Sadler's Hoptical Illusion Dry Hop Lager (Aldi) By @SpectreUK

Even after the end of October and Halloween has been and gone, I always think November is a spooky time of year. This 4.5% volume Hoptical Illusion Dry Hop Lager from Sadler's Brewery, in the Midlands, has a spooky skull on the front of the bottle with hops for eyes. It's supposed to look like a regular lager, but have a strong hoppy aroma of zesty Mediterranean Lemons, as well as subtle sweet malts. So if it's supposed to look like a regular lager, I'm hoping it doesn't bloat me like some regular mass produced off the shelf lagers can do!

On opening this Hoptical Illusion there was a very understated fizz. I know I wasn't expecting a champagne pop, but I usually get more than that when opening a bottle of beer or carbonated cider. I worried slightly and checked the date on the label, no that was fine, so I had a sniff. If Mediterranean Lemons smell so understated I'll stick to some other ones! Not that I sniff lemons often, but usually they are pretty sour without getting too close.

On pouring this Hoptical Illusion the fizz did liven up a little and this golden beer does look like a regular lager. On taste I'd say that the smell transcends perfectly, I'd argue against a mega citrus blast of lemons though, as the herbal hops fought against and mostly overwhelmed any flavour of citrus hops. Having said that, there is certainly nothing wrong with the flavour. The herbal hops have a good bitterness to start with, which almost instantly complements the sweet malts, whilst the citrus hops reared their lemon flavour towards and into the aftertaste for a slightly complex journey through my tastebuds. It also didn't blow me up with wind, so I'd certainly have this Hoptical Illusion Dry Hop Lager again, but be a little more wary of what the label says.