Brewed in Turkey, this 5% in volume Efes Draft should wash my sausage, egg, beans and chips down a treat tonight. On taste, this deep golden beer was not too fizzy, and had a strong malt flavour with a decent spiciness from the hops. Very nice indeed. I fancy another.
I think they call it a Fakeaway. I cook curry and chips, but leave enough room for a starter, such as a Sheik Kebab or Onion bhaji, and also have popadoms, and dipping sauces. It’s cheaper than a takeaway. I get more variety of food to enjoy, and a beer on the side.
This Yuzu Pale Ale is produced by Drop Bear Beer Company. It has Yuzu flavouring added in the brewing for extra tartness. There was certainly a strong citrus aroma on opening the can. This super fizzy pale ale frothed out the top of the can on opening.
Even for an old barman, this Yuzu Pale Ale was difficult to pour. On taste, this deep golden beer had an initial tart citrus flavour, followed by sweet biscuit malts into the aftertaste. Very nice indeed, and it washed my curry down a treat.
At 4.8% in volume, Hawkstone Lager has a quiet unassuming bottle. I would have thought it would have Jeremy Clarkson’s face on the label waving next to a fast car or perhaps tractor. No, just a smart black label with a gold font. If Cinabar hadn’t told me whose beer it was, I wouldn’t have known. And besides, as soon as it’s in my beer fridge, it’s my beer.
Anyway, on opening, Hawkstone Lager had a cheerful fizz. On pouring, it’s a light golden coloured lager with a good frothy head. I have to say I did like the sweet malted barley aroma. It also had a herbal hop hopping up to try and grab my attention.
On taste Hawkstone Lager had a crisp bitter herbal and light citrus hop to start with, that was smoothed out by its sweet malted barley into the aftertaste. It went perfectly well with my fishy picky-bits dinner. It was very nice indeed. Cheers, Jeremy.
It’s been so hot and damp over the last few days even the tiled floors have been sweating. We have had to buy a dehumidifier that we keep wheeling from one room to another. Every time I walk passed it, it goes into overdrive. Cinabar tells me I’m moist. That doesn’t seem like a compliment. I have certainly shed my quota of sweat over the passed few days, I can tell you.
The freezer truck that brought our groceries had broken down yesterday, so they had to bin all our cold stuff before it arrived. So, this afternoon we braved the local supermarket. The heat is obviously getting to people. Heat and bad tempers are like kindling ready to go up in flames. We’ve all got something on, good or bad. It’s how we act and how we don’t take it out on others that matters.
So, after some stressful parking, we managed to pick up some meat for a barbecue. The expression on the bear’s face on the front of this can of Tropical IPA, by Drop Bear Beer, reminded me how I felt in the carpark. An angry women driver got frustrated and beeped at me because I had to turn around and then wait due to a badly parked car that had blocked one side of the car park, and me trying to let another car pull out of a car park space. Forget cabin fever, she made me wish I’d stayed inside.
On pouring the can there was a herbal and tropical hop aroma from the almost bronze India Pale Ale. On taste this 0.5% in volume Tropical IPA had crisp citrus and notes of peach to begin with, followed by sweet pale malts to finish. It was very nice indeed and cheered me up a little whilst I set the barbeque. I hope you all have a cooler and more cheerful weekend. Cheers.
I could smell light crisp herbal hops and Pilsner malt on opening the can. Not too fizzy, this 0.5% in volume Bero Kingston Golden Pils lager had a sweet Pilsner malt taste to begin with, followed by a crisp herbal hop bitterness, and sweet malts into the aftertaste. Very nice indeed, and It went perfectly with my spicy chicken and chips.
I like a beer with my tasty pizza meal. So, I thought I’d try this Outland West Coast IPA from Hall & Woodhouse, in Dorset. This 5% in volume India Pale Ale has Amarillo, Cascade and Mosaic hops for a citrus bitterness with all those Pale malts.
There was a citrus hop aroma on opening the can, followed by sweet malted barley. This deep bronze, almost brown IPA had a flavoursome sweet biscuit Pale malty goodness throughout its taste, with an initial citrus bite, followed by warming spice and hints of pine, and a little earthiness into the aftertaste. Yum. Perfect with my pizza dinner.
Lime and salt are used to balance Tequila’s bite, enhance its flavour, and replenish electrolytes. Low in sugar, this Lucky Saint Lime & Sea Salt Lager has added sodium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C. All good for our daily diet. The electrolytes are especially good for me, as I can suffer from dehydration if I don’t drink enough water.
On opening the can there was a lime aroma from the lager inside. On pouring this Lucky Saint Lime & Sea Salt Lager, there was a slight haze to this cheerfully bubbly straw gold beer.
