Heart & Soul

Brewery: Vocation Brewery

Supplier: Beer52

This is a brewery set up earlier this year by the same guy who set up Blue Monkey brewery. This is one of what they call their Launch beer, with this being their sessionable IPA, made with a range of american hops found in the iconic West Coast IPAs. I served this straight from the fridge.

Appearance: A pale straw colour with hints of gold. There is a medium white head that thins but remains throughout.

Aroma: Resin and grapefruit hop notes, with hints of malt and perfume in the back.

Flavour: A front of lots of resin notes, turning to a hoppy bitterness on the back. There are also distinct cereal notes in the back.

Body: Refreshing and quite light, but with a chalky texture on the back.

Aftertaste: Lots of dry hoppy bitterness.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, nice, drinkable, and refreshing - but nothing special.

Price Range: The last from the box that had 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml can; about right for what it is.

Food Pairings: The notes are plain but there are lots of hoppy notes, so something simple but with a bit of strength, such as macaroni and cheese.

Lucky Jack

Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri

Supplier: Beer52

This is an American style pale ale that is brewed by a large Norwegian brewery (that also brews some of Evil Twins stuff). This pale ale is unfiltered and unpasteurised, and it is brewed with three different American hops - Amarillo, Chinook and Citra. I served this chilled.

Appearance: An orangy-straw colour, opaque, and with a thin and fading off-white head.

Aroma: A faint hint of hop resin with some citrus notes. 

Flavour: The front is absent of flavour. Sweet and with some strong notes of lemon iced tea and hop resin in the back. 

Body: There is a substantial body, but it is still refreshing. It looks like the carbonation is too much, but it's a nice level. 

Aftertaste: The aftertaste is just the fading continuation of the back flavours. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, close to a 6, but a nice refreshing ale with some nice iced tea notes.

Price Range: Another from the box that had 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml can; a good price for a nice sessionable drink, plus it's in a can.

Food Pairings: A nice salty bagel with cream cheese, maybe some heavy vegetable on top.

The Drunk Hop

Brewery: Brønhër Brew

Supplier: Beer52

Couldn't find much about this apart from the fact that it is brewed at the Cervezas Cuenca in Cuenca, Spain. This is their pale lager, of about three different brews. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A crystal clear pale straw colour with a medium white head colour. 

Aroma: Loads of hop resin and a little rose on the nose. 

Flavour: Hop resin and candied orange on the front, with some light malt notes on the back.

Body: Light and crisp, but with a little too much 

Aftertaste: Similar notes as that of the main flavour but with a little more focus on the malt and a little more hoppy bitterness. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, close to an 8 if it wasn't for the carbonation.

Price Range: Another from the box that had 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; a great price for great beer.

Food Pairings: A starch, something like pasta, with a medley of roasted mediterranean veg.

Hop Classic

Brewery: SixºNorth

Supplier: Beer52

This is a Scottish brewery that brews exclusively Belgian beers, it is located 6 degrees North of Brussels - hence the name. This is their version of a relatively new style, the Belgian IPA. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A pale golden colour, and opaque. The head is white, with a cream hint, and is a medium height but thick, and long lasting. 

Aroma: Spicy lemon notes with a bit of yeasty funk and that Belgian bubblegum ester note. 

Flavour: Sweet malt with a little bit of lemon and lychee hops and a load of Belgian yeast notes. There are also some nice apricot notes. 

Body: Fresh, but with quite robust body. The carbonation is a little thick.

Aftertaste: This is where it is let down, as there is a very strong taste of earwax. This does die down with drinking, but still remains. The other notes that come out when it dies down are, hop resin and cloves. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, let down by the unpleasant aftertaste, but quite nice apart from that.

Price Range: Another from the box that had 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; about right for the beer.

Food Pairings: Some strong bread, with some strong cheeses, and a little bit of pickle.

Dark Sister

Brewery: Brussels Beer Project

Supplier: Beer52

Originally starting in two years ago with a beer that one a local competition and went on to gain crowdfunding to commercialize. This is one of their core range, a Black IPA which was developed shortly after opening. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: Dark brown, a murky burgundy when held to the light. The beige head very, very thick and lasts quite a while.

Aroma: Floral hop notes with hints of a tart like yeast note. 

Flavour: a lovely sweet mix of roasted malt notes with floral hops, a perfect balance.

Body: A nice fizz level, and the bubbles are fine in size, however, they still bite on the way down.

Aftertaste: The hops dominate a little at this point, and a faint hint of soap comes through.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a lovely balanced ale, with a few minor improvements needed.

Price Range: The box had 8 beers for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; a very good price and worth getting again.

Food Pairings: Some form of strongly marinated dark meat, such as honey and soy glaze pork. South East Asian flavours would go very well with it.

