Dark Sister

Brewery: Brussels Beer Project

Supplier: Beer52

Originally starting in two years ago with a beer that one a local competition and went on to gain crowdfunding to commercialize. This is one of their core range, a Black IPA which was developed shortly after opening. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: Dark brown, a murky burgundy when held to the light. The beige head very, very thick and lasts quite a while.

Aroma: Floral hop notes with hints of a tart like yeast note. 

Flavour: a lovely sweet mix of roasted malt notes with floral hops, a perfect balance.

Body: A nice fizz level, and the bubbles are fine in size, however, they still bite on the way down.

Aftertaste: The hops dominate a little at this point, and a faint hint of soap comes through.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a lovely balanced ale, with a few minor improvements needed.

Price Range: The box had 8 beers for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; a very good price and worth getting again.

Food Pairings: Some form of strongly marinated dark meat, such as honey and soy glaze pork. South East Asian flavours would go very well with it.

Grisette

Brewery: Cloudwater Brew Co

Supplier: Beer52

Another discounted box from Beer52. This is from a manchester based brewery that was founded last year (with their first blog post exactly a year ago). They specialise in doing seasonal brews, this is a saison seasonal brew. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A pale straw colour with a slight haze. The pure white head is thin and fades quickly.

Aroma: Not much head at all, there is a small amount of funk right in the background. 

Flavour: Slightly tart with some cereal notes right at the back. 

Body: Thin, but refreshing. Too much fizz though. 

Aftertaste: Slightly fruity and tart, there is also a slight smoky note. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, nice but weak in flavour, good for if you need to drive though because of the low alcohol.

Price Range: The box had 8 beers for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; not a bad price, I would get it if I had to drive.

Food Pairings: a vegetarian medley, preferably something with asparagus.

Soft Focus

Brewery: Gypsy Inc.

Supplier: Beer52

Another from the collaboration brewery between Brewdog and Mikkeller, based in Denmark and brewed at Brewdog; part of their set of (now) five - I've reviewed Pale Trail and Tipsy Gypsy before. This one is their wheat beer, hopped with Amarillo & Tettnanger hops. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A peachy gold colour that is hazy, but you can make out the blur of your fingers behind it. There is a medium bright white head that shrinks by about half. 

Aroma: Lychee and citrus hops mixed with bread dough. 

Flavour: A mix of bitter and sweet hops on the front followed by a strong hoppy citrus note. This flavour seems to disappear with drinking though.

Body: Refreshing, but with a bit of body. The bubble are small, which is great, but it is way too carbonated. 

Aftertaste: A nice subtle pale malt flavour that rounds it out.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, a very nice beer but the loss of flavour and the over carbonation takes away from it.

Price Range: The last from the box 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; not a bad price, I can't complain.

Food Pairings: The low flavours of it would make it go with with some simple grilled white fish and veg.

La Téne

Brewery: The Celt Experience

Supplier: Beer52

One of the core range from The Celt Experience, this is their dry hopped English bitter. It is named after a sight on the North Side of Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland - where "belief and spirit were born". I served this slightly chilled.

Appearance: A clear golden colour with a thick white head that dissipates quickly leaving only a trace. 

Aroma: Huge amounts of sweet candied peaches with a funky note at the back. 

Flavour: Like the nose there is the peachy funk, with a nice underlying malt base. 

Body: A medium body with a perfect underlying base

Aftertaste: The back is a mainly cereal dominated with a waxy bitterness. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, a great beer for a low alcohol one, nice and a little more unique. However the aftertaste isn't the best.

Price Range:  Another from the box 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 500ml bottle; a very good price, and I would get it again to drink during a heavier night, but not exclusively.

Food Pairings: A more complex sandwich, such as a sour cream, smoked salmon, dill, and dill pickle sandwich on rye.

Pandamonium

Brewery: Panda Frog Project

Supplier: Beer52

This brewery is an experimental subsidiary of the Mordue Brewery in Tyne & Wear, UK. This beer is a homage to the West Coast American IPAs. Not much information on this one. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A very rich/deep golden colour. The head is a medium peach-tinted white head, that dies down to a thin layer. 

Aroma: Lots of citrus and lychee hop notes with some deeper malt notes.

Flavour: Not a huge amount of flavour on the front, most of it is in the aftertaste. What is here is a trace of sweet malt and citrus hops 

Body: Quite syrupy for a pale ale, but with this quantity of hops it works quite well. 

