Unibroue, Chambly, Province de Quebec, Canada:
` This strong Tripel style blonde was brewed with top fermentation and has only 19 IBUs. It's a tribute to the province of Quebec, the land that when 16th Century French explorers arrived, they thought they'd reached the end of the world. It's a fun Triple of a taste, seeing as how I bought one bottle that two of us could split on my last evening in Bakersfield for this visit.La Fin du Monde (9.0% ABV -- reviewed 15 July 2024)
Unbranded Brewing Company, Hialeah, Florida:
` On one of my last nights in Bakersfield in June, my unofficial brother Kim and I shared this can after a few pints at a local tap, and I'd forgotten to mention it. It had a hoppy punch amid a fluffy haziness, which was probably pretty much where I was at that point. The hops are Mosaic, El Dorado, and Galaxy, and the beer was named after a circus performer because of the triple hops and the high ABV. Yep, it pretty much knocked me out.Strong Man TIPA (8.1% ABV -- reviewed 4 September 2023)
Verdant Brewing Company, Penryn Cornwall:
` Brewed with Citra and Galaxy hops, barley, wheat, and oats, this is an mmm, yes, def! brew. It's hazy but with a good, solid, dry hoppy taste. I drank it in celebration of a little rare sunshine kind of day while my dear friend's heart was being property prepared.Even Sharks Need Water IPA (6.5% ABV -- reviewed 4 September 2023)
The can of this beer says “The Experiment requires a conclusion. Hot side: Citra, Galaxy, and Nectaron. Cold side: Nctaron, Citra, and Galaxy”. I had no idea what that meant, but this was quite nice and interesting, with several character profiles banging into each other in their own unique and fruity ways. So I got mostly pineapple and lime, which is a fine combo. I drank this after work on a cool October day, with post-rain all through the city, weaving itself through the miles of torn-up pavements. This beer is a collaboration with Pressure Drop of London, but sadly that microbrewery had to close recently.Pressure Drop(6.0% ABV -- reviewed 19 November 2023)
This superb IPA is brewed with New Zealand hops: specifically Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Nectaron, and a new one to me, Superdelic. And it’s super delicious, with a wowie-zowie! aroma bursting from the can as I opened it. My first sip had sort of a Gadzooks! kind of taste. And in case you’re as confused about these tasting terms as I am, I’ve never, ever used the word “gadzooks" before, so that’s how unique this beer is. Oohwow! I mean, this is a new experience! Jeez Louise! Hot Damn! Are these all New Zealand sayings, I wonder? Or have I been possessed by some superdelic hops demon and driven to speak in some sort of strange retro comic-book tongue? Ka-pow! Zapp! Kaboom!Tiny Science(6.5% ABV -- reviewed 21 September 2024)
Vocation Brewing Company, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire:
` When I recently had a couple of pints with a friend at Vocation Brewery in Sheffield, before we left I couldn't help buying a can of this special edition salted lime sour. Another in a series of Vocation's Death By series, which has also featured Cherries and Pineapple, this is brewed with lemon, agave, and sea salt, and the can says "Muerte por Limón! Sal! Agave!" It's quite amazing!: intensely sour with a delicious smokiness from the agave. But I have to admit that the salt intensifies the sourness. It was a lot of fun for the first half of the can, but then it became tiresome, as I could have done with less salt. But I'm not a big salt fan -- in fact 'm one of those "no salt" margarita people. Still, it's a great beer for the suddenly cool July days which are apparently on a short warming trend, and after experiencing the bus on the way home from work being taken over by a hostile tribe. It was an unusual beer for an unusual day.Death By Margarita (4.5% ABV -- reviewed 25 July 2023)
` Recently I attended my friend Lulu’s birthday picnic on Bole Hill on the first (and probably last) hot sunny day of the year. After searching for a good half hour in mile-high growth for the location of the picnic, I was disappointed to find the first bottle of beer I’d brought along had gone bad and completely fizzed out of the bottle. Fortunately I’d thought to bring a second bottle of Divide & Conquer. It probably wasn’t the most ideal day for a black IPA, but this was really tasty with good zimbly hops. As everybody else drank their tinnies of pale Stella, I drank my darkness in its black bottle so I wouldn’t see just how dark it was.Divide & Conquer (6.5% ABV -- reviewed 25 June 2016)
` This can was described as tropical orange and coconut, and brewed with Sabro and Amarillo hops. Apparently Sabro hops originated from wild hops in the mountains of New Mexico, and it was created by the Hop Breeding Company as an experimental hops called HBC 438. Hence this beer was named after the Land of Enchantment. I do love these two hops on their own, and this was the first time I had them in partnership. I may have to get some more of this.Enchantment IPA (5.5% ABV -- reviewed 3 November 2024)
