Revival

Brewery: Moor Beer Company

Supplier: Beer52

Part of their everyday favourite range, this is their pale ale brewed to celebrate the revival of the brewery. It's made with 5 different malts, including lager and wheat malts, and uses American hops and yeast. Between 2007 and 2013 this beer won no less than 14 awards. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A pale straw to golden colour, slightly opaque, with a thick white head that thins but still remains.

Aroma: Toffee, some citrus hops, and a little bit of musk.

Flavour: Not too much in flavour at all, a mild note of undistinguished malt and hops forming a weak, but lighter, version of a classic bitter.

Body: Reasonable body, great carbonation, and very refreshing to drink.

Aftertaste: A little piney, quite nice, and with some other hoppy notes. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 3, not much like a American pale ale, more like a light bitter, quite weak and flavourless but refreshing.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml can; and OK price, but I wouldn't get it again.

Food Pairings: Could be paired with most things without much flavour, I would suggest barbequed chicken drumsticks.

52 Pandas

Brewery: Panda Frog Project

Supplier: Beer52

Another from the experimental subsidiary of the Mordue Brewery; this time in a collaboration with Beer52 (like Mambo Jambo and Quintet). This is what they describe as a "New World Wheat Beer", which is a wheat beer that has been dry hopped with Equinox, El Dorado, and Citra hops.

Appearance: Only slightly opaque, much clearer than you would expect a wheat beer. The colour is pale straw with a hint of gold; and the head is medium thickness, pure white, and last for ages.

Aroma: Quite bready, with hints of spices and a little corn in the background. 

Flavour: Not much of the traditional wheat on the flavour as it is dominated grassy hops and tropical fruit notes. 

Body: Medium body, but with too much carbonation. There is also an almost floury texture that goes quite well with this. 

Aftertaste: This is where you can tell it is a wheat beer as you get that distinct wheat malt background, however it get dominated by an unpleasant grassy hop notes. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, quite unique and a good idea, but not done too well in my opinion with the hops letting it down.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; I wouldn't rush out to buy it but, at this price, I wouldn't mind it.

Food Pairings: It's hard to pair as it has both soft and dominant qualities, thus I'm going to cop out and pin it to something simple like a moderately salty portion of fish and chips.

Raid Beer

Brewery: To Øl

Supplier: Beer52

This is a light pale lager with west coast hoppiness. Not much information on this beer, apart from a little post about how it won three gold medals, with the last being from the Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival. I served this chilled.

Appearance: Clear gold with a hint of amber. There is a fast stream of bubbles leading to a medium-thick off-white head.

Aroma: Loads of lovely sweet hop resin and lychees notes in it, it smells delicious. 

Flavour: Apricots and fresh oranges on the front, with a full satisfying bitterness and complimentary malt. 

Body: A nice thick body, but light enough to stay fresh. 

Aftertaste: The hoppyness turns a little soapy, but this dies down with drinking, turning into a bitter/sour orange note. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, A nice hoppy lager, which tastes more like an IPA as it isn't that clean in profile; with mild unique flavours that make it interesting.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; a good price for a decent and drinkable beer.

Food Pairings: The orange will go well with a nice creamy chicken pasta.

Babylone

Brewery: Brussels Beer Project

Supplier: Beer52

Another main beer from the Brussels Beer Project and an unusual one this, made with recycled bread as the yeast source (I think, it just says made with recycled bread, and that that is what they did in the past - in places such as Babylon). I served this slightly chilled.

Appearance: Brown with a reddish hue, with a thin off-white head. 

Aroma: Mainly hops on the nose, with sour citrus and peaches. There is also some caramel notes right in the back.

Flavour: Huge spice notes in the front, the a thick and overpowering hop resin note. There is also a faint savoury note in the back similar to green avocados. 

Body: A little fizzy on the front but turns quite smooth. 

Aftertaste: Predominantly cereal notes, some caramel, and a little metallic. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, a nice and a little unusual beer, nice to drink a couple of in a night. Not as rough as I thought it would be considering they use (I believe) bread yeast.

Price Range: Another from the box of 10 for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; a good price for a nice and complex beer.

Food Pairings: A nice piece of banana bread.

