Huge amount of floral hop notes mixed with some vanilla and sweet malt. After a while a weird plastic sour tang does overlay those flavours though. 

Flavour: Now you just get the plastic tang with hints of hop resin and malts. This does lessen and it becomes a bit more refreshing

Body: Nice initially, if not a bit too fizzy, but then your mouth completely dries and puckers up.

Aftertaste: Still the plastic notes but coupled with a huge, too much, bitter hop notes. I usually like bitter beers but this just is a bitterness not supported by the beer. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 2, not a nice beer and only just drinkable, the plastic notes spoil what seemed like it was going to be a great beer from the aroma.

Price Range: Part of the box of 10 I got for £14 (usually £29), so it works out at £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; but for any price it is not worth it.

Food Pairings: The refreshingness of it might make it go well with a curry, so the flavours will overpower the beer and the heat will mask the drying effect.

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier - Märzen

Brewery: Schlenkerla Heller-Bräu Trum

Supplier: Beers of Europe

So this is the last of the older order of beers that I have, this one technically going off last year so I don't know how that will affect the taste (but as a smoked beer I think the predominant flavours will last). The historical brewery Schlenkerla Tavern is one of the few places that still produce Rauchbier, made with Original Schlenkerla Smokemalt from the Schlenkerla maltings and is tapped according to old tradition directly from the gravity-fed oakwood cask. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: Brown but ruby red when held to the light, there is a milky latte coloured head that is really thick when poured but reduces down to barely a layer. 

Aroma: Lots of smoked notes similar to that of smoked sausages, underlying this dominant flavour are notes of coffee, apricot, and caramel malt.

Flavour: Again the smoked notes are dominant on the front, there is some fruitiness coupled with a sweet malt flavour. 

Body:

Aftertaste: The aftertastes are mixtures of smoked cheese, bacon, and brown sugar. Occasionally there are some unpleasant Iron like notes. With some drinking the after taste becomes overwhelmed by the chees

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, just thought, it is a unique beer that is worth drinking and is pleasant but not sure that it is my sort of beer that I would drink it again.

Price Range: £2.39 for 500ml; a very good price for it, and I would recommend it to anyone that wants to try a smoked beer.

Food Pairings: A German beer that goes great with German food, I would say smoked sausage and sauerkraut; the smoked flavours would blend with each other, not overpowering something, and the sauerkraut will at a bit of zing.

Faceless Spreadsheet Ninja

Brewery: Weird Beard Brew Co.

Supplier: Kris Wines

A seasonal brew from Weird Beard, it's a pilsner brewed in honour of their desk jockey, designed and overseen by him. This is a German pilsner brewed with lots of Citrus. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A burnished gold colour. There is a white head but that goes in a matter of seconds leaving behind only a trace

Aroma: Peach and pepper hop notes with a lot of malt.

Flavour: Slight citrus and peach hop notes, not much malt in it but an underlying sweetness. 

Body: Slightly light body, perfect for this type of beer. 

Aftertaste: A slightly unpleasant herbal taste, but that only goes and is replaced with a citrus hop note. There is also a slight note of plastic, not unpleasant though, just a bit odd. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, but only just as there are some odd notes in it.

Price Range: £2.50 for a 330ml can, not bad but not quite worth it for this price.

Food Pairings: Something like a nice light turkey burger with a nice malty bun would be great, not too strong a meat like red meat.