Grunion

Brewery: Ballast Point

Supplier: Brewdog Dundee Bottledog

Another from Ballast Point, this is one of their core range but only sold in bottles & cans and is described as a hoppy pale ale. This one was designed as a homebrew by one of their staff using two relatively new hop varieties, American Mosaic & Calypso. They've won two awards in recent years; Gold at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival, and Silver at the 2015 Best of Craft Beer Awards. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Golden with a slightly amber hue and a reasonable clarity. The head is an orange hued white of medium thickness that fades as an average speed. 

Aroma: A bit soapy with a hint of hops. 

Flavour: A lot nicer than the nose, on the front there is orangey hops, with a hint of it becoming orange juice, then some mango on the back. There are also some very soft floral notes.

Body: A decent medium body, but a little too fizzy. 

Aftertaste: The soft mango notes come through, but there is also a little soap from the nose. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, despite the soapy note (that does fade) it's really nice and enjoyable drink and very close to a 7.

Price Range: £3.81 (normally £4.00) for a 355ml can, more expensive than I think it is worth - I think under £3.

Food Pairings: Something quite light, like a thin crust plain margarita pizza.

Iron-Age

Brewery: The Celt Experience

Supplier: Beer52

Last from the Beer52 box, this is another from the Caerphilly based brewery. This is part of their seasonal range, and is described as red table ale. It is also advertised as unfiltered, but that's the norm for real ale.

Appearance: Brown turning to a cloudy amber colour when held to the light

Aroma: Smells like a typical real ale - that slightly sour smell; but with hints of citrus and hop resin in the back

Flavour: Sweet and slightly caramel malt on the front, with citrus and hop resin on the back - with a little perfume. 

Body: A nice decent body, and it's incredibly refreshing

Aftertaste: The hops come out a lot more, with a nice bitterness rounding out with a little malt. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, a nice and very drinkable standard british ale.

Price Range: The last from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 500ml bottle; a great price for this great drinker, I would definitely get it again for parties.

Food Pairings: A rich, probably steak, pie - with gravy filling, no cream.

Kriek Boon

Brewery: Brouwerij Boon

Supplier: Beers of Europe

A remnant from a Beers of Europe order that I did ages ago. Another from the Boon brewery, this is their Kriek. Made using old and young lambic beer and aged in oak casks, than after 6 months cherries (including black cherries) are added to restart fermentation. This is from the 2013 vintage. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A deep red/purple colour, becoming a bright red when held to the light. The head is thin but lasting and a creamy pink colour. 

Aroma: Smells just like cherry juice, coupled with a little vanilla and oak. There is also a light chemical note.

Flavour: Sweet cherry on the front leading to a slightly more savoury note with hints of vinegar. 

Body: Incredibly smooth and quite thick (maybe a little too sweet), also a bit too much fizz.

Aftertaste: The vinegar goes away but the cherry flavour becomes even more savoury. There are also hints of iron. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, I like  fruit lambics a lot so maybe a little biased. It is a little too sweet initially though and not sour enough at any point.

Price Range: £1.65 for a 250ml bottle; a good price and a good size for a nice fruity beer, probably better for summer.

Food Pairings: I think the sweet and savoury notes of it would work well with strong cheese and oatcakes.

Dead Ringer

Brewery: Ballast Point

Supplier: Brewdog Dundee Bottledog

From a lovely brewery in San Diego in California, nearly everything I've had from this brewery has been great so far. This is one of their limited edition brews, a Märzen brewed for Oktoberfest season. It's made with German style malts and hops. I served this slightly chilled.

Appearance: Brown hue, turning orangish when held to the light. The head is a slightly tan and medium thickness, but thins quickly.

Aroma: Some caramel malt but with an overpowering soapy note and an underlying lager note.

Flavour: Lots of banana on the front with a caramel back. Turns into something similar to nice fresh cloudy apple juice.

Body: Quite thick and syrupy, and a little too carbonated in the back.

Aftertaste: A complex and rich malt. There is also a slight, sweet marmite note.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, a typical but good Märzen, however, it's not my favourite style.

Price Range: £2.66 (normally £2.80) for a 355ml bottle, the right price for what it is, but there would be others I get before I get this again, maybe for an Oktoberfest party though.

Food Pairings: I think it would go well with some smoked fish, something like kippers, maybe something fresher like smoked mackerel and lemon pâté.

Rock Point

Brewery: Mendocino Brewing Company

Supplier: Beer52

This is from a little brewery originally founded in the aptly named town Hopland, CA; now based in Ukiah. This is a sessionable IPA from their seasonal collection made with Columbus, Simcoe, and Amarillo hops. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A clear gold colour with a hint of amber. There is little to no head, what is there is pure white.

Aroma: Lots of sweet hop resin with some barley sweet in the back. 

Flavour: Initially just like it smells, with the hop resin a dominant front. With drinking it does tone down, with some orange hop notes coming through. 

Body: Fresh but medium in weight, the carbonation is just right

Aftertaste: The back becomes a lot more bitter, with a hint of wax. This dies down with drinking, allowing the malt to leave a sweeter note.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, a nice simple sessionable IPA, just like it says on the bottle.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 355ml bottle; a good price for a nice session beer.

Food Pairings: This is much like others I've reviewed here and I probably give something along the same line for food pairing; so in this case I'm going to suggest Cheesey baked potato.

Old Norway

Brewery: Swannay Brewery

Supplier: Beer52

Brewed in a brewery based in Orkney, this is one of their seasonal brews. It uses a load of local orkney malt, and three lots of cascade hops. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: A clear marmalade colour with practically no head. 

Aroma: Sweet barley sugar sweets on the front with some slight orange peel on the back.

Flavour: Lots of sweet honey on the front with some very malty notes on the back.

Body: Very thick with a syrupy back, very low carbonation.

Aftertaste: Just a continuation of the original flavour but with a little peach. Does become a little stale

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, rich and very sweet, but quite simple overall.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; quite good value, but I think you wouldn't usually pay this little for it.

Food Pairings: Bell peppers stuffed with couscous, maybe with some smoked cheese.

Love Of Work

Brewery: Siren Craft Brew & Hill Farmstead Brewery

Supplier: Beer52

This is a special release from Siren, which collaborated with the Vermont based Hill Farmstead. This is a light pale ale but with a twist it is dry hopped with Earl Grey tea (which in itself had Bergamot in it), along with Amarillo, Citra and Centennial hops. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A very clear, slightly brown, straw colour. There is a small white head that thins quickly. 

Aroma: Lots of hop resin, with a little musk and malt on the back. 

Flavour: Fruity hops and herbs on the front, but a little waxy on the back with a note of older herbs.

Body: Light but with a little body to give it a nice consistency. A little flat but better than being overcarbonated. 

Aftertaste: The wax notes increases initially, but with drinking it becomes more of a cereal and savoury notes.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, a little unique but there are a few off flavours.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; not a bad price and I would probably get it again if I saw if for that price and there was a more limited selection.

Food Pairings: A nice beef burger with lots of pickles or relish, the vinegar note of the pickles would go with the unusual savoury notes.