Aftertaste: Some quite rich cereal and honey notes with some hoppy bitterness. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, really nice to drink, one you could enjoy for a couple of beers. Not hugely different from other hoppy IPAs though.

Price Range: Another from the box 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; worth the price, a nice beer but one that isn't unique. I would get it again if there wasn't something new to try.

Food Pairings: A good cheese board with lots of strong hard cheeses, along with some quince jelly and lingonberry jam.

Bitter Descent

Brewery: Natural Selection Brewing

Supplier: Beer52

So Natural Selection Brewing is a company that operates from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. It was founded in 2011 by students doing the MSc in Brewing and Distilling (a course that I very nearly ended up doing two years back). I think it is then passed down to the next set of students each year. This is one of this allocation's flagship beer, it is a Extra Special Bitter (ESB) but made with loads of American hops. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: A light copper colour with an off-white head that dissipates quickly.

Aroma: Toffee malt with hints of orange zest. Not a particularly strong nose. 

Flavour: Just like the nose; the flavours are toffee, almost like barley sweets, and hints of orange zest.

Body: A medium body but a little flat and the fizz that is there is a little rough. 

Aftertaste: Just a sweet background from the malts. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, probably would have been better cold, nice but that's it.

Price Range: Another from the box 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; a OK price but I wouldn't be my first choice.

Food Pairings: A richer meat such as lamb, just as a roast with some roast veggies.

Terminal Pale Ale

Brewery: BrewFist

Supplier: Beer52

Another from this Italian brewery, this on being brewed exclusively by them. This is their core low alcohol pale ale, designed for the BrewFist pub "Terminal 1". This is made with a simple base, with some vienna malt, and with Citra, and Summer hops (I had never heard of Summer hops before this). I served this chilled.

Appearance: A golden straw colour with a thin white head that dissipates very quickly. 

Aroma: Very slight hints of citra and honey, but pretty much no aroma. 

Flavour: Citra notes, but without the sweet back, the back is more savoury and almost salty, with hints of lemon.

Body: Very refreshing and light, carbonation just right. 

Aftertaste: Hints of a malt note and an unusual bitterness, not hoppy or malty

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, a very drinkable beer but with not a huge amount of flavour and not unique. Good for watching the Rugby World cup though as I am now.

Price Range: Another from the box 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; an OK price, good for a heavy drinking session as it is a nice drinkable low alcohol beer.

Food Pairings: Pretty much anything, I'm going to go with tortilla chips for this one.

Quintet

Brewery: Wiper and True

Supplier: Beer52

Another beer brewed with and exclusively for Beer52 (although I've seen it sold elsewhere), hopefully this is better than their last (Mambo Jambo). This is made with a simple malt base but with a mix of five seasonal hops (hence the name). I served this chilled.

Appearance: Dark, peachy golden in colour, a little hazy. The head is thin and off-white, but it lasts throughout. 

Aroma: Not much in the nose, slightly sweet with hints of resin and chocolate.

Flavour: Slight biscuity malt on the front, followed by a wave of hop resin.

Body: The body is very thick, almost like the consistency of jersey milk. Too thick for this type of beer, so it detracts from the refreshing aspects.

Aftertaste: A spicy hop bitterness at the back, clean and nice.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, nice standard flavours, but a little imbalanced with the body

Price Range: Another from the box 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; not a bad price for what it is.

Food Pairings: It would go with quite a cream heavy dessert, which would mask the body, but with something fruity to go well with the hop resin notes. I would suggest something like strawberries and cream, or Eton mess.

Hamer & Sikkel

Brewery: Brouwerij De Molen

Supplier: Beer52

So another offer on the Beer52 box, so I got another 8 from them. This is from a well established Dutch brewery, renamed in 2004 when they acquired a windmill. This is one of their core range, made with a variety of malt, including oats, and uses saaz and chinook for bittering hops. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: Dark with hints of brown around the edges. The head is tan, but is pretty much non-existent. 

Aroma: Smells like a mixture of roasted malt, yeast, and cinnamon. 

Flavour: Sweet bread and roasted malts, a nice smooth malt flavour.

Body: Loads of mouth feel, nice and smooth, if not a little flat.

Aftertaste: The flavour continues in the aftertaste with a little more roasted malt and a little green hops. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, really smooth and really drinkable, a little low in flavour though.

Price Range: The box had 8 beers for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; a great price for a nice beer.

Food Pairings: This is quite a sweet beer, but would go well with a sweet pastry, something like a Danish.

