Straight Up Amber Ale

Brewery: Honest Brew

Supplier: Honest Brew

A beer brewed by the people who run the beer subscription as Honest Brew. This is their amber ale and the second one they have done I believe; their first was a pale ale, and there next is supposedly going to be a stout. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: A brownish amber colour with little to no head.

Aroma: Lots of honey malt and a little bit of floral hop notes. 

Flavour: Lots of honey (or maybe more like barley sugar - the sweet) but without the sweetness, there is a little bit of the floral hop notes along with some citrus; it is very much like it smells.

Body: About medium, and with a decent carbonation. 

Aftertaste: Not much in the way of aftertaste, just a slight lingering of the main flavours.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, just, it's a nice decent drinker. I would imagine no-one would take offense to it, but it's nothing to get excited about.

Price Range: Another from the box 6 beers for £9, so this worked out as £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; not a bad price, and probably worth it.

Food Pairings: Something simple and not too rich, something like a simple sandwich would go very well.

Urban IPA

Brewery: Tiny Rebel Brewing Co

Supplier: Honest Brew

Another from this small but established welsh brewery. This is also a core IPA of theirs but a more sessionable one, made with and intercontinental range of hops. I served this chilled.

Appearance: An amber gold colour that is ever-so-slightly hazy. The head is thin and slightly off-white in colour, but lingers for some time. 

Aroma: Lots of fresh apple juice mixed in with sweet hop resin notes. 

Flavour: Not a huge amount but what is there is a nice mix of crisp malt and sweet hop resin

Body: Light and refreshing, with the perfect amount of fine carbonation. A little dryness in the back. 

Aftertaste: This is where the the flavours come out strongest, with huge amounts of pine hops and resin coming into play with a nice lingering hoppy bitterness. Very minor hints of iron and green hop notes.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a nice IPA that is not unique but not common, a really good drinker as well.

Price Range: Another from the box 6 beers for £9, so this worked out as £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; great price for what you get!

Food Pairings: I had this dish the other day and I wish I had this beer with it as it would go great - Satay Prawn Wraps. The strong satay sauce and the subtle seafood flavours would go well with the hop notes, and I don't think the hops are strong enough to drown out the flavours of the dish.

Railway Porter

Brewery: Five Points Brewing Company

Supplier: Honest Brew

As Beer52 was quite a success I thought I would try another beer subscription, this one is from Honest Brew. This was their trial pack and it has an OK selection, but I gather from the literature that they do have supplies from good and unique breweries; plus it came with collectable card like things for each of the beers which was fun!

This is from another a brewery that I have given one of my lowest scoring beer... This is also part of their core range and is a traditional London porter made with traditional british ingredients. I served this at room temp.

Appearance: A thick and impenetrable black colour with a latte coloured head, this head dies down but not too quickly. 

Aroma: Lots of creamy chocolate and roasted notes in the aroma, smells quite smooth. 

Flavour: Initially I got a big bit of soap but I can't rule out that that wasn't in the glass. Then there is an acrid but not unpleasant roasted malt note with a hint of sweetness. 

Body: Quite a thick body with a decent carbonation, the back is quite dry though. 

Aftertaste: Quite a bitter roasted note, a bit too much of them. There is also the faint hint of overly green hops. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 3, better than the last one from this brewery, and nearly a 4, but still not great.

Price Range: The box was £9 for 6 beers, so this worked out as £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; not quite worth it.

Food Pairings: The intense roasted notes would go well with a rich beef and onion pie.

Hibernation

Brewery: Big Hug Brewing

Supplier: Beer52

This is the last one from this box from Beer52, and it is an exciting one. It's a relatively new style (if it can be called that yet); a White IPA - you can see it's description on my "What's Beer?" page. This one is from a new brewery in London (2014), although they have only just recently changed their name from Bear Hug Brewing - but I hope they change it back as Bear Hug is much better - hence the name on the can. I believe this in one of, if not the, first beers they produced. And brilliantly they work(ed?) with an organisation called Green Squares, and for every beer sold one square foot of the rainforest is preserved for 1 year! I served this straight from the fridge.

Appearance: Pale straw but golden in the deeper parts if the glass. Very opaque, much like you would expect a witbier. The head is thin but lasts, and pure white. 

Aroma: Not much aroma at all, hints of hops . 

