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.