On taste there was a sharp lime bite followed by a saltiness that did make me a little thirsty. This is a drink that makes you go back to quench your thirst. It made me think of the salted peanuts that used to be complimentary on many bars. They stopped doing that when they realised how many people don’t wash their hands when they go to the loo. That keep coming back for more beer, but not necessarily for the right reasons.
I like the comforts of home, wrapping up warm with the heating on, whilst listening to the patter of rain on the window. Right now I’m sitting in front of a huge fan, with an air con unit gurgling away fairly close by. I’m hoping a low alcohol stout will wash my lamb, veggies and roasties down a treat tonight.
This Bonfire Stout was brewed by the fierce looking Drop Bear Beer Company. Being a carbon neutral company, they have planted thousands of sustainable trees all over the world, and are a Certified B Corporation. That means Drop Bear Beer Co. balance purpose with profit, considering their workforce, suppliers, customers, community and environment in every decision they make. So, I hope their beer is good.
Bonfire Stout is 55 calories per 330ml can, and is 0.5% in volume. There is so much malt listed in this stout’s ingredients that it’s difficult to list it all. There is Pale Ale malt, wheat malt, dextrin malt, cara malt, dark crystal malt, chocolate malt, roasted barley, and smoked malt, with Chinook hops added in the brewing.
On opening the can there was a smoked, chocolate and sweet caramel malt aroma from the almost jet black liquid inside. To begin with, this Bonfire Stout had a mix of pale malt with sweetness from the cara and chocolate malts, a touch of roasted coffee, a little bitterness from the hops, and then a whole heap of smokiness into the aftertaste. I could not tell that this stout was low in alcohol, but I could definitely tell why they called it Bonfire Stout.
This Raspberry Shandy made for Marks & Spencer by Shandy Shack, sounds just the thing to go with all that cheese and pickles. At 2.8% in volume it won’t blow my head off, as I have a comic con tomorrow, unless, of course, I run out of shandy and move onto my favourite ruby port.
On opening the 330ml can there was a a light crisp herbal hop aroma just underneath all that raspberry. On pouring there was the slightest pink colour to this golden lager beer. Sort of like a raspberry blonde, I suppose.
On taste this not too bubbly lager had a sweetness from the lemonade, and a mild fruitiness from the added raspberries. Subtle in raspberry fruit, and yet very refreshing after a long day of chores. Yum.
I have steak and curly fries tonight for a treat. The first use of a new grill pan after burning some particularly fat burgers murdered the old tired griddle. I do like a good stout with my steak dinner, and so I have decided to blog about this warming sounding Gingerbread Latte Imperial Stout.
Brewed by Vault City, this 11% in volume Imperial Stout has lactose, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla and coffee added in the brewing with a mix of malted barley, hops, oats and yeast. That’s quite an ingredients list, but what does it taste like?
On opening the 330ml can there were hints of chocolate malt, coffee, vanilla and spiciness. On taste, there was sumptuous chocolate malt to begin with, then a hint of coffee, with milky creaminess from the lactose and sweet vanilla, and oodles of warming ginger and cinnamon into the aftertaste with all that luscious chocolate and cream. Yum. Perfect with my steak and curly fries, and I left a little for my chocolate tea cake dessert.
So, I fancy I light beer with my fish fingers and chips tonight. I wrote about the Original Small Beer some time ago and rather enjoyed it. This time I have Small Beer IPA to try. I do like a good India Pale Ale.
London based Small Beer Brewery used home grown hops, and Malted Barley with oats and yeast to create this Small Beer IPA. At 2.3% in volume their IPA is naturally low in alcohol and calories (at 83 calories per can), which means it won’t put me to sleep after a big day and a big dinner, and I probably have a little more chocolate for dessert.
On opening the can there was a fresh crisp herbal hop aroma with pale malts from the deep golden beer inside. On taste those crisp hops gave a refreshing bite, with a hearty body of oats behind it, and sweet pale malted barley into the aftertaste. Very nice indeed.
This NU Skool is an East Coast India Pale Ale packed full of malted barley, oats and wheat, with Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy hops. So, this 5% in volume IPA should be a citrusy juicy fruity treat to wash my takeaway dinner down with.
Brewed in Scotland by Williams Bros. this NU Skool beer definitely packs a citrus punch in its aroma. On taste this slightly hazy golden IPA had a crisp citrus tropical fruitiness, with a fulsome body of oats, and sweetness from the malted barley and wheat into the aftertaste. This NU Skool India Pale Ale went perfectly with my old school fish and chips and 80s movie.
This Arbor Transpacific IPA is a 6% in volume mix of American hops and Antipodean hops, from Australia and New Zealand. On opening the can there was a floral aroma of hops with pale malts behind it. This is a very hazy almost milky golden IPA.
