Badger Brewery, Blandford, St Mary, Dorset:
This is a fruity beer, light but strong. This is another good summer beer for a hot Sunday afternoon. The only problem with this beer was that, having only one bottle between two of us, there simply wasn't enough.Golden Champion Ale (6.0% ABV -- reviewed 1 November 1999)
` This is Badger's top-selling cask ale. Here's the story on their web page: "Many years ago the head brewer John Woodhouse invited the brewing staff to sample his latest creation and select a name for it. Enchanted by its unusually rounded flavour and distinctive straw gold colour, the brewers disposed of several tankards in the quest for a name. When the head brewer rose to go he experienced a sudden loss of steering, a sensation not unfamiliar to wearers of exceptionally long shoes and fell unwittingly upon the name most apt for this legendary ale." My colleague detected a distinct taste of honeyed malt; I clearly perceived little fuzzy rabbits -- clean rabbits, naturally. My colleague said it tasted like velvet -- short-pile velvet, that is, but not velveteen or velour, rather like the texture of Axminster carpet. I thought it tasted checked as opposed to polka-dotted.Tangle Foot Strong Ale (5.0% ABV -- reviewed 1 April 1999) `
Bad Seed Brewery, Malton, North Yorkshire:
` This is brewed with Lemon Drop, Centennial, and Cascade hops, which are all hops I really like. A cloudy beer, it's nice: hoppy with a dryness on the tongue. Considering the massive downpour of rain I had just managed to avoid on my way home from work, the dryness was welcome.BA + B Double Dry Hopped Pale Ale (4.8% ABV brewed in collaboration with Abbeydale Brewery, Sheffield -- reviewed 19 June 2018)
` rewed with Citra and Galaxy hops, this beer was named after baseball. It's unfined and unfiltered, so it's very hazy. But oh god, how I love Galaxy. Let me count the ways...1,2,3,4,5,6,7,...this could go on and on...Base Runner IPA (6.3% ABV -- reviewed 14 December 2021)
Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, California:
` I've loved all the versions of Sculpin' IPAs that I've had at the Ballast Point location in Long Beach, so even though I'm drinking this up in Big Bear as opposed to Long Beach, and in a can, my adopted brother Kim and I bought this in honour of my old friend and former Hawaii resident Betsy, with whom I had just stayed in Long Beach. Of course this is good. It's hazy with Brux Trois yeast and hints of guava, which is a nice touch in a beer. Yes, it's very drinkable and thoroughly enjoyable.Aloha Sculpin' Hazy IPA (7.0% ABV -- reviewed 25 July 2023)
Barrel House Brewing Company, Paso Robles, California:
` This is brewed with El Dorado, Citra, and Mosaic hops, so what's not to like? It's yet another California beer with a VW camper van on the graphic. While I was in Bakersfield enjoying cans of beers on the back patio with my pseudobrother Kim, we had a couple of other beers with the same motif. This is a rather fruity IPA, which almost made me wanna grab a boogie board and go catch a wave, Dude! And when I looked again, there were two surfboards on the roof rack. Too bad the nearest beach was 145 miles away...Big Sur Double IPA (8.7% ABV -- reviewed 15 July 2024)
George Bateman & Son, Wainfleet, Lincolnshire:
` Sparkly orange. That's all I can think of to say about this beer. The label describes it as "biscuity malt, orange fruit, and grassy hops." It says it goes well with salad and with cold meat. I imagine a tossed green salad with rocket, perhaps, although I don't like rocket in salad, so this is purely from an intellectual point of view. And since I don't eat meat, drinkers of the carnivorous nature can make their own decision. I would call this an easy drinking orange beer. And that's it...ring the massive downpour of rain I had just managed to avoid on my way home from work, the dryness was welcome.Summer Swallow (4.2% ABV -- reviewed 22 December 2013)
Beachwood Brewing Company, Long Beach, Californias:
` This is a nice IPA that we had while having lunch at Open Sesame in Belmont Shore, Long Beach, with my friends Alex and Rae. We were trying to catch up and converse next to a large noisy family group. The beer accompanied our mezze appetisers well.LBC IPA (7.1% ABV -- reviewed 25 July 2023)
Beatnikz Republic Brewing Company, Manchester:
