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.

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.

The King's Blockhouse IPA

Brewery: Devil's Peak Brewing Company

Supplier: Beer52

I got this as part of a box of 10 different South African beers, with five from this Cape Town based brewery. One of their year-round beers, this one being an Amerian style IPA. It's regarded as one of the best beers in SA, having won the best beer on show at the 2011, 2012 and 2014 Cape Town Festival of Beer, the 2014 Johannesburg Festival of Beer – and was the winner of the 2014 SAB Craft Brewer Championship. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A pale yellow colour, gold when held to the light. There is a thin white head, whcih thnis quite quickly. 

Aroma: Lots of green and citrus hops on the note, very fresh.

Flavour: Lots of those same hops in the front, becoming a little more bitter in the back.

Body: A medium body with a decent fizz level, a little too much in the back. 

Aftertaste: A dry hop bitterness in the back.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, nice but nothing special, a typical hoppy IPA.

Price Range: £29 for a pack of 10 South African beers, so £2.90 for a 340ml bottle; a decent price for a decent beer.

Food Pairings: Chicken thigh, with a nice spicy rub.

AM:PM

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery

Supplier: Beer52

A reasonably famous brewery from the peak district in the middle of England. This is one of their core range (not sure if they do anything but their core), and this is a seasonal IPA but not much else is said about it. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Golden colour, even more gold when held to the light, but a little murky. The head is white, but thins to just a trace. 

Aroma: Lots of sweet resin and citrus hops. 

Flavour: Initially lots of that citrus hop note in the front, but it develops into a slightly more savoury and herbal hop notes.

Body: A really fresh start followed by a decent body. 

Aftertaste: A lot more cereal notes coming through, with a hint of bitterness from the hops in the background. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, it's a nice beer, but nothing special or that unique.

Price Range: Another from the Beer52 box, so about £1.10 for a 330ml bottle; but this is obviously not the price you would normally pay. This is, of course, a good price for this beer; and would be worth what you would normally pay for a beer.

Food Pairings: I think it would go well with some mollusc dish, maybe like moules mariniere.

Prenzlauer Berg

Brewery: Põhjala Brewery

Supplier: Beer52

A special brew from this Estonian brewery, this one being a Berliner Weisse with the addition of Raspberries and Lactose. The hops they use are the standard Hallertau Blanc, and it has the additions of oats and spelt in the malt bill. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A light amber colour with hints of a plum red, especially when held to the light, sort of like a murky rosé. The head is a pure whie colour but thins to a lase practically at pouring. 

Aroma: Raspberries with some sour hints, a little bit of yogurt and vinegar in the back. 

Flavour: Some lovely red berry sour notes with some fresh juicy notes, a little bit of vinegar. 

Body: Light and refreshing, turning really dry and tart in the back.

Aftertaste: The sour notes turns into much more of a yogurt notes, but the red berry notes prevail throughout. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, I'm biased to a sour, and this one is a lovely fruity one with nicely complementing yoghurt note.

Price Range: Another from the Beer52 box, so about £1.10 for a 330ml bottle; but this is obviously not the price you would normally pay. I like this a lot, and the price is fantastic, but it wouldn't be one you have a lot of.

Food Pairings: Would be great on a warm sunny day with a fresh salad that has a lot of salty cheese like feta.

Hop Hunter IPA

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Supplier: Beer52

Another year-round beer from this famous Californian brewery. This one being one of their five core IPAs, what makes this different is that they use "Farm Distilled Hop Oil" made by on-site steam distilling wet Cascade, Centennial, and CTZ hops to get pure hop oil. It also used other hops including Bravo, Cascade, Crystal, and Simcoe; along with a little bit of Oats in the malt bill. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A pale colour, with a bit of gold when held to the light. The head is medium and pure white, but thins to a few bubbles.

Aroma: There's a deep, funky apricot hop note, pleasant and a little different. 

Flavour: That same apricot note you find in the nose you get in the front, but this fades into a little bit more of a bitterness similer to the apricot pit with some sweet resin. Througout, there is an underlying sweet malt note. 

Body: A good body, but not too much that it's not refreshing, dry in the back.

Aftertaste: Some more cereal and some sharp citrus hops.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a nice an hoppy IPA with some less common notes.

Price Range: The box of 10 beers was only £10.95 so that amounts to about £1.10 for a 355ml bottle; this obviously not the price you would normally pay. At this price, and more, it's a really good deal.

Food Pairings: I think the apricot hops would go well with lamb, and as it's a fresh beer, charing on the meat would be good. So I would say something like a barbequed lamb burger.

Russian Rouble

Brewery: Flipside Brewery

Supplier: Beer Hawk

This looks like the typical CAMRA brewery, the old style of English brewing, and is located in Nottinghamshire. This is a core beer from them and is their version of an Imperial Russian Stout. I served this just below room temperature.