Flavour: Not a huge amount of flavour either, there are some nice notes in the background. There are bits of traces of resin and citrus hops, with a some spicy malt.

Body: Very thick, and lots of mouthfeel but refreshing. 

Aftertaste: A little bit of spice with a nice mild hoppy bitterness. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, close to a 6, not a huge amount of flavour but what is there is nice, and very easy to drink.

Price Range: From the box of 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; a reasonable price for what it is, I would get it again if I saw it for that price.

Food Pairings: Macaroni and cheese, I think the strong cheese notes would complement the fresh but spicy notes.

The Pale Armadillo

Brewery: Tempest Brewing Co

Supplier: Beer52

As the previous one was so bad I thought I would do another, and as I now the Tempest do do good beers (the previous one being an exception), I thought I would give them another shot tonight. This one is not designed by Beer52, only supplied, and it is one of Tempest's core range. It's there bitter pale ale hopped with Amarillo but made with local barley. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A nice light golden colour with a little opaqueness in the thicker parts of the glass. The head is thin and white, but dissipates only leaving a remanence. 

Aroma: On the nose there is huge amounts of lychee and an exotic floral note (jasmine maybe). Full of fresh fruity hop notes, and very sweet. 

Flavour: Loads of lychee in this, mingled with a variety of other tropical notes and bursts of orange peel. These flavour die and pop up independently throughout the drink, making it enjoyable each sip. 

Body: Light and refreshing but not watery, the carbonation is perfect

Aftertaste: Hints of Chinese tea notes but in a refreshing way mixed with lemon, a bit like a natural iced tea (one that's not over sweetened). A little grapefruit as well, with a nice mild hoppy bitterness. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, probably closer to a 7 but I love lychee notes and I'm probably overcompensating because of the previous beer. a great example of a simple and sessionable beer that hits all the buttons, a complete reverse of their Mambo Jambo that I reviewed earlier today.

Price Range: From the box of 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; excellent price and perfect to become a standard to drink all night.

Food Pairings: Something simple but with dark roasted flavours, something like a simple beef burger.

Mambo Jambo

Brewery: Tempest Brewing Co

Supplier: Beer52

So this is from a brewery up in the Scottish Borders that has been going since 2010 and has made a very good name for themselves. For this beer they have teamed up with Beer52 (a good beer subscription website that I use occasionally) to make an exclusive beer. This is a Saison that is inspired by homemade rhubarb crumble, made using cascade hops and real rhubarb. I served this straight out of the fridge.

Appearance: Golden/straw coloured, quite cloudy as well, but you can make out the outline of things behind it. The head is a medium size and white in colour, but it does shrink.

Aroma: Lots of peppery yeast notes with some citrus/resin hop notes in the back, and a little of the typical saison funk. 

Flavour: rough on the front with huge amounts of metallic notes, finally there is a blast of pepper that stings the nostrils. There is some citrus in the back as well. The peppery note dies down with drinking, as do all the other flavours, until it loses most of its flavour (good and bad).

Body: Light, but way too over carbonated. The mouthfeel is too dry as well, leaving that puckering.

Aftertaste: The aftertaste is full of iron with a bit of the funk.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 2, drinkable but not very nice. Way too much metal. I ended up tipping the last bit out in favour of a new one.

Price Range: From the box of 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; not worth it, I would never buy it no matter the cost. I would drink it if it was free and there was not much else to chose from.

Food Pairings: Something with strong flavours, and a bit of spice to counteract the metal notes. I would suggest a beef/lamb curry.

Monocle

Brewery: Beerd Brewery

Supplier: Beer52

So this brewery was originally a pilot brewery at a different brewery called Bath Ales. They set it up as a different brewery to tap into the craft beer market. This is their English IPA, using English ingredients including Golding hops. I served this straight out of the fridge.

Appearance: A golden colour with tints of amber and slightly opaque. There is a thin white head but that dissipates in a matter of seconds. 

Aroma: This smells exactly like grape juice. I can get hints of hop resin right in the background, but the grape juice notes are the dominant aroma here. 

Flavour: A tiny bit of grape at the front followed by a wave of hop resin, finally at the back there is a mix of hop notes and honey malt. 

Body: Light and a little too carbonated, but refreshing. 

Aftertaste: You get the typical hoppy bitterness mixed with some honey and grain notes from the malts. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, a very drinkable beer with nice but common flavours.

