Breakfast Stout

Brewery: Founders Brewing Co.

Supplier: Beers of Europe

I thought I would do something special for my 100th review and so I chose Founders famous Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Stout. It is a seasonal beer produced to be available between October and December using two types of chocolate, bitter and imported, and two types of coffee Sumatra and Kona. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: Completely pitch black with a thin mocha head that dissipates quickly.

Aroma: Deep roasted coffee notes, like smelling a bag of coffee beans, with hints of chocolate on the back.

Flavour: Tastes like smooth dark chocolate, the types that have underlying coffee notes.

Body: So incredibly thick and smooth, almost like one of those thick European hot chocolates.

Aftertaste: This leads into a more pronounced coffee note, later leading into slightly less pleasant green and iron notes.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, an exceptionally nice beer to drink, although there are a few notes that are slightly unpleasant, and the thickness does become too much. Would be better with a slight chill on it, and needs to be at a time when you are ready for such a thick beer.

Price Range: £3.59 for a 355ml bottle, worth it.

Food Pairings: To be honest this is so thick and full that I would not suggest having it with anything.

Ogham Willow

Brewery: The Celt Experience

Supplier: Beers of Europe

So I ran out of time to do this one with the others and was going to do it the day after but had to go into hospital, sooooo I'm doing it today. Continuing from the horizontal tasting of the Ogham range, having previously done Oak and Ash. This is their American IPA, dry hopping with potent US hops.  Its namesake Willow is the wood that represents spiritual visions to understand the world. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A slightly ambered gold colour with a very thin white head, there is also lots of large particles floating around which I did not see whilst pouring (and I can usually tell when I'm pouring dregs, which leads me to believe the were already suspended.

Aroma: Lots of fresh lime hops and a hint of melon and sweet malt in the back.

Flavour: Initially sweet hop resin followed by a strong hoppy bitterness and a bit of skunk. The hop resin flavour starts to dominate and couple with some malt sweetness with drinking

Body: Very thick and syrupy but this goes well.

Aftertaste: A bit more of the off skunky flavour and still a lot of bitterness the tastes green, some floury notes develop from the malt with drinking.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, a nice big hoppy beer but with a few off flavours that aren't particularly nice and nothing special flavour wise. Knocked from 7 due to the bits and the off flavours

Price Range: £2.99 for a 330ml bottle, an OK price.

Food Pairings: Some salty gammon with a relatively sweet gravy, along with some roasted potatoes

Ogham Ash

Brewery: The Celt Experience

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Continuing from the horizontal tasting of the Ogham range, having previously done Oak and later doing Willow. This is their Russian Imperial Stout using lots of hops and seven different types of malts. Its namesake Ash is the wood that implies spirituality, reflection, and power.

Appearance: A dark black that you can just about see through, with a thick tan head.

Aroma: Cream and chocolate on the nose with a little bit of coffee and berries.

Flavour: Lots of fruit and fresh chocolate, and a little bit of licorice. 

Body: Surprisingly fresh and very smooth. 

Aftertaste: A little smokey with coffee and some malty bitterness.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, quite clean and strong, nice but not sessionable.

Price Range: £3.08 for 330ml bottle, an acceptable price for such a strong beer.

Food Pairings: Some tender juicy steak with salsa.

Ogham Oak

Brewery: The Celt Experience

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Today I'm going to do a horizontal tasting of the Ogham range from The Celt Experience in Wales. This series is named after a secret code used by Gaulish druids and is a series of three big beer styles. Oak is the first I'm going to try in the series (Ash and Willow will follow) and this is a Belgian Tripel brewed with Orange peel and Cinnamon, using american hops and yeast from Flanders. Its namesake Oak is the wood that implies Strength and Wisdom. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: A bright clear golden colour with a slightly thick head that reduces a little.

Aroma: Funky lemon notes twinned with sweeter notes that are slightly malty but also have some freshly made lemonade characters. 

Flavour: Typical Belgian malt notes on the front; followed by fresher, citrus notes, that have a slight funk - formed from hops and yeast.

Body: Medium body, quite smooth and thick on the end, but too fizzy.

Aftertaste: This funk increases in the back, coupled with a puckering. The flavours become a bit more green, there are also hints of peanuts. There is also a salty note in here, that becomes more prominent with drinking.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, very close to an 8 but there are just a few things off like the fizz and the green notes don't really work; there is also something missing that is needed to round it out. Not getting any cinnamon from it, but that is probably good as I don't think being strong enough to identify it would go well.

Price Range: £2.48 for a 330ml bottle, a very good price.

Food Pairings: Some sort of crustacean, probably prawns covered in lime and coriander.

Torpedo Extra IPA

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Supplier: Beers of Europe

This is Sierra Nevada's year round IPA. Named as it is the first beer to use their Hop Torpedo, a dry-hopping device that they invented. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Pale with an orange hue, the head is a medium off-white that fades.

