Much Kneaded

Brewery: Toast Ale

Supplier: Tesco

So this is a bit more of an unusual brewery, their ethos is about using local excess bread from bakeries as a replacement for one-third of the malted barley. This brewery was set up by Tristram Stuart who did a fantastic TED talk a few years ago, and contributes to efforts of reducing food waste. This is one of their core range, being their craft lager. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A crystal clear gold colour, a slightly pale tinge. The head is pure white, but fades to nothing quite quickly. 

Aroma: Smells like a slightly sweet fruity lager, like one of the better, all malt, comercial lagers. 

Flavour: A nice sharp typical lager note with hints of strawberry, crisp green apple and citrus. 

Body: A lovely efferervesence, with smooth bubbles on your tounge. The body is perfectly balanced, maybe towards the more fuller side, and really smooth. 

Aftertaste: The notes seem to turn more of the tart flavours of Acetaldehyde and some herbal hop and gooseberry notes. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a nice balanced and drinkable beer, probably between a 6 and 7 as I think I might have been influenced by the story behind it.

Price Range: £1.80 for a 330ml bottle, I would definitely buy this again, and not just because it's contributing to a good cause.

Food Pairings: The dry notes in this would need something like a creamy parfait with a redcurrant preserve.

Bring Out the Imp

Brewery: Alechemy Brewing Ltd

Supplier: Marks & Spencer

This is a special beer from this Scotish brewery. Though it doesn't say this on the ingredients list, this is an Imperial Oatmeal Stout - brewed with molasses and liquorice then fermented with a Belgian yeast and aged in côtes du rhône casks. I served this slightly chilled.

Appearance: A super thick black colour with bottle brown on the sides when held to the light. The head is a light tan colour and reasonably thick, but thins to a single layer of bubbles quite quickly. 

Aroma: Strong roasted and raisin notes, coupled with a hint of dish washer liquid and very faint traces of aniseed that I can only detect because I was searching for them.

Flavour: Sweet roasted notes on the front with some mint like fresh notes going into a herbal bitter tones coming in the back. This opens up to a fresh raspberry flavour on the sides of the tongue. 

Body: Very thick, good for the style, turning dry in the back. 

Aftertaste: The bitter herbal notes intensify, turning into a dry bitter wood note. There's a little bit of malt as well.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, the bitterness gets a bit too much in the back and too dry, and there aren't many exceptional other flavours.

Price Range: I can't really remember, but around £3.00 for a 330ml bottle, an OK price, not fantastic and probably inflated because of the 10%+ alcohol as oppoesd to the taste. I wouldn't choose to get it again.

Food Pairings: I think the dry and bitter notes of this would go well with the fresh and salty notes of something like prawns or crawfish.

Fade to Black, Vol. 1

Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company

Supplier: Beer Hawk

A seasonable brew from this Coloradoan brewery. They call this their Foreign Stout and apparently it's a 4X Gold Medal Winner (3 at the Great American Beer Festival and 1 at the World Beer Cup). I served this chilled.

Appearance: Black all the way through, even when held to the light. A mocha coloured head that thins to a single layer of bubbles. 

Aroma: A little bit of dark cherry and a litttle bit of brunt toast, but with some overlying notes of washing up liquid - but this fades when it warms up a little.

Flavour: Lots of green coffee notes with some raspberry and chocolate. There is a little sweetness underlying. 

Body: A little too much fizz at first, but dies down. The body is reasonably thick, which is expected with this style.

Aftertaste: The sweet note goes all the way throught, with some burnt notes coupling it. With drinking though, this sweetness transforms into a slightly salty note.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, started off quite bad but it opened up when warmed to cellar temperature so I would recommend not storing it in the fridge. What it seems like though is just a standard strong stout.

Price Range: Another of the Mystery box, so about £1.50 for a 355ml bottle; it's a good price, especially as it's quite a strong beer, but it's not usually this price and would be too expensive for what it is otherwise.

Food Pairings: As it is a rich drink I would suggest a rich meal, maybe something like a juicy steak with mushrooms.

Little Things That Kill

Brewery: Weird Beard Brew Co.

Supplier: Beer Hawk

This is one of their core beers, a session IPA made with oats, wheat, and lactose. I think this a series where they change the hops, this one was made with Warrior, Bravo, and Cascade. This was served cold.

Appearance: A deep straw colour with some gold coming through. The head is white but thins down to just a lingering 

Aroma: Lots of citrus and resin hop notes coming through, this is coupled with a little bit of malt/cereal notes.

Flavour: Lots of cereal in the front with some syrupy hop notes in the back.

Body: A little too much fizz on the front with lots of body in it. A litttle dry in the back. 

Aftertaste: Lots of green hops with that cereal note running throughout. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, nice and easy to drink, nothing unique though.

Price Range: Another of the Mystery box, so about £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; a nice beer for a good price.

Food Pairings: I would say a nice lightly battered fish in a white bap with Tartar sauce.