Price Range: From the box of 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; a very good price for a nice drinkable beer.

Food Pairings: Just a simple roast chicken dinner with roast roots, a simple but nice meal for a simple but nice beer.

First World Problems

Brewery: Stewart Brewing

Supplier: Beer52

When I canceled my previous subscription from Beer52 they generously gave me £10 off my next box (sure it was to hope I would stay subscribed, but nice none the less). This is the first one I will review from this box and is brewed by Stewart Brewing up in Scotland. Whilst this is brewed by Stewart Brewing the recipe is actually designed by James Hardacre, a home brewer that Southern Bar's Homebrew competition in 2013. This is a Belgian IPA that uses Belgian yeast coupled with US and New Zealand hops. I served this slightly chilled.

Appearance: A very dark gold colour, bordering on amber. The head is of medium size, but lasting, and is a orange tinted white colour. 

Aroma: Huge amounts of mango with some spicy lemon notes in the background along with some typical beer notes. 

Flavour: Lots of floral hop notes on the front coupled with a sweet resin note, the mango hop notes tend to come in the back. Unfortunately the flavour fades with drinking. 

Body: A substantial body but not too much that it becomes viscous, a good balance.  

Aftertaste: There is a little of the belgian spiciness but this is then taken over by a hoppy bitterness that starts nice but becomes a little soapy. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, a delicious full flavoured drink, would have been a 9 if it weren't for the soapy back and the slightly fading flavour. But bear in mind I might be a little bias as I love mangos.

Price Range: From a new box, this one £14 for 8, so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; a brilliant price, I wouldn't hesitate to get it again.

Food Pairings: Something citrus and tart, this could be sweet or savoury, but just to suggest something I would say citrus marinated pork Kebabs (skewers) with wedges of red onion between.

Petrus Dubbel Bruin

Brewery: Brouwerij De Brabandere

Supplier: Beer52

The last in from this box from Beer52, this is from a large brewery in Belgium that brews a variety of beers under different brand names - including Petrus. This is their Dubbel that uses a lot of specialty malts and natural caramel. I served this at room temp.

Appearance: Dark brown but a light maroon when held to the light. The head is a tan brown colour, that is of medium thickness and stable throughout the drink. 

Aroma: Rich caramel and raisin notes with hints of roasted notes and vanilla in the back ground. It's slightly musk but very nice.  I also noticed some marzipan in a whiff. 

Flavour: Lots of raisin notes in it, quite rich at first but freshens up towards the back with hints of grape.

Body: Quite substantial but not too syrupy. The carbonation is a little lacking. 

Aftertaste: Lots of woody notes, similar to those found in whiskey, with some strong sherry-like alcohol notes

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, but only because I like these types of sweeter beers I've noticed.

Price Range: Part of the box of 10 I got for £14 (usually £29), so it works out at £1.40 for a 330ml bottle, a good price. You can get similar ones for cheaper though.

Food Pairings: The sweet notes and the whiff of marzipan make me think of Battenburg cake, but actually I'm thinking a slightly less sweet cake such as Coffee and Walnut, or a dark chocolate cake. Make sure it has a nice layer of icing though.

Lluna de Blat

Brewery: Cerveses Lluna

Supplier: Amazon

This is the second one from the Organic Spanish brewery Cerveses Lluna today. This is another of their core beers, and is their version of a Hefeweizen - hopped with Perle and Cascade hops. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A dark golden colour with lot of bubbles in. Just slightly opaque, so a little clear for a Hefe. The head is medium, but quite dense, and off-white; it also lasts for an age.  

Aroma: Lots of citrus hops with that spicy wheat note right in the background

Flavour: A sharp citrus bite at the beginning that turns into an odd fresh-but slightly metallic note - not unpleasant thought. Slight hoppy spices in the background.

Body: Incredibly refreshing with a light body that is well suited to the beer. The carbonation is very soft and at the perfect amount - one of the best carbonations I tried!

Aftertaste: A faint mix of the citrus and metallic note. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, not much of a hefe but a nice refreshing beer. It does lack a little in flavour, but is so very easy to drink...

Price Range: The Spanish beer box works outs as £2.29 for a 330ml bottle; a great session beer so this would be a good price in a bar, but a little expensive from a shop.

Food Pairings: This would go with loads of things but it is quite a nice one to drink at a party, so it would probably go well with crisps and dip, and other assorted (savoury) party food.