Aroma: Very hoppy with citrus and lyche, hints of roasted notes in the back.

Flavour: Nice hoppy notes but with some slightly soapy hoppy bitter notes.

Body: Fairly smooth body with a chewiness on the back.

Aftertaste: Quite clean with some hints of bitter hop.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a very nice and clean hoppy IPA.

Price Range: £3.29 for a 473ml can, good price for a nice beer.

Food Pairings: Something very garlicy, maybe like a creamy pasta.

Boltens Alt

Brewery: Privatbrauerei Bolten

Supplier: Beers of Europe

My first beer after coming out of a little bit of time in hospital, so I thought I would try something interesting but not too heavy or alcoholic. This is a typical old style of beer from Dusseldorf called an Altbier; Alt meaning "Old". The amber colours from this beer come from the specialty malts ad the unique flavours from the in-house Bolten yeast strain.

Appearance: A thin brown colour with hints of red. There is a medium off-white head that thins out quickly. 

Aroma: Typical German beer smell with some corn and hay notes. 

Flavour: Lots of hay on the front with a back of very un-sweet malty notes. This becomes a bit sweeter with drinking, and then gains a little bit of an iced tea vibe

Body: A medium body, nothing distinctive, a bit too much fizz on the back.

Aftertaste: You still get the hay and malt notes but they are joined by iron and some subtle green notes.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, unusual hay notes making it interesting but not something I would really want to drink that much of.

Price Range: £2.09 for a 500ml bottle, a good price but an average beer.

Food Pairings: Something plain but meaty like roast chicken and home made chips.

Pêcheresse

Brewery: Brouwerij Lindemans

Supplier: Beers of Europe

A lambic flavour with peaches using the straight juice-method. This is a very low alcohol drink. I served this straight from the fridge

Appearance: Golden with a rose hue, a thin white head that dissipates quickly.

Aroma: Peach and then a hint of sour vinegar.

Flavour: Very sweet with apple juice and peaches, 

Body: Quite light and refreshing, but the sweetness is making it a bit syrupy. 

Aftertaste: Some sweet vinegar notes with some unidentified sour notes.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, much too sweet, the vinegar note are not unpleasant but not great. Not something you would want a lot of.

Price Range: £1.59 for a 250ml bottle, about right for what it is.

Food Pairings: Pancakes or Waffles with a not too sweet dark chocolate sauce.

Dogma

Brewery: BrewDog

Supplier: Beers of Europe

This malty body is comprised of 10 different types of malt, it then blended with heather infused Scottish honey. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: Dark and maroon when held to the light, a rust coloured head the disappears very quickly.

Aroma:  Very sweet with raisins and some roasted notes, there is also hint of vanilla.

Flavour: Same as the aroma, sweet raisins and a hint of vanilla. A little bit of a tang.

Body: Very smooth. A little bit of a fizz on the front..

Aftertaste: A bitterness that tastes a bit like ear wax, but it later turns into a woody sweet finish.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, OK but not great.

Price Range: £2.69 for a 330ml bottle, probably a tad too much, but not overly so.

Food Pairings: Strong flavoured meat such as lamb or venison with a rich sauce.

Euphoria Pale Ale

Brewery: Ska Brewing

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Brewed during the winter along with a neighboring company "Venture Snowboards". This is a pale ale is made with lots of caramel malts, and hops providing a grapefruit hop aroma and flavor. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Not really pale more of an amber/brown colour with a short lived off-white head.

Aroma: Huge sweet resin notes, coupled with peach and raisin notes.

Flavour: Lots of grapefruit like hop notes with a sweet caramel malt note

Body: A bit too sticky but with a great carbonation level.

Aftertaste: A little hoppy bitterness with some spicy alcohol notes and a little bit of soap.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, nice but there are some overpowering flavours, manly the alcohol notes, making not sessionable.

Price Range: £2.59 for a 355ml can, an OK price for this beer.

Food Pairings: I don't know if this is just a craving but I think this would go well best with mash potato of sausages.

Dry Irish Stout

Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery

Supplier: Beers of Europe

A seasonal beer made during January-March, around the time of St Paddy's day. It uses a range of different malts, around five, and four different hops - Willamette, Fuggles, Cascade, and East Kent Golding. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: Jet black with a lingering tan coloured head.

Aroma: Smells of treacle with a warm/spicy note.

Flavour: the main flavour is a malty flavour similar to biscuits, there is a hint of roasted notes.

Body: Super smooth and not very dry, some acidic notes.

Aftertaste: Some berry notes join the original flavour along with some hint of green and metallic notes.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, close to being an 8 but not enough of a wow factor, but it's a nice and very sessionable beer

Price Range: £2.09 for a 355ml bottle, a excellent price for this beer.

Food Pairings: Would work well with oat bars/cookies; e.g. flapjacks and ANZAC biscuits.