This is a double IPA with ESB yeast, Ekuanot and Mosaic cryo hops, and it’s gold in colour but tastes much darker. Good god, it’s very intense. I feel that it’s bit too adventurous for my tender soul the early May night that I drank it, worried sick about my mother in California who was not well, after searching for green walks through the woods to calm my trembling soul. This beer needs fortitude to drink.Call to Adventure (8.2% ABV -- a collaboration with Abbeydale Brewing Company, Sheffield, South Yorkshire -- reviewed 6 June 2020)
This was a quickly-chilled can for a rare after-work-at-home pint instead of a pint sitting in a pub garden taking advantage of both the loosened Covid restrictions and the warmer days. Today is a warm and balmy day, nowt to do at work, and this hazy brew is feisty and zowie, with an aromatic character. It's like walking into an exotic garden with waterfalls and pungent tropical plants. It wakes me up.Ekuanot Silhouette (6.4% ABV -- reviewed 20 July 2021)
Brewed with Mosaic and Ekuanot hops as well as oats, this is again a very smooth beer. It has a hops taste but no zing or wop or zat or doo-dah. It’s more like a siesta than a fiesta, but hey, it’s pleasant enough. I mean, who doesn’t like to lounge in a hammock under a palm tree?Tropic Fiesta (4.0%% ABV -- reviewed 20 July 2021)
Beavertown Brewery, Tottenham Hale, Greater London:
` I believe this is the second blood orange IPA I’ve had, and I think I really like these. I was going to have this with our once-again-weekly Saturday Zoom quiz, but I popped the can open early to celebrate the announcement that the 46th President of the United States had just been officially declared to be Joe Biden, with my country’s first female and non-white Vice President. What a great feeling, although a certain party has definitely thrown a pall over the normal feeling of elation. Okay, no more about politics, as most of you know exactly what I’m talking about. This is about beer, and this is a very nice beer. And I can get it at my local Sainsburys, which makes it extremely convenient during this second lockdown. All good!Bloody 'Ell Blood Orange IPA (5.5% ABV -- reviewed 23 November 2020)
` I found this as a 4-pack of 330m cans, about the only microbrew left on the shelf at Sainsburys. The little cans have a very atomic colour scheme: orange, blue, and yellow. Super-hopped with Columbus, Bravo Mosaic, Amarillo, Citra, and Calypso, this beer is finally dry hopped as well. Yow! The aroma hit my nose before I had the chance to react. “Tropical mango and passion-fruit”, the can describes. The malts used are are extra pale, English premium, camaralt, and caragold. Andrew had one of these as well, and now we want more beer! The washing machine has died in the second week of the Covid-19 lockdown. We can’t wash our clothes, so we need something! (Yes, I know, I’m YELLING! I APOLOGISE!!)Gamma Ray American Pale Ale (5.4% ABV -- reviewed 4 May 2020)
Brewed with Columbus CO2 Extract, Citra, Mosaic, and Equanot hops as well as Extra Pale, Wheat, Flaked Oats, Acidulated Malt, Golden Naked Oats, and Torrefied Oats, this beer is one of a series of 10 Lupuloid brews from Beavertown. The flavour suggests a tropical coolness, like a surprising breeze through a rainforest, and the nice refreshing aspects of a hop-filled brew. And it’s strong enough to make one loopy if one drinks too many cans.Lupuloid IPA (6.7% ABV -- reviewed 4 May 2020)
Coming in a nice 440ml can, as opposed to Beavertown’s usual smaller 330ml cans, this is brewed with Simcoe, Mosaic, Loral, and Idaho 7 hops. The day was pleasant enough turning a bit drizzly, but this is a nice hazy sky of a brew -- a stronger sibling to Neck Oil, which I have been drinking at my local pub. Will this supermoon ease my cracking neck? Will it calm my intense energy just a bit? It’s a nice brew, hoppy yet not complicated.Supermoon Hazy (6.% ABV -- reviewed 30 April 2023)
Belching Beaver Brewing Company, Oceanside, California:
` When my pseudobrother Kim and I were walking around downtown Bakersfield, we were naturally drawn into a dive bar called Two Goats & The Goose. I was hoping to write a beer review; but the barmaid told us that the taps weren't working, but we could have cans of beer if we wanted. So we sat at the bar, and Kim inexplicably went for a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale while I had a can of this, which was surprisingly good. Named after a song by the Deftones, this is brewed with Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe, and Mosaic hops, so no wonder it's good. “A truly original Deftones/ Belching Beaver collaboration envisioned by Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and skillfully crafted by Thomas Peters”. It was even recommended by the barmaid, whom Kim was intimidated by after she gruffly said that we were only allowed four “Hellos”. (I think he envisioned the place as a potential nest of biker gangs and thugs, even though the barmaid was quite knowledgeable about her craft beer and the clientele looked like your everyday average pubgoers. But he doesn't get out much...)Deftone Phantom Bride IPA (7.1% ABV -- reviewed 15 July 2024)