Classic IPA

Brewery: Seven Bro7hers Brewery

Supplier: Flavourly

The last beer from the Flavourly box, this one from a brewery started by seven brothers in Manchester last year. This is one of their five beers, this being their IPA. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A pale straw colour that is slightly hazy. The head is thin and white. 

Aroma: It smells like a mixture of perfume, and oranges when they are about to go off. 

Flavour: A mild hoppiness, followed by a tart farmhouse note. A slight malt note at the back.

Body: Not too light for a pale, but a nice medium body. The carbonation is fine. 

Aftertaste: Not much left after, just a mild hoppy bitterness and a lingering of slightly old hops.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, my descriptions don't make it sound great, but it is quite a nice drinker, crisp and a little tart. However, this isn't hoppy at all, it's more of a pale ale.

Price Range: Last of the box of 8 beers was £12, making it £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; not a bad price, but not great.

Food Pairings: Quite non-descript so it could go with most things. I would say a light pasta, with a sauce without cheese or tomato.

Black IPA

Brewery: Stewart Brewing

Supplier: Flavourly

Another beer from Stewart brewing, this one designed completely by them, but again is not part of their core range - this one is part of their 'Hop Series'. This is obviously their Black IPA, made with Magnum, Galaxy, and Centennial hops. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: Quite dark, looking like cola when held to the light. The head is a reasonably thick rust tan colour, but dissipates down to nothing quickly. 

Aroma: Smells like a normal IPA, with lots of hoppy grapefruit and some berry notes. 

Flavour: I don't know if it is because of the colour but it tastes like a very unsweet cola with a bit of a woody notes at the front then a hoppy back. 

Body: A medium body, but with way too much rough carbonation.

Aftertaste: The aftertaste is similar to the taste, but with a little hint of roasted malts. Some metallic notes start to develope with drinking. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, close to a 5 but the carbonation brings it down. If I had had this blind I might not have been able to tell it was black, just and unusual IPA

Price Range: Part of the box of 8 beers was £12, making it £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; an OK price, but there are better.

Food Pairings: Something meaty but light, maybe like a mushroom stroganoff.

Amber Ale

Brewery: Fourpure Brewing Co

Supplier: Flavourly

Another London based brewery set up in 2013. This is one of their core range, obviously it is an amber ale. It is based on the amber ales that they had in Colorado. This beer is flavoured with Willamette hops, I served this chilled.

Appearance: A browner amber colour with a medium cream coloured head. 

Aroma: Metallic with some hop notes, a very very faint hint of roasted notes. 

Flavour: Lots of berry notes mixed with a load of roasted chocolate notes. 

Body: Medium body but with a bit too much carbonation. 

Aftertaste: There is the berry notes but they sort of turn into that artificial note that you get in children's berry flavoured medicine, a little chalky. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, would have been a 7 if it weren't for the slightly disappointing aftertaste. The flavours aren't the usual.

Price Range: Part of the box of 8 beers was £12, making it £1.50 for a 330ml can; a good price, it's worth getting for something a little bit different.

Food Pairings: The classic combo is berries and chocolate; so I would say a chocolate mouse would go well with it, preferably dark chocolate and not too heavy.

Neck Oil

Brewery: Beavertown Brewery

Supplier: Honest Brew

The last of the Honest Brew box. Part of their core range, this is their sessionable IPA. It is made with a simple base, but with lots of late addition hops with about eight different varieties used. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Hazy, and a pale straw colour. The head is medium and white, it thins but lingers. 

Aroma: Lots of hop resin mixed in with peach and white sugar notes. 

Flavour: Mainly cereal notes coupled with a little flour. There aren't many hop notes in, especially for the amount that is in the nose. 

Body: Light, but not that light. It makes it seem more of a substantial drink. 

Aftertaste: The aftertaste is just the same cereal notes. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, it is what it says, a nice sessionable IPA, but that is it.

Price Range: The last from the box 6 beers for £9, so this worked out as £1.50 for a 330ml can; a good price and worth getting for something like a party.

Food Pairings: The refreshing simplicity of this would go with something spicy like mexican food.

Rose Wheat Beer

Brewery: The Ticketybrew Company

Supplier: Flavourly

The third and final beer subscription I'll try, this one is from a company that also does snack boxes. I think that they should just stick to food as the other two do beers better. The snacks were great; but the beer was just an OK selection, and the literature about the beers was very poorly presented.

This is surprisingly a core beer from Ticketybrew. It is a wheat beer made with rose flowers and fresh ginger (although they do not include the latter in the list on ingredients, however I think this is a miss-type as they include malted "what" as an ingredient). I served this chilled.