On taste, Arbor Transpacific IPA had a bitter bite of floral and herbal hops, with a little citrus and tropical hops following, and then sweet pale malts into the aftertaste. What a joyous jumble of hops, no fighting here, just lots of flavour backed up refreshing malted barley. Yum.
Tomorrow I seem to have the impossible task of making my money back on the expense of the cabin for two days. After the first day I am almost half the way there. So, I decided to try this 0.5% in volume Impossibrew tonight.
Impossibrew is made from the usual malted barley, wheat and hops, and a blend of weird scientific sounding ingredients shown in the photography below called, Social Blend. What mainly interests me, is that this pale ale is also made with rye. So, I'm looking forward to some spiciness from the rye, and hoping the weirder ingredients don't get in the way of that.
On opening the can I could smell malted barley, a touch of spiciness from the rye, and something a little plant-like. There was a red flag there, and it definitely wasn't the rye.
This hazy pale ale wasn't red enough with rye for my liking. The head disappeared quicker than a jackrabbit on pouring. This pale ale had such a confused jumble of flavours that I couldn't pick a beginning or end. I did pass-by some rye mid mouthful, but it was fleeting and vanished amongst the chaos. I found this beer definitely Impossibrew to enjoy.
Nashi pears are a good source of fibre, helping to maintain good bacteria in the gut, and can help balance cholesterol. The can states that Nashi pears contain polyphenol plant compounds, containing antioxidants and enzymes studied for breaking down alcohol and reducing oxidative stress. How about that!
On opening the can there was a strong slightly sour aroma of pears, which reminded me of a dry pear cider. Deep golden in colour, Prime Time Pear Fruit Lager But Better tasted of slightly sour pears to begin with, then the unmistakable flavours of lager kicked in.
The pear flavour was there throughout each mouthful, but the lager flavours of sweet malts and fruity hops stopped my tastebuds in there tracks from thinking that this was just another pear cider. And it washed down my chicken dinner a treat. What a lovely pearing!
The description on the back of the tub states this Jude’s Chocolate Guinness Cake Ice Cream is; chocolate ice cream infused with Guinness stout, as a homage to Guinness Cake. You get an award when you open the top of the tub, which states, "Bravo. Congratulations, you've just made the best decision of your day."
On first taste there was a rich dark chocolate flavour, followed by the flavours of Guinness stout, especially strong on malted barley. There were also tiny pieces of chocolate cake in with the ice cream. It was strangely moreish, especially with squirty cream on the side, and a couple of Cadbury's chocolate bars to accompany it after dinner. Cheers.
This Mini Crunch Chocolate Honeycomb Stout was brewed by Vault City. At 6% in volume, it pays homage to Cadbury's Crunchie. As well as malted barley and oats, hops and yeast, this stout was brewed with milk, Cholaca, brown sugar, cinder toffee, and vanilla.
On opening the can, Mini Crunch Chocolate Honeycomb Stout, had a heavy chocolate, as well as sweet toffee and malted barley aroma. On pouring this almost jet black stout had an initial taste of chocolate and malted barley.
I had been concerned that this Mini Crunch Chocolate Honeycomb Stout would be a pudding stout. However, the hops tickled some bitterness, only to be cowed by velvety chocolatey goodness mixed with brown sugar and toffee. It was the ingenious touch of roasted coffee into the aftertaste that gave my steak and chips that special send off down into my tummy. Gosh, what a weekend treat.
Brewed by Drop Bear Beer, and Tomos Watkin, Blodwen is 5% in volume. Malted barley and wheat were used in the brewing, as well as hop varieties of; Bobek, Goldings, Cascade and Olicana. So, I'm expecting citrus, mixed with spice, floral and pine notes, and some tropical fruitiness too.
On opening the bottle there was a floral and pine aroma from the deep golden beer inside, and with a decent hint of spice. On taste, Blodwen had a rich woody spicy bitterness to begin with, and a little citrus and fruitiness mixed with the sweetness of malted barley and wheat into the aftertaste. This is a gorgeous flavoursome blonde ale, and it washed my dinner down a treat.
A special yeast was used to brew this low-alcohol version of the original Proper Job India Pale Ale. Hopped with citrus and tropical fruity flavours, this should be a crisp treat for any designated driver.
On opening the bottle there was a citrus and tropical fruity hop aroma, with wheat and malted barley. 0.5% Proper Job IPA poured a cheerful golden colour with a healthy head. On taste this India Pale Ale tasted just like any alcoholic version to me. Packed full of citrus and tropical hops to begin with, sweet malted barley to follow and a wheatiness to finish. Proper flavour, Proper Job.