London Mild Ale

Brewery: Brouwerij Kees

Supplier: Beer52

A little late, but this is the first post of the year! This Mild Ale, despite the name, is actually from the Netherlands. This is a English style, made with British malts and hops, but produced in the capital of Zeeland (Middelburg). I served this chilled.

Appearance: Dark brown, but lightens to a nice woody brown when held to the light; it's also slightly opaque. The head is a slightly tanned cream colour, it's medium in size but lasts the whole time.

Aroma: A blend of caramel and honey & resin hop notes, similar to some of the better mild ales. 

Flavour: Chocolate and biscuit malt on the front, followed by some honey hop notes that you find in Goldings. 

Body: Quite fresh and and a medium thickness. 

Aftertaste: A little soapy.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, nice, but nothing special, just a good mild ale.

Price Range: Another deal giving me 10 beers for £14, so £1.40 for a 330ml bottle; a decent price for a nice sessionable ale.

Food Pairings: As it is a good London Mild I think it would go well with a nice beef roast, maybe with a little twist such as an oriental chili rub.

Old Engine Oil Engineer's Reserve

Brewery: Harviestoun Brewery

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Old Engine Oil is one of Harviestoun's core range of beers; this Engineer's Reserve is the product of a request from the American market for a stronger version - making this 9% as opposed to 6%, with an equally more intense flavour. Apparently this is not available for the UK markets, but somehow I managed to get it. I served this at room temperature.

Appearance: Pitch black in colour with no light penetrating through. There was a hint of a dark brown head, but this dies immediately making it have no head at all.

Aroma: Grapes, sherry, treacle, and a hint of tobacco and tar. 

Flavour: Sweet raisins on the front with a hint of a sherry note in the back, very sweet. 

Body: Very smooth, but a little flat, surprisingly not that thick. 

Aftertaste: Raisins again, but with a hint of roasted malts and brown sugar. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, nice but nothing too special.

Price Range: £4.49 for a 330ml bottle; probably only worth around £3 a bottle, but is more because of the ABV, so at this price I wouldn't go for it.

Food Pairings: The sickly sweetness of it would make it blend with the flavours of something like sticky toffee pudding, however, I'm unsure if they would complement each other or mask each others taste.

Earl Grey Black Wheat

Brewery: Flying Dog Brewery

Supplier: St Andrews Wine Company

One of Flying Dog's Brewhouse Rarities, this one is a Dunkelweizen make using the same herb that gives Earl Grey tea its distinct flavour - Bergamot. They make this with a mix of malted barley and wheat, in this case Honey Malt and Midnight Wheat. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A thick black colour, even when held up to the light. The head is thin but a dark rusty colour. 

Aroma: Sweet roasted notes with a salty back note and an umami note. 

Flavour: Quite light on the front with some grape notes. Not a huge amount of flavour but seems to satisfy all the taste buds

Body: Incredibly smooth and juicy, one of my favourite things about it. Quite refreshing as well. 

Aftertaste: Very smooth with much more grape and roasted notes, there was a little dry herby bitterness. When it warms, the bitterness increases a fair bit. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, not much discernible flavours but it is incredibly satisfying to drink. I couldn't get any Bergamot in it though.

Price Range: £3.50 for a 355ml bottle, a great price for this, a lovely drinker.

Food Pairings: I think the umami flavours would suit it well to something like a steak, or porcini risotto.

Eternal

Brewery: Northern Monk

Supplier: St Andrews Wine Company

A Leeds based brewery that started in 2013, with inspiration for their brand coming from the monks of Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, with their base of operations in a listed mill. This is their sessionable IPA, which is designed to mimic the big hop notes of the US IPAs. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A rich golden ale, slightly opaque, with straw colours coming through when held to the light. The head is white and average, but fades fast leaving only a trace.

Aroma: Loads of mango and quite a bit of pineapple, hop resin in the back.

Flavour: A nice sugar note on the front, but with a freshness from the hops. The wave of indistinct hoppy notes then follows. 

Body: Light, perfect for this style, and with the perfect amount of carbonation.

Aftertaste: These hop notes intensify in the aftertaste and couple with a floury/cereal note, and a slight grassy bitterness.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, a very fresh and enjoyable beer, if not a little usual.

Price Range: £2.50 for a 330ml can; about right, that's all I can say really.

Food Pairings: I think this would go with a salty but more umami snack, such as seaweed or kale chips.

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.