Grisette

Brewery: Cloudwater Brew Co

Supplier: Beer52

Another discounted box from Beer52. This is from a manchester based brewery that was founded last year (with their first blog post exactly a year ago). They specialise in doing seasonal brews, this is a saison seasonal brew. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A pale straw colour with a slight haze. The pure white head is thin and fades quickly.

Aroma: Not much head at all, there is a small amount of funk right in the background. 

Flavour: Slightly tart with some cereal notes right at the back. 

Body: Thin, but refreshing. Too much fizz though. 

Aftertaste: Slightly fruity and tart, there is also a slight smoky note. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, nice but weak in flavour, good for if you need to drive though because of the low alcohol.

Price Range: The box had 8 beers for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; not a bad price, I would get it if I had to drive.

Food Pairings: a vegetarian medley, preferably something with asparagus.

Soft Focus

Brewery: Gypsy Inc.

Supplier: Beer52

Another from the collaboration brewery between Brewdog and Mikkeller, based in Denmark and brewed at Brewdog; part of their set of (now) five - I've reviewed Pale Trail and Tipsy Gypsy before. This one is their wheat beer, hopped with Amarillo & Tettnanger hops. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A peachy gold colour that is hazy, but you can make out the blur of your fingers behind it. There is a medium bright white head that shrinks by about half. 

Aroma: Lychee and citrus hops mixed with bread dough. 

Flavour: A mix of bitter and sweet hops on the front followed by a strong hoppy citrus note. This flavour seems to disappear with drinking though.

Body: Refreshing, but with a bit of body. The bubble are small, which is great, but it is way too carbonated. 

Aftertaste: A nice subtle pale malt flavour that rounds it out.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, a very nice beer but the loss of flavour and the over carbonation takes away from it.

Price Range: The last from the box 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; not a bad price, I can't complain.

Food Pairings: The low flavours of it would make it go with with some simple grilled white fish and veg.

La Téne

Brewery: The Celt Experience

Supplier: Beer52

One of the core range from The Celt Experience, this is their dry hopped English bitter. It is named after a sight on the North Side of Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland - where "belief and spirit were born". I served this slightly chilled.

Appearance: A clear golden colour with a thick white head that dissipates quickly leaving only a trace. 

Aroma: Huge amounts of sweet candied peaches with a funky note at the back. 

Flavour: Like the nose there is the peachy funk, with a nice underlying malt base. 

Body: A medium body with a perfect underlying base

Aftertaste: The back is a mainly cereal dominated with a waxy bitterness. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, a great beer for a low alcohol one, nice and a little more unique. However the aftertaste isn't the best.

Price Range:  Another from the box 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 500ml bottle; a very good price, and I would get it again to drink during a heavier night, but not exclusively.

Food Pairings: A more complex sandwich, such as a sour cream, smoked salmon, dill, and dill pickle sandwich on rye.

Pandamonium

Brewery: Panda Frog Project

Supplier: Beer52

This brewery is an experimental subsidiary of the Mordue Brewery in Tyne & Wear, UK. This beer is a homage to the West Coast American IPAs. Not much information on this one. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A very rich/deep golden colour. The head is a medium peach-tinted white head, that dies down to a thin layer. 

Aroma: Lots of citrus and lychee hop notes with some deeper malt notes.

Flavour: Not a huge amount of flavour on the front, most of it is in the aftertaste. What is here is a trace of sweet malt and citrus hops 

Body: Quite syrupy for a pale ale, but with this quantity of hops it works quite well. 

Aftertaste: Some quite rich cereal and honey notes with some hoppy bitterness. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, really nice to drink, one you could enjoy for a couple of beers. Not hugely different from other hoppy IPAs though.

Price Range: Another from the box 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; worth the price, a nice beer but one that isn't unique. I would get it again if there wasn't something new to try.

Food Pairings: A good cheese board with lots of strong hard cheeses, along with some quince jelly and lingonberry jam.

Bitter Descent

Brewery: Natural Selection Brewing

Supplier: Beer52

So Natural Selection Brewing is a company that operates from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. It was founded in 2011 by students doing the MSc in Brewing and Distilling (a course that I very nearly ended up doing two years back). I think it is then passed down to the next set of students each year. This is one of this allocation's flagship beer, it is a Extra Special Bitter (ESB) but made with loads of American hops. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: A light copper colour with an off-white head that dissipates quickly.

Aroma: Toffee malt with hints of orange zest. Not a particularly strong nose. 

Flavour: Just like the nose; the flavours are toffee, almost like barley sweets, and hints of orange zest.

Body: A medium body but a little flat and the fizz that is there is a little rough. 

Aftertaste: Just a sweet background from the malts. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, probably would have been better cold, nice but that's it.

Price Range: Another from the box 8 for £14 - so £1.75 for a 330ml bottle; a OK price but I wouldn't be my first choice.

Food Pairings: A richer meat such as lamb, just as a roast with some roast veggies.