Revival

Brewery: Moor Beer Company

Supplier: Beer52

Part of their everyday favourite range, this is their pale ale brewed to celebrate the revival of the brewery. It's made with 5 different malts, including lager and wheat malts, and uses American hops and yeast. Between 2007 and 2013 this beer won no less than 14 awards. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A pale straw to golden colour, slightly opaque, with a thick white head that thins but still remains.

Aroma: Toffee, some citrus hops, and a little bit of musk.

Flavour: Not too much in flavour at all, a mild note of undistinguished malt and hops forming a weak, but lighter, version of a classic bitter.

Body: Reasonable body, great carbonation, and very refreshing to drink.

Aftertaste: A little piney, quite nice, and with some other hoppy notes. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 3, not much like a American pale ale, more like a light bitter, quite weak and flavourless but refreshing.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml can; and OK price, but I wouldn't get it again.

Food Pairings: Could be paired with most things without much flavour, I would suggest barbequed chicken drumsticks.

52 Pandas

Brewery: Panda Frog Project

Supplier: Beer52

Another from the experimental subsidiary of the Mordue Brewery; this time in a collaboration with Beer52 (like Mambo Jambo and Quintet). This is what they describe as a "New World Wheat Beer", which is a wheat beer that has been dry hopped with Equinox, El Dorado, and Citra hops.

Appearance: Only slightly opaque, much clearer than you would expect a wheat beer. The colour is pale straw with a hint of gold; and the head is medium thickness, pure white, and last for ages.

Aroma: Quite bready, with hints of spices and a little corn in the background. 

Flavour: Not much of the traditional wheat on the flavour as it is dominated grassy hops and tropical fruit notes. 

Body: Medium body, but with too much carbonation. There is also an almost floury texture that goes quite well with this. 

Aftertaste: This is where you can tell it is a wheat beer as you get that distinct wheat malt background, however it get dominated by an unpleasant grassy hop notes. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, quite unique and a good idea, but not done too well in my opinion with the hops letting it down.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; I wouldn't rush out to buy it but, at this price, I wouldn't mind it.

Food Pairings: It's hard to pair as it has both soft and dominant qualities, thus I'm going to cop out and pin it to something simple like a moderately salty portion of fish and chips.

Raid Beer

Brewery: To Øl

Supplier: Beer52

This is a light pale lager with west coast hoppiness. Not much information on this beer, apart from a little post about how it won three gold medals, with the last being from the Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Clear gold with a hint of amber. There is a fast stream of bubbles leading to a medium-thick off-white head.

Aroma: Loads of lovely sweet hop resin and lychees notes in it, it smells delicious. 

Flavour: Apricots and fresh oranges on the front, with a full satisfying bitterness and complimentary malt. 

Body: A nice thick body, but light enough to stay fresh. 

Aftertaste: The hoppyness turns a little soapy, but this dies down with drinking, turning into a bitter/sour orange note. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, A nice hoppy lager, which tastes more like an IPA as it isn't that clean in profile; with mild unique flavours that make it interesting.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; a good price for a decent and drinkable beer.

Food Pairings: The orange will go well with a nice creamy chicken pasta.

Babylone

Brewery: Brussels Beer Project

Supplier: Beer52

Another main beer from the Brussels Beer Project and an unusual one this, made with recycled bread as the yeast source (I think, it just says made with recycled bread, and that that is what they did in the past - in places such as Babylon). I served this slightly chilled.

Appearance: Brown with a reddish hue, with a thin off-white head. 

Aroma: Mainly hops on the nose, with sour citrus and peaches. There is also some caramel notes right in the back.

Flavour: Huge spice notes in the front, the a thick and overpowering hop resin note. There is also a faint savoury note in the back similar to green avocados. 

Body: A little fizzy on the front but turns quite smooth. 

Aftertaste: Predominantly cereal notes, some caramel, and a little metallic. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, a nice and a little unusual beer, nice to drink a couple of in a night. Not as rough as I thought it would be considering they use (I believe) bread yeast.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; a good price for a nice and complex beer.

Food Pairings: A nice piece of banana bread.

London Mild Ale

Brewery: Brouwerij Kees

Supplier: Beer52

A little late, but this is the first post of the year! This Mild Ale, despite the name, is actually from the Netherlands. This is a English style, made with British malts and hops, but produced in the capital of Zeeland (Middelburg). I served this chilled.

Appearance: Dark brown, but lightens to a nice woody brown when held to the light; it's also slightly opaque. The head is a slightly tanned cream colour, it's medium in size but lasts the whole time.

Aroma: A blend of caramel and honey & resin hop notes, similar to some of the better mild ales. 

Flavour: Chocolate and biscuit malt on the front, followed by some honey hop notes that you find in Goldings. 

Body: Quite fresh and and a medium thickness. 

Aftertaste: A little soapy.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, nice, but nothing special, just a good mild ale.

Price Range: Another deal giving me 10 beers for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; a decent price for a nice sessionable ale.

Food Pairings: As it is a good London Mild I think it would go well with a nice beef roast, maybe with a little twist such as an oriental chili rub.