Belhaven Brewery, Belhaven, Lothian, Scotland:
` This is another craft beer that comes in a can, which appears to be the trend with grapefruit brews. It's not overly grapefruity, but just zingy with a grapefruit top. It's exciting after a very dull day at work.Twisted Grapefruit IPA (5.3% ABV -- reviewed 4 September 2017)
One evening, after trekking home uphill in snowy weather, I had yet another beer in a can. This time it was an old friend. And it was a delightfully hoppy tonic after my snowy trek.Twisted Thistle IPA (5.6% ABV -- reviewed 22 April 2018)
Big Hugs Brewery, London:
Brewed with Citra and wheat, and quite cloudy, this can was given to me by my friend Mike who received it as a birthday gift. It’s...naah...I’m not impressed. Andrew thinks it tastes medicinal, and I just find it a huge disappointment. In fact, I actually poured it down the sink because I really felt I needed a proper IPA with a hops kick. Sorry, Big Hugs. I mean, I do like the fact that you call yourself a “hobo brewery”, and I would try a pint of your beer if I ever run into it. But this just isn’t for me.White IPA (5.2% ABV -- reviewed 27 August 2020)
Bini Brew Co, Ilkley, West Yorkshire:
A collaboration with Bini Brew Co of Ilkley, West Yorkshire, this is brewed with oats and wheat, dry hopped with Eclipse, and there's a very appealing graphic of a cabbit on the can. Aha! I can taste those furry rabbit ears! I'm not sure why they're calling this a session beer at 5.2%. Oh well, whatever. A cabbit is, of course, a hybrid of a cat and rabbit, and supposedly it only exists in Japanese anime and manga. So what would a cabbit eat? Carroturbot? Crabgrass? Mackerelettuce? Anyway, this is a nice hoppy, furry brew, and it's very hazy. I suppose I'm getting used to anything I pour out of a can being hazy. But I do think the cat half of the hybrid would have enjoyed some finings, whereas the rabbit half can more easily hide in the vegan haze. I drank this can on the first warm and sunny day for weeks, but I spent most of the day at work in a cold and windowless room, so I missed most of the pleasure. But there's more of the same predicted for tomorrow, so I'm in a good mood.Cabbit Session IPA (5.2% ABV -- brewed in collaboration with Tartarus Beers, Leeds, West Yorkshire -- reviewed 4 September 2023)
Birrasalento, Leverano, Province of Lecce, Italy:
This is a bottle I had while I was in Bari in Puglia, Italy. But I mean, with a name like that, this native Southern Californian simply had to try it. I enjoyed it at Martini Fish O'Clock with my sea bream panini, where I sat at a table outside on the pathway while scores of tourists paraded by, staring at my meal as they passed. The label on the bottle described this beer as an American IPA with a golden colour, with “a malty entrance and a sensory explosion of citrus and exotic fruit”, rounded with a strong bitterness and a medium body. It was a hoppy, velvety experience on the sleepy warm evening, after I’d spent the afternoon on a boat cruise up and down the coast. So I didn’t mind the tourist stares at all.Laguna Beach IPA (5.2% ABV -- reviewed 3 November 2024)
Black Iris Brewery, New Basford, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire:
Brewed with Mosaic and Simcoe hops, and contained within a simple white and black can, this is hoppy and refreshing. There’s not much more I can say.Endless Summer (4.5% ABV -- reviewed 26 April 2021)
The can of this southern-hemisphere beer features a nice Hokkaido-style wave visible in the white line graphic which stands out on the black can. The beer inside suggests some nice Kiwi hops. So it’s sort of like a holiday away from all of this.Nigaru Nui New Zealand IPA (6.0% ABV -- reviewed 26 April 2021)
Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire:
` "The culmination of five generations of brewing expertise," it says on the label. This is another nicely bitter bitter, just the way I like 'em. There's a nice branded-paper-style graphic of a black sheep on the label -- although it's more of a brown colour. But "Brown Sheep" doesn't have the same ring to it as "Black Sheep". Has anybody had an uncle, aunt, or cousin who was considered the brown sheep of the family? I don't think so...anyway, it's a nice brown beer with a satisfyingly black bitterness.Black Sheep Ale (3.8% ABV -- reviewed 18 July 2001)