` Brewed with Cara and Extra Pale malts and Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, and Citra hops, this beer comes in a tie-dye can with a surfer theme. Consumed during the first week of the Covid-19 Lockdown, this brew offers good waxin’-the-board zingy hops which brightened up the suddenly cold, dark and hail-speckled day.Dewwwwd!Hang Loose Epic West Coast IPA (7.7% ABV -- brewed in collaboration with Magic Rock Brewing, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire -- reviewed 4 May 2020)
` This is a session IPA that comes in a 330ml can. As I poured it I was struck by the amazing aroma that hit my nose. For awhile I just wanted to smell it rather than taste it, but I finally did taste it. It's packed full of West Coast hops, with that Pacific Coast OOMPH!. Andrew thought there was some sort of vegetable imparted, such as possibly pumpkin or squash, but I thought more guava, which like grapefruit I think is a very agreeable flavour in pale hoppy beers. I can picture taking a few cans of this to an afternoon barbecue, if it ever becomes barbecue weather again, that is. On the day I drank this it was very cloudy and cool with rain forecast for the entire week. Ah well, I can pretend...Heart & Soul (4.4% ABV -- reviewed 23 July 2017)
` This is brewed with Citra BBC and Simcoe hops, and I’m wondering what the BBC stands for. Not the British Broadcasting System, and surely not the local football hooligans who call themselves the Blades Business Club. Ah, it stands for the Boston Beer Company, who developed a better kind of hop pellet for brewing hoppier beers. But back to the Hop, Skip, and Juicy: it’s a great beer that suits this warm summery April day, with people blasting music through huge speakers and conversing with their neighbours, all the people lucky enough to have front porches so they can social distance. And I’m trying to get Vitamin D sunshine exercise therapy for my broken heart. The can is very pretty, the colours of tropical fruit, a la Carmen Miranda’s headdress. Chica-chica-boom!Hop, Skip, and Juicy Pale Ale (5.7% ABV -- brewed in collaboration with Marble Brewery, Manchester -- reviewed 6 June 2020)
` This beer is nice and bright and hoppy, good for a video call from a friend followed immediately by a video call from my California mom’s house. Vocation definitely make nice, satisfying little cans of beer.Pride & Joy (5.3% ABV -- reviewed 4 May 2020)
` This was a Special Edition brew, with Amarillo and Citra hops. Its hazy, fruity hoppiness was perfect for the sunny, pollen-filled day after work, my second-to-last day of work before my nice long California holiday. It was pleasant, cool,and refreshing, like a little splash in the pool. Of course, if I were in a pool, I would be vigorously swimming laps, as I’m a swimmer and not a splasher.Roll With It DDH Pale Ale (5.2% ABV -- reviewed 15 November 2022)
` This is brewed with a lovely combination of Citra, Sabro, and Galaxy hops. I bought this can the last time I was at Vocation in Division street, but I hadn’t realised how strong it was until I got home. And it did taste quite strong, so I got a very, very tropica, fruity flavour. At that strength it could have used a bit of a resiny smell (meaning pine resin, in case you jump to any conclusion). The can is a bright orchid colour, just like a t-shirt I have, and I was tempted to go change into the t-shirt so that I’d match the can. I sipped this at home on a very cold but happily sunny and dry day, with the city outside overflowing with hordes of students. So I guess things are pretty much back to pre-lockdown normal.Smash & Grab (8.0% ABV -- reviewed 15 October 2023)
` As I’m trying this beer in mid-December, before yet another lockdown, my hair is newly brightly-coloured, so I’m feeling relatively good. Christmas is looking extremely bleak and lonely, so why not break away and take a long, strong journey through hopfields of the world? This beer is brewed with Galaxy (for jetting around planets), Mosaic (bringing to mind the tile floors of Morocco), and Citra (ending with a tour through Southern California orchards). The idea of this appeals to me, as the only desire I have at the moment is to travel somewhere far away from where I am now. And my first sip brings a wh-wh-wh-WHOW! Yep, I can hear the crackle of the cocked barrel, the instant reloading, the Wham! Wham! Wham into my palate. This will bring out the neon turquoise, jade green, and purple in my hair, yessireebob!Sure Shot 15 Mile Round Trip Double IPA (8.0% ABV -- brewed in collaboration with Sure Shot Brewing Company, Manchester -- reviewed 26 April 2021)
` Hopped with HBC 630 hops this comes in a pretty can decorated with tropical colours, in sort of a red-less Carmen Miranda headdress of a design. It’s been a few years, but let me do my Gilly Goolden impression: Ooh, I’m getting guava and banana and papaya in the first sniff! It’s not super hoppy, but it’s really nice, actually. I’d like to get a little paper umbrella that I could balance on the side of my glass, along with perhaps a little plastic monkey hanging by its curly tail. It makes me want to be in Hawaii, sitting out enjoying the sun, instead of snuggling up here in Yorkshire with the heat blasting from the radiator.Tri-Hops-Ical DDH Pale Ale (5.7% ABV -- -- reviewed 20 July 2021)
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