Appearance: A pale straw colour with only a little murkiness. There is not head on this at all, not even a lingering remain.

Aroma: There is a lot or rose water in the nose as expected, much like in Turkish delight. There is also the fiery notes of ginger in the background, coupled with faints peach hop notes. 

Flavour: Ginger is at the forefront of this, mixed with a little bit of rose water.

Body: Crisp, but it is a little flat and what carbonation there is is rough. 

Aftertaste: The ginger fades and the rose dominates the aftertaste. There is some hint of a funky farmhouse note right in the back as well.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, it's probably is closer to a 4, but I love rose water so I'm a little bit of a sucker for this. However, I don't think the base of the beer is that great, and the ginger does not compliment it well.

Price Range: This box of 8 beers was £12 (£8 with £4 delivery), making it £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; a decent price for it, and worth trying for it's uniqueness - but I probably wouldn't get it again.

Food Pairings: I think the floral notes need something salty. I think so simple like sausage and mash would be quite fitting.

Straight Up Amber Ale

Brewery: Honest Brew

Supplier: Honest Brew

A beer brewed by the people who run the beer subscription as Honest Brew. This is their amber ale and the second one they have done I believe; their first was a pale ale, and there next is supposedly going to be a stout. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: A brownish amber colour with little to no head.

Aroma: Lots of honey malt and a little bit of floral hop notes. 

Flavour: Lots of honey (or maybe more like barley sugar - the sweet) but without the sweetness, there is a little bit of the floral hop notes along with some citrus; it is very much like it smells.

Body: About medium, and with a decent carbonation. 

Aftertaste: Not much in the way of aftertaste, just a slight lingering of the main flavours.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, just, it's a nice decent drinker. I would imagine no-one would take offense to it, but it's nothing to get excited about.

Price Range: Another from the box 6 beers for £9, so this worked out as £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; not a bad price, and probably worth it.

Food Pairings: Something simple and not too rich, something like a simple sandwich would go very well.

Urban IPA

Brewery: Tiny Rebel Brewing Co

Supplier: Honest Brew

Another from this small but established welsh brewery. This is also a core IPA of theirs but a more sessionable one, made with and intercontinental range of hops. I served this chilled.

Appearance: An amber gold colour that is ever-so-slightly hazy. The head is thin and slightly off-white in colour, but lingers for some time. 

Aroma: Lots of fresh apple juice mixed in with sweet hop resin notes. 

Flavour: Not a huge amount but what is there is a nice mix of crisp malt and sweet hop resin

Body: Light and refreshing, with the perfect amount of fine carbonation. A little dryness in the back. 

Aftertaste: This is where the the flavours come out strongest, with huge amounts of pine hops and resin coming into play with a nice lingering hoppy bitterness. Very minor hints of iron and green hop notes.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a nice IPA that is not unique but not common, a really good drinker as well.

Price Range: Another from the box 6 beers for £9, so this worked out as £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; great price for what you get!

Food Pairings: I had this dish the other day and I wish I had this beer with it as it would go great - Satay Prawn Wraps. The strong satay sauce and the subtle seafood flavours would go well with the hop notes, and I don't think the hops are strong enough to drown out the flavours of the dish.

Railway Porter

Brewery: Five Points Brewing Company

Supplier: Honest Brew

As Beer52 was quite a success I thought I would try another beer subscription, this one is from Honest Brew. This was their trial pack and it has an OK selection, but I gather from the literature that they do have supplies from good and unique breweries; plus it came with collectable card like things for each of the beers which was fun!

This is from another a brewery that I have given one of my lowest scoring beer... This is also part of their core range and is a traditional London porter made with traditional british ingredients. I served this at room temp.

Appearance: A thick and impenetrable black colour with a latte coloured head, this head dies down but not too quickly. 

Aroma: Lots of creamy chocolate and roasted notes in the aroma, smells quite smooth. 

Flavour: Initially I got a big bit of soap but I can't rule out that that wasn't in the glass. Then there is an acrid but not unpleasant roasted malt note with a hint of sweetness. 

Body: Quite a thick body with a decent carbonation, the back is quite dry though. 

Aftertaste: Quite a bitter roasted note, a bit too much of them. There is also the faint hint of overly green hops. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 3, better than the last one from this brewery, and nearly a 4, but still not great.

Price Range: The box was £9 for 6 beers, so this worked out as £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; not quite worth it.

Food Pairings: The intense roasted notes would go well with a rich beef and onion pie.