Appearance: A dark brown/black coulor, barely any light penetrates even at the sides. The head is medium, with a milk chocolate colour, but thins to a trace in the sides over time.

Aroma: Not much aroma, some roasted and some smoked notes in the back.

Flavour: A little sweet metalic notes on the front, there's a also a little bit of fresh plum.

Body: For such a heavy stout, this is very light and fresh. 

Aftertaste: There are some dry oak notes with some sweeter roasted notes. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, not bad, but just like a standard British stout you'd find in a pub.

Price Range: The last of the Mystery box set, so about £1.50 for a 500ml bottle; a good price for most beers, including this one. If it was on in a local pub I wouldn't mind getting it.

Food Pairings: I would say some spicy chicken wings.

Hopfenkönig

Brewery: Schloss Eggenberg

Supplier: Beer Hawk

From this centuries-old Austrian brewery run by a family for 8 generations; this is one of their core beers, a Pilsner with lots of hops (hence the name "Hop King"). Not much else I could find about this. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A very pale yellow colour, very slightly cloudy. The head is pure white, but thins to practically nothing. 

Aroma: Smells like a sharp larger, with some soapy notes.

Flavour: Note much flavour in the front, just a little malt sugar notes.

Body: Quite light, but reasonbly full for a lager. 

Aftertaste: The afternote is much more flavourful with more intense sugar barley notes and some light fruity/grape hop profiles. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, simple, but really easy to drink - like any good lager.

Price Range: Another of the Mystery box, so about £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; it's a good price, and I would definitely get this again for casual drinks.

Food Pairings: It's quite a full-bodied lager so I wouldn't mind pairing it with something a bit more full, as it's an easy drinker I would pair it with easy drinking food such as nachos.

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.

Golden Monkey

Brewery: Victory Brewing Company

Supplier: Beer Hawk

Another from this famous Pennsylvanian brewery, this one being a core beer but one that is quite strong. It's their version of a Belgian Tripel and thus comes in at quite a high percentage. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A thick gold colour with orange tinges, very opaque. The head is slightly off white, but thins out to nothing - though I didn't follow the instructions of pour vigerously. 

Aroma: Initially, loads of banana when the can was opened. This is a bit more understated after a bit, with lots of the classic Belgian spicy esters coming through with the sweet malt. 

Flavour: A slight but sharp tartness on the front initially but this dies down to a sweetness. 

Body: It's got some body in it as you would expect with a high alcohol beer. Still got a little bit of carbonation which is good.

Aftertaste: Lots of complexities in the afternote with lots of hop notes, and lots of melow mellon and spices complex. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, what I would imagine an American Tripel to be like, a low-medium level of the typical esters, coupled with some refreshing American hops.

Price Range: Another of the Mystery box, so about £1.50 for a 355ml can; absolutely fantastic price and I would definitely get it again for that price, though I don't think you will ever see it that low by itself.

Food Pairings: Mussels. With a nice spicy broth with chilli and lemongrass. The muskiness from the mussels would go well with the complex ester notes.

Sauvinova

Brewery: Tuatara Brewery

Supplier: Beer Hawk

This New Zealand based brewery is named after a lizard of the same name, that name being Māori for "peaks on the back". This is why the bottles from this brewery have bumps on the neck with a central ridge. This is one of their core beers, being a single hop pale ale, using my favourite hops - Nelson Sauvin. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A dark gold, slightly opaque when held to the light. The head is pure white but fades quickly into only a trace.

Aroma: Delecious meld of strong and sweet hop resin with concentrated grape juice. 

Flavour: There is a slight light malt note with a thick compliment of grape and resin hop notes

Body: Light on the front, following to a syrupy back. The carbonation is perfect. 

Aftertaste: A bit more of a tart note, with some gooseberry in there. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, really drinkable, lots of great hop flavours, but maybe a little too sweet.

Price Range: The Mystery box was 2 boxes of 15 for £45, so about £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; this is a really good price for a fantastic beer, I would definitely get it again.

Food Pairings: On the website they say a duck salad, and I would say that this is spot on. A little bit of fat on the duck would cut through the syrupy notes.

Christian Bale Ale

Brewery: Dry & Bitter Brewing Company

Supplier: Beer52

The last non-Mikkeller beer from the Mikkeller box, this one still being from Denmark. This is part of their core range, being a base for other variants. It's a sessionable IPA with lots of one of my favourite hops - Mosaic. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A golden straw colour when held to the light, slightly opaque. The head is reasonable thick, long lasting, and pure white.

Aroma: Lots of sugar, citrus and a hint of sweet semi-artificial cherry. 

Flavour: Some citrus and mango hop notes, with some more savoury grass notes.

Body: Quite thick for a IPA, and doesn't get too syrupy like other. Still reasonably refreshing though. 