` This is what it says on the bottle: "Riggwelter: from the Old Norse; rygg-back & velte -- to overturn. When a sheep is on its back and cannot get up without help, local dales dialect says it's rigged or riggwelted." Sheep or no sheep, this beer has a frumpy taste. There's a distinctly roasty hops flavor, but isn't it malt that's supposed to be roasty? The flavor takes the shape of a donut with a vacancy in the middle. It tastes like a roasty motel with nice panelling in the rooms but lousy water pressure. Not to mention it's way too carbonated.Riggwelter Strong Yorkshire Ale (5.7% ABV -- reviewed April 1999)
Bradfield Brewery, High Bradfield, South Yorkshire:
Brakspear Brewing, Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire:
` Another of my birthday bottles of beer, this is an organic brew with a nice copper colour and a coppery taste. It brought to mind some sort of incense-like fruit, and I finally settled on bitter tangerine. Oddly enough the bottle has some Finnish writing on it. I don't really know why...Oxford Gold (4.6% ABV -- reviewed 30 March 2013)
Brampton Brewery, Chesterfield, Derbyshire:
` A strong bottled version of Brampton's Golden Bud, this packs that wonderful Brampton OOMPH! taste that is a great experience after weeks of snow and a long day at work. It offers a chewy bitter and an amber-tinged nuttiness with a gorgeous background aura. This beer brings lively fire-warmed pub chat directly into the home.Golden Special Bud (5.8% ABV -- reviewed 24 January 2010)
Brass Castle Brewing Company, Malton, North Yorkshire:
` Described as a “robust” porter with a touch of vanilla, this was very drinkable, and even Andrew agreed with me, although both of us would only want to drink one pint and no more. So it wasn’t like this kitty was pissing on someone’s pillow or importing mangled sewer rats through the catflap, or even chewing up one’s important documents (because, after all, it would be the bad puppy who would do that, not the bad kitty). Perhaps the analogy is more of a robust black cat that hisses and scratches. But I feel confident that this kitty would have a really good reason to do so. I mean, I know cats, Reader! Anyway, as the weather had continued to be quite frigid, this was a good warmer, just like a cat purring away on my lap.Bad Kitty (5.5% ABV -- reviewed 6 February 2023)
Brewdog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland:
` Wulla wulla wulla...I'm all shook up! Elvis has left the can, in the form of a grapefruit infused IPA. It wasn't as good as the previous grapefruit-infused brews I've had (Magic Rock's High Wire and Ballast Point's Grapefruit Sculpin' IPA). Maybe it's the fact that Elvis also contains orange and peach along with the grapefruit, making it more like a fruit punch. Perhaps The King would have enjoyed it, especially with a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, but I prefer my grapefruit pure. I mean, if I could risk eating grapefruits without getting a stomach ache, I wouldn’t want to dilute the lovely flavour with slices of sweet peach. My taste buds are shakin' like a leaf on a peach tree...Elvis Juice (6.5% ABV -- reviewed 23 July 2017)
` This West Coast IPA features Ahtanum, Citra, and Simcoe hops, as well as Munich, Pale, and Wheat malts. With characters of mango, citrus, lychee, pint, and toasted malt promised on the can, this is pretty damn good. I sipped it at the end of yet another survived day, where nothing bad happened and there were no horrible depression dips -- in other words, just the usual, ordinary, toleration of this dystopian reality and devolution of the normally sociable human race. So this beer was quite a pleasant reward. I completely understand the connotation of the name.Futureproof (6.2% ABV -- brewed in collaboration with Modern Times Beer, San Diego, California -- reviewed 27 August 2020)
` My friend Mike thought I would like this New England IPA, and he's right: I do. The label says “Embrace the Opaque” on the label. The beer is super-pale in colour, and of course hazy, looking a bit like pear juice. But it’s definitely my favourite BrewDog beer at this point.Hazy Jane (5.0% ABV -- reviewed 6 June 2020)
