This is just going to be a quick post a revisit (here) of an old topic and its a semi advertisement not going to lie.
The sun sets over the North Down Coast |
This month Beer52 sent out their Summer Banger boxes to members up and down the country along with issue 28 of Ferment. As you may know I have been a subscriber to Beer52 for quite some time now and I rate their service as excellent, Ive had a few issues and rather than fuss over them, a simple tweet to their main account and its sorted, its things like that which keep me subscribed.
So on to my box, 8 beers as usual some marketing BS that helps keep the cost down I presume and a salty snack that is meant to be enjoyed with the beer but seldom makes it past the first article in Ferment. The beers I received are
Juiced In Time 220ml NRB 4.5% ABV. Ilkley Brewery, Ilkley: You can't call a beer "Juiced in Time," and not have a juicy fruity beer in the bottle. The main hop in this is Mandarina Bavaria, which is Hop du-jour at the moment for home brewers up and down the country, they've added a load of fresh oranges and lemons to this also to give it more of a citrus flavour.
Shameless 330ml Can 5.9% ABV. Red Willow Brewery, Macclesfield: I haven't had this beer before, but having read the tasting notes in Ferment, I'm quite looking forward to it. Using Maris Otter in the grain bill, and hopped with Simcoe and Moasaic, this is an American IPA which was all the rage a few years back. Think Punk IPA, Sierra Nevada, Founders etc etc.
Road Soda 330ml NRB 4.8% Mondo Brewing Company, London: If Shameless was the IPA style of 2 or 3 years ago Road Soda, NEIPA is certainly the main trend at the moment. very little bitterness, loads of hops at all stages of the process. Should pour very cloudy pale yellow colour.
Northern Star 330ml Can 5.9%ABV Northern Monk Brew Co. Leeds:
I am a fan of Norther Monk Brewery. (here) I am not a fan (usually) of Porters or Stouts, but i am finding them quite the acquired taste. A Coffee Porter intrigues me though, cause I love my hipster coffee (who'd have thought it?) It was the great philosopher of our time, Meatloaf, who stated "2 out of 3 aint bad," and based on this I tend to agree. Northern Monk put actual ground roasted coffee beans into their brew and the result is an unrivalled coffee taste from this dark porter.
Moor Stout 330ml Can 5% ABV Moor Beer, Bristol: The tag line is "Drink Moor Beer," and if this Stout is anything to go by, not only will I be drinking more beer, I'll be drinking more Moor beer too. See folks, Stout doesn't begin and end with that stuff they make at St James Gate in Dublin! A simple basic and classic Stout recipe showing off what can be achieved from the traditional brewing processes, grain, hops & water. Another one for the Home brewers, there is definitely an opportunity to salvage some yeast from this can.
Green Mountain 330ml NRB 4.3% ABV Thornbridge Brewery, Derbyshire: Thornbridge make one of my favourite traditional IPA Jaipur, which can be found in most decent bars in Belfast. Green Mountain is a NEIPA, again with massive amounts of hops in the brew, translating to big floral and fruity flavours in the glass. This uses a hop called galaxy which is the hop or friends in St James Gate waste in Hop House 13. (in fairness to Guinness, the latest recipe of HH13 has improved drastically, its no where near as sweet and nasty as it was on release).
Tangerine Dream 330ml NRB 6.3%ABV Beer52: Beer 52 did a thing a few months back about the brewing process and home brewing since then they have been sending out beers they claim to have made themselves. A while back they sent a case of 8 they made themselves, and while I was a bit annoyed about this, they were 8 good beers. 1 Beer a month from them I can stomach it helps keep the cost down. This one is the 3rd NEIPA in our box and like the others is jammed full of hops to give it a floral and fruity flavour. Its unclear if they've put any actual Tangerines into the brew, but you certainly get tangerine and other citrus fruits from the beer.
Northern Star 330ml Can 5.9%ABV Northern Monk Brew Co. Leeds:
I am a fan of Norther Monk Brewery. (here) I am not a fan (usually) of Porters or Stouts, but i am finding them quite the acquired taste. A Coffee Porter intrigues me though, cause I love my hipster coffee (who'd have thought it?) It was the great philosopher of our time, Meatloaf, who stated "2 out of 3 aint bad," and based on this I tend to agree. Northern Monk put actual ground roasted coffee beans into their brew and the result is an unrivalled coffee taste from this dark porter.
Moor Stout 330ml Can 5% ABV Moor Beer, Bristol: The tag line is "Drink Moor Beer," and if this Stout is anything to go by, not only will I be drinking more beer, I'll be drinking more Moor beer too. See folks, Stout doesn't begin and end with that stuff they make at St James Gate in Dublin! A simple basic and classic Stout recipe showing off what can be achieved from the traditional brewing processes, grain, hops & water. Another one for the Home brewers, there is definitely an opportunity to salvage some yeast from this can.
Green Mountain 330ml NRB 4.3% ABV Thornbridge Brewery, Derbyshire: Thornbridge make one of my favourite traditional IPA Jaipur, which can be found in most decent bars in Belfast. Green Mountain is a NEIPA, again with massive amounts of hops in the brew, translating to big floral and fruity flavours in the glass. This uses a hop called galaxy which is the hop or friends in St James Gate waste in Hop House 13. (in fairness to Guinness, the latest recipe of HH13 has improved drastically, its no where near as sweet and nasty as it was on release).
Tangerine Dream 330ml NRB 6.3%ABV Beer52: Beer 52 did a thing a few months back about the brewing process and home brewing since then they have been sending out beers they claim to have made themselves. A while back they sent a case of 8 they made themselves, and while I was a bit annoyed about this, they were 8 good beers. 1 Beer a month from them I can stomach it helps keep the cost down. This one is the 3rd NEIPA in our box and like the others is jammed full of hops to give it a floral and fruity flavour. Its unclear if they've put any actual Tangerines into the brew, but you certainly get tangerine and other citrus fruits from the beer.
I was inspired to write this as another website I write for have secured sponsorship for their podcast by Beer52. Personally I have received no remuneration or incentive from Beer 52, or any of the brewery's to write this, and to be honest I'm just trying to divert some traffic from the website to my blog to give me a kick up the ass to keep writing. Check out Kingdom of the Giants and A View From the Bridge for details of how to snag a free box from Beer52.
Next article will be the ever changing face of the Belfast pub scene, and how the craft beer revolution is shaping pub culture in town.