Aftertaste: More bitterness from the hops comes through here, more of a dry bitterness. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, it has some nice points but it doesn't come together quite well and has a bit too much bitterness.

Price Range: The last from the box of 10 I got for £14 (usually £29), so it works out at £1.40 for a 330ml bottle, not a bad price, but I wouldn't choose to buy it again.

Food Pairings: Roasted pork; the slight citrus and mango will pair well, the light notes of the pork won't overpower the light flavours in it, and the fats will cut through the thickness.

Sjelefred

Brewery: Kinn Bryggeri

Supplier: Beer52

The first non-Mikkeller beer from the Mikkeller box, this being a brown ale from a little brewery on an island off the west coast of Norway. Named "Peace of mind", this is their version of an English brown ale using a variety of malts and Hallertau Northern Brewer & Fuggles hops. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A deep brown with a slight ruby hint when held to the light. The head is a light malt extract/ovaltine colour, it shrinks to a couple of mm but stays thick and lasts a long time.

Aroma: Sweet malt with a little smokey sausage and a small bit of metal in the back. 

Flavour: Quite light on the front, with some molassus without the sweetness, and a little bit of roasted notes. 

Body: A little bit watery, but only in the front, and more refreshing in the back, and a hine of creaminess.

Aftertaste: A mix of raspberries with a hint of marmite and coffee in the back. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, dark and fruity if not a little watery.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 I got for £14 (usually £29), so it works out at £1.40 for a 330ml bottle, it's a good price and I would definitely get it again for that price.

Food Pairings: This would pair perfectly with Cranachan, the raspberry and dark notes working so well.

Yin & Yang

Brewery: Evil Twin Brewing

Supplier: Beer52

So this is a Black and Tan cocktail made from mixing the Imperial stout Yin and the Imperial IPA Yang, which is what they were designed for. I served this chilled.

Appearance: The black remains unpenetrable, but the head becomes lighter and remains for longer, though only a trace. 

Aroma: Not suprisingly, it seems to be a mix of the two with the hops, savoury notes, and roasted chocolate notes combining pleasantly. 

Flavour: Subtle hints of roasted chocolate notes folowed by a some slight lemon hop notes. 

Body: A fairly decent body, quite thick going well with the darker notes. 

Aftertaste: This becomes very dry and acidic with the hops and roasted malts contributing to both, along with a slight iron note.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, I think it's very nice, but I enjoyed the IPA by itself ever so slightly better.

Price Range: £5.00 for each 355ml bottle, it was nice to do the series, but the price is too high and it's not special enough for me to buy it again.

Food Pairings: Like with black IPAs this one is hard to place; because of the dry acidic back I'm going to go with a chocolate mousse with creme de menthe. The chocolate pairing well, and the freshness of the lemon and mint complimenting each other. However, this could end up just masking the flavour of both.

Yang

Brewery: Evil Twin Brewing

Supplier: Beer52

This is the second individual part of the pairing of the Yin & Yang series, the previous beer Yin being revied earlier. This one is the Imperial IPA, which makes up the Tan part of the cocktail. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A dark amber colour, turning orange when held to the light

Aroma: Smells a little savoury, with hits of paprika and hop oils. 

Flavour: A mix of salt, syrup and hop on the front followed by a soft but absolutly delightful blend of lemon and peaches from the hops.

Body: Full and syrupy on the front, then crisp and dry in the back.

Aftertaste: The afternotes turn a little bitter, but this dies down with drinking, leaving a sticky hop syrup note in its place.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, a little rough in places but the hop notes are really pleasant.

Price Range: £5.00 for a 355ml bottle, this one is a little more worth it, but still too much compared to what you can get for the same price.

Food Pairings: This has quite a complex profile so I would say something like a sharp, hard cheese with some white crusty bread.

Yin

Brewery: Evil Twin Brewing

Supplier: Beer52

So I saved this series for a special occasion and my birthday was this occasion (posting it late though). This beer was made with its counterpart Yang with the idea to mix them together in a Black & Tan cocktail called Yin & Yang. This individual part is the black part of that and is an imperial stout, I served this chilled.

Appearance: Thick black colour, unpenatrable when held to the light. The is a slight rusty brown foam that lingers around the edge of the glass, never enough to make a head. 

Aroma: Not much in the nose, just some traces of sweet toffee and toast. 

Flavour: Sweet syrup on the front flowing quickly into a dry brown sugar and roasted coffee note. 

Body: A reasonably thick, but with a refrshing sharpness in the back. 

Aftertaste: An acidic coffee note in the back along with a load of roasted barley notes.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a decent imperial stout but nothing special as I was expecting.

Price Range: £5.00 for a 355ml bottle, probably a bit too much as you can get some really fantastic beers for that price, interesting to do the series.

Food Pairings: As it's a really rich beer I would say something rich as well, maybe a lamb stew with juniper.