` On the can is the brewery’s declaration, “United we stand for better beer, fiercely defiant and independent to the bitter end.” I have to say that this is a verrrrrrrrry bitter brew. In fact, it’s so bitter that what’s not bitter in it tastes sweet in comparison. And I know it’s not. This jarring hammer has torn up my pavements and awakened me from the threat of another pandemic-caused depressive episode. Thanks, Jack! I do love special select Jacks (including my favourite cat in my second home in California). It’s bitter, like the bitter world we’re living in right now. It makes my eyes squeeze closed, it’s so bitter. Yes!Jackhammer Ruthless IPA (7.2% ABV -- reviewed 26 April 2021)
` My god, what a powerful brew! I drank it really slowly, trying not to think about who it could possibly have been named for. The label gives the following description: "Say hello to the President elect of Double IPAS. An all-American gung-ho of a beer. The First Amendment in full on, full tilt flavour. This is a beer Super Power flexing its hoppy muscles. Immerse yourself in the star spangled banner of big fruit. A Cadillac of chewy toffee malt rolls down the interstate and accelerates hard into relentless bitterness, with sniper bursts of apricot, mango and pine. This is a Defcon I of IPAs. An all-out bedrock patriot, hell-bent on global domination. Vote with your senses. Vote Mr President." Hmm...it was an interesting experience, but think I'd prefer to stick with more Democratic brews...Mr President (9.2% ABV -- reviewed 4 September 2017)
` Oddly the 440ml can says nothing about what this beer is like. It did have a nice smell, though. But once I started to drink it I found it quite hoppy but with not that much to write about. Descriptions online have described it as tropical fruit with a heavy dose of lime, which is probably the most accurate. I did find out it’s brewed with oats and wheat, bringing it a distinctly Scottish character. It’s a bit too Scottish for my taste. But as I poured the last bit, there was still a very nice aroma emanating from it.O-G Hazy New England IPA (7.2% ABV -- reviewed 4 May 2020)
After two months I finally tried a couple of my birthday bottles of beer. This IPA was described on bottle as "Post Modern Classic Pale Ale", with no preservatives or additives. My first sip made me say, "Mmm! Yes! Of course! It's modern hops! Yes! I like! I like! Zowie! God Save the Queen! Anarchy In The UK! Police and Thieves in the Streets! My old band!" Andrew agreed. Nice zappy hops in a bottle.Punk IPA (5.6% ABV -- reviewed 30 March 2013)
Brew By Numbers, London:
` Brewed with Strata and modern American Talus hops, this hazy beer’s flavours are described as “stone fruit, tangerine, and lemon rind with dankness, with oats balancing the profile.” And once again, it’s another fine brew, with that typical wow-inspired American hop character. And what quality hops these are as well, with that almost icy/cryo character. This turned out to be a great lift for another fuck-it-s-another-day-in-Dysphoria Sunday.BB No. 5 India Pale Ale (6.2% ABV -- reviewed 26 April 2021)
Brew Foundation:
` An American ale brewed with Comet, Idaho 7, and Azzaca hops, this is yet another vegan and gluten free beer. The description on the bottle suggests tropical, mango, and citrus, but I'm getting more than just fruit. This delivers satisfying hops yomp! in a dark golden ale with an interesting tropical resin flavour. In fact, I can smell resin, or more properly, rosin. Where’s my violin bow? I’m hearing Stephane Grapelli under the palm trees, and I can see the magnolia sunset. What a pleasant multisensual beer!C.I.A. (6.0% ABV -- reviewed 23 November 2020)
` For a change from the cans I bought a bottle of beer. Brewed with Jester, Galena, and Amarillo hops, those lovely hops are dancing in a fruity ambience with plenty of citrus bite. This is a very nice beer -- laughing along with me, as my last day of work until next year has finished and I’ve got fresh clean sheets on the bed. Life is (relatively) good right now, considering Covid-19 and Brexit and everything else. So I shall enjoy these few moments while they last, with a good book and a nice brew. Tomorrow we shall return to a Covid Xmas, and all the mosquito hordes that buzz...Laughing Water Hoppy Pale (4.3% ABV -- reviewed 26 April 2021)
