Friday 20 July 2018

Change of Weather

Brewery: Devil's Peak Brewing Company
Supplier: Beer52

The last from this box of South African beers and the last from this Cape Town-based brewery. Again, this has not got anything on it as it is not on their year-round or speciality list. This is their chocolate stout, and it's more like an imperial. I served this chilled.
Appearance: Like the previous one, this is pitch black even when held to the light. The head a lightly rusty brown, starting off reasonabbly thick but thinning quickly to just a lace around the glass.
Aroma: Dark notes and fresh red berries like cranberry and raspberry. 
Flavour: More milky than chocolate, with some fudge and toast notes. 
Body: Really smooth and thick, very creamy. 
Aftertaste: Mainly just a continuation of the general flavours. A lingering sweetness is also there.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, nice with some decent creamy sweet notes, good dessert beer.

Price Range: The last from the South African beers, so £2.90 for a 340ml bottle; another one that's a good price and I would buy as a dessert beer.

Food Pairings: A dessert but not too sweet as it would mask the sweetness of the beer, something like a tart gooseberry pudding.


Gesha Coffee Stout

Brewery: Devil's Peak Brewing Company
Supplier: Beer52

So another from this Cape Town brewery, but I don't know much about this beer as it isn't on either their year-round or speciality list. All I know is that it is their coffee stout. I served this chilled. 
Appearance: Pitch black colour even when held to the light. The head is a very light brown which things to a lace around the edges very quickly.
Aroma: Loads of nutty and sweet coffee notes but with a little bit of washing up liquid in the back. 
Flavour: Tastes like a really smooth cold brew coffee with a little milk and sugar. However, this starts to fade quickly becoming a little more bland but still nice.
Body: Reasonably thick and really smooth, but there is just a little too much fizzy.
Aftertaste: The roasted acidity that you get with coffee, slightly metalic. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, more like a cold brew coffee than a beer but really nice, but the flavours start to die down with drinking.

Price Range: Another from the South African beers, so £2.90 for a 340ml bottle; a very good price and I'd get it again whenever I would want a coffee porter.

Food Pairings: Because of the coffee notes I would say a dark meat (like beef or venison) stew or pie.


Saturday 14 July 2018

Hoppy Wheat

Brewery: Little Wolf
Supplier: Beer52

Beautiful designs from this brewery, with this beer from another of the South African Breweries based in Cape Town - only a few meters away from the Devil's Peak Brewing Company that I reviewed earlier. This is their core range wheat beer which has loads of mosaic hops, hence the name.  I served this chilled.
Appearance: A pale straw colour with hints of gold, fairly opque so you can see to the other side of the glass but no further. The head is pure white but thins to a film very quickly, unusual for a wheat beer. 
Aroma: Lots of mango and orange juice with a little bit of yeasy bread. 
Flavour: Lots more of the orange jucie notes than the mango unfirtunatly, but a fantastic balance of hops and malt.
Body: Thick but super refreshing and very juicy. Becuase it's so thick, the mouthfeel is very good and works suprisingly well with such a light beer. 
Aftertaste: Some bitter ornange rind with some wholewheat bread crust.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, enjoyable, but a little bit of a unpleasant bitterness in the back.

Price Range: £29 for a pack of 10 South African beers, so £2.90 for a 340ml bottle; not a bad price and it would be a good price from a pub, but not a shop.

Food Pairings: A strong fish, maybe something like unsmoked salmon, just lightly grilled.