` This double dry-hopped beer, in a maddeningly appealing pale orange can with thin red details, is brewed with Pekko and Citra hops, extra pale and wheat malts, and Labrew New England yeast, which is described as lending a dank and fruity character. The tasting notes on the can are simply “hazy, pineapple, mango”. I was surprised at my first sip: there is a lot going on for such a low-ABV beer. It’s full of tropical dankness in a very pale hoppy brew, and I really like it, even though the name makes me think regrettably of my friends who have become Pokemon-Go zombies, distracted from human interaction by the cute little animated creatures hiding all around them in their virtual realities. But the name also reminds me of the peekaboo-blue sky we experienced for a couple of hours this afternoon, so refreshingly exciting after weeks of the same grey monotony. Regardless, this is another beer that I definitely want to experience again.Pekkochu DDH Pale (3.9% ABV -- reviewed 26 April 2021)
` Day 2 of the 2020 Covid-19 Lockdon featured a bottle of this brew which features Nelson Sauvin hops and the bottle promises gooseberry and grapefruit. Wow! This is just a good classic hoppy bitter brew. There’s just enough malt to make it really well balanced for a golden ale. It was a just reward after my afternoon two-mile walk through the Apocalypse of Man and the Rebirth of Nature.Wheat Your Heart Out White IPA (6.0% ABV -- reviewed 29 March 2020)
Brew York, York, North Yorkshire:
` This is another craft beer that comes in a can, which appears to be the trend with grapefruit brews. It's not overly grapefruity, but just zingy with a grapefruit top. It's exciting after a very dull day at work.American Pale Ale (5.0% ABV -- reviewed 22 April 2018)
` This is a black IPA brewed with Cascade, Centennial, Columbia, and Chinook hops. And it’s very, very black indeed. I drank this during a snowy Sunday Zoom session with our friend Mike. It was surprisingly rich for the usual black IPAs I’ve had. But as it kept on snowing and snowing, I suppose the black was a good contrast to all that white. And that intense black made me think of the scientists at MIT who, in September 2019, discovered the "blackest black" material ever discovered, made using carbon nanotubes. It was the same material that was used to make Vantablack, once considered the world's darkest material and able to absorb 99.965% of visible light. Now, that’s pretty darn black, if you ask me.Black Eagle (5.8% ABV -- reviewed 26 April 2021)
` This is a Juicy Bonus Fruited IPA with Cascade, Citra, CTZ, and Mosaic hops. But don't stop there! It also has pineapple, passion fruit, and mango added to the blend. How…weird it is. It's rather sweet, and it tastes like, um...fruit punch with a good dose of hops added. What a strange beer. I feel as if I'm having a beer cocktail.Bruce Forsythe (5.0% ABV -- reviewed 25 July 2023)
` This is another super hoppy bitter combination. It’s called, simply, a “classic American pale”. The hops include T90 pellets of CT2, as well as both T-90 and Cryo versions of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe, and the malts are Extra Pale and Vienna. The name of this beer refers to the hopes that we soon graduate from the Covid-19 tiers. Wah-hah! There’s that cryo character I’ve fallen in love with in these strange otherworldly times.Holding Back The Tiers (5.2% ABV -- reviewed 26 April 2021)
` Two nights later, on a rainy Saturday evening, I had this other intriguing can I’d bought at the same time. This is an American Pale Ale with lupulin which is the golden part of the hop that gives beer its bitterness, aroma, and flavour. On the can this beer is described as “the hippest cat in the pride, a juicy golden pale ale heavily hopped for roaring citrus notes with a totally paw-some resinous pine finish." The hops used are CTZ (T90 and Cryol), Cascade (T90 and Cryol), and Mosaic (T90 and Cryol, Citra Cryol). Wow, this is another fine beer! It’s like walking through a pine forest while chewing on a lime peel. It clears my sinuses, It zooms my endorphin level right up. It’s like a jacuzzi of a beer experience.Lupu Lion (5.0% ABV -- reviewed 14 December 2021)
` This beer is the second collaboration with Thornbridge. The first collaboration led to the great Friday night that named this beer. A West Coast IPA with Centennial, Chinook, Simcoe, Columbus, and Equanot hops, this is apparently recommended with cedar planked salmon, which I’ll go for any day. The flavour is grapefruit and stone fruit, and it's perfect for another “killer hot” day (nah, it’s just like a typical Southern California summer day.) Yes, it's a very nice, drinkable hoppy brew, although I don’t think I’d drink it out at a barbecue or picnic in this heat with that ABV.Some Friday That (7.0% ABV -- brewed in collaboration with Thornbridge Brewing Company, Bakewell, Derbyshire -- reviewed 20 August 2022)
` This IPA is a collaboration with street food partner Yuzu in celebration of the opening of Brew York's first bar in Leeds, which serves Japanese food. The list of ingredients is interesting: Citra (T90 and Cryo), Sabro (T90), and Loral (T90) hops; Extra Pale, Malted Oats, Malted Wheat, and Flaked Oats malts, as well as Honey Malt and Acid Malt; and it also contains yuzu, which is a hybrid of a mandarin orange and an ichang papeda -- or, to put it another way, basically a hybrid lime, lemon, and grapefruit. The can is decorated with Japanese food graphics interspersed with chopsticks. The beer inside is a gentle IPA with a wonderfully unique citrus character. And yeah, I can see this going great with sushi. The Things Yuzu To Me (5.6% ABV -- reviewed 20 July 2021)
This is an IPA with Chinook, Idaho 7, and Mosaic hops that was brewed in collaboration with Buxton Brewery in Derbyshire. The exact hops used are Chinook (T90 and Cryo), Ekuanot (T90), Idaho 7 (T90 and Cryo), and Mosaic (T90 and Cryo). And oh my, you can immediately taste and smell the Cryo. As I popped open the can, it blasted into my nose like an icy ozone gust. Yum, I love Cryo hops! The can itself features a couple of sheep, which is always good as far as I'm concerned.Through The Aire Gap (6.2% ABV -- reviewed 3 October 2022)
Whoa! When I popped open this can, a massively pure head gushed out. Was it shaken? Or stirred? The can seemed extremely chilled, more so than most beers I’ve enjoyed in my home. Perhaps it was because the can is aluminium silver with Nordic-style abstract graphics, and it’s probably freezing a lot in Norway. But coconut isn’t really very Nordic. Ah well, the taste is what’s important. And it’s very interesting. Surprisingly the coconut goes very well with the hoppiness, probably because it’s not a sweet coconut, more like what one gets from coconut juice as opposed to coconut milk. The uniquely coconut afterflash across my tongue makes me smile.Valkri Kveik Coconut NEIPA (4.9% ABV -- brewed in collaboration with Brewboard of Harston, Cambridgeshire -- reviewed 20 July 2021)
Brewboard, Harston, Cambridgeshire:
` Whoa! When I popped open this can, a massively pure head gushed out. Was it shaken? Or stirred? The can seemed extremely chilled, more so than most beers I’ve enjoyed in my home. Perhaps it was because the can is aluminium silver with Nordic-style abstract graphics, and it’s probably freezing a lot in Norway. But coconut isn’t really very Nordic. Ah well, the taste is what’s important. And it’s very interesting. Surprisingly the coconut goes very well with the hoppiness, probably because it’s not a sweet coconut, more like what one gets from coconut juice as opposed to coconut milk. The uniquely coconut afterflash across my tongue makes me smile.Valkri Kveik Coconut NEIPA (4.9% ABV -- brewed in collaboration with Brew York of York -- reviewed 20 July 2021)
Brewery of St Mars of the Desert, Sheffield, South Yorkshire:
` Now, this tastes just like an American superhoppy IPA! Billed as a New England IPA with Galaxy hops, it’s definitely American, from that first aroma that blasts into your nostrils through that first hoppy sip. This isn’t surprising, seeing as how 50% of the brewery ownership is American, and the other 50% is married to the first and has both resided and brewed beer in New England. I love Galaxy hops anyway, and this is a wonderful American and intensely Galactical experience. Thank you, guys, for cheering me up on this depressing few days of maximum stress. This beer makes me happy, especially because as an American I’m not allowed to travel to the US this year. Unless I’m willing to wear a sweat-and-miasma-producing mask continually for at least 14 hours, of course, and then quarantine myself for 2 weeks over there and then for another 2 weeks over here, while holding down my job. No, I’m sorry, no way, I will simply have to wait, however long it’s going to take. In the meantime I will have to settle for seeking out distinctly American beers like this one. So once again, Thank ya Jayzus! Or I should say Thank Ya, Saint Mars! I have been to the Desert and I have seen the Oasis! (No, not the band...)Floribunda (6.0% ABV -- reviewed 22 April 2018)
` This beer is brewed with Mosaic and Waimea hops and features a nice simple line drawing, black ink on white, on the can. The sipping of this beer turned out to be a multitasking accompaniment, as I had failed to reach my Unkletom in Sacramento on Messenger, which he had just installed and learned how to use, and I was waiting to connect to a Zoom meeting with my unofficial brother in Long Beach, while I was reading Saul Bellow’s novel Humboldt’s Gold as I waited for all of the connections. When I finally started concentrating on the Clamp, I found it a bit hazily fuzzy on the tongue and not quite grabbing me as much as I was hoping something named after a biting implement would imply.Clamp New England IPA (5.4% ABV -- reviewed 23 November 2020)
Brixton Brewery, Brixton, Greater London:
` Brewed with New World hops, this is a fairly mild IPA, so it’s not exactly a hopmonster. But it’s quite drinkable and somewhat fruity. On the can it says “Laid back”, and yes, it’s definitely laid back. There is no danger of this beer causing a panic attack.Low Voltage IPA (4.3% ABV -- reviewed 26 April 2021)
Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, New York:
` I decided to grab a can off the supermarket shelf because I was attracted to the can, with its Yankees baseball-style “B” prominent. It looks like a brewery that’s been around awhile, but don’t let that make you start yawning, because this is pretty damn good. It’s just a really good, satisfying, hoppy pale ale that’s quite yummy, especially as I chilled it in the fridge because of the warm end-of-May day. Now I just have to remember where I saw this. (Sainsbury’s? Co-op? Asda? Tesco?)Defender IPA (5.5% ABV -- reviewed 6 June 2020)
` This was a nice follower to the black IPA I started the evening’s Zoom session with. There is a good distinctive hops in this beer which is quite pleasing, as well as some orange peel. It’s light with a touch of orange, as the name suggests. The brewery’s website recommends it with Mexican food and grilled shrimp, which sounds like a great idea. When do we eat?Naranjito (4.5% ABV -- reviewed 26 April 2021)
Burning Sky Brewery, Firle, East Sussex:
` This is a classic style IPA from the South Downs, although the hops used are Simcoe, Columbus, and Amarillo, which aren’t exactly classic Kent hops. Burnt orange in colour, this is a memory trigger of a beer. And I’m not talking about my beer explorations back when I lived in Kent; this particular hops character I recall from the first great Pacific Northwest hoppy IPAs I tasted, with that original Oomph! character. And this was before the distinctly different Oomph! I’ve experienced from the newer hops like Galaxy, El Dorado, and Vic Secret. Yum, I say, simply yum! This IPA has the original wonderful hoppy character that I’d forgotten all about. It’s good to take the occasional stroll down Original Oomph! Memory Lane. Devil's Rest IPA (7.0% ABV -- reviewed 20 July 2021)
Burnt Mill Brewing Company, Ipswich, Suffolk:
This West Coast IPA is a collaboration with Abbeydale Brewing of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. A riffle is a reach of stream where shallow fast-moving water is broken by rocks and boulders. Riffles are common in both Derbyshire and Suffolk, so that inspired the name. With my first sip I got a definite Wow! Strong! Bitter! I was swung into a boulder in a torrential rainstorm, which I actually had experienced earlier when I got off the bus to walk the rest of the way to work, and I ended up completely drenched. In fact my clothes were still wet while I was enjoying this beer. Apparently the city of Sheffield has decided that a walking-cycling City Centre is great for everyone, even people who can’t walk, and it completely disregards the typical Sheffield weather. So of course the bus routes make no sense at all for people actually needed to get from Point A to Point B. Oh well, it matches the UK politics of the era...Riffle (4.3% ABV -- reviewed 15 November 2022)
Buxton Brewery, Buxton, Derbyshire:
Brewed with Citra from the US and Olicana from the UK, this imparted a gorgeous perfume when I opened the can. What a fascinatingly hoppy IPA, with yet another new hops for me. It tasted flowery. Olicna is described as having the flavours and aromas of grapefruit, mango, and passion fruit, but I’d love to wear it as perfume, or burn it as incense. It’s a wonderful smell and taste on the wet, soaking day.50Fifty IPA (5.5% ABV -- reviewed 20 December 2022)
This is an IPA with Chinook, Idaho 7, and Mosaic hops that was brewed in collaboration with Brew York in North Yorkshire. The exact hops used are Chinook (T90 and Cryo), Ekuanot (T90), Idaho 7 (T90 and Cryo), and Mosaic (T90 and Cryo). And oh my, you can immediately taste and smell the Cryo. As I popped open the can, it blasted into my nose like an icy ozone gust. Yum, I love Cryo hops! The can itself features a couple of sheep, which is always good as far as I'm concerned.Through The Aire Gap (6.2% ABV -- reviewed 3 October 2022)
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