This is the third and final part of my review of the 52 week beer club autumn case. The last four beers are all at the darker end of the colour spectrum. Judging beer flavour from the colour is a rough and ready way to quickly work out what you want when you get to the bar, but there are some surprises in the mix. Thornbridge brewed a beer named Raven which was a darkly coloured IPA. Blind tasters said it was an IPA, but then were flabbergasted to be shown they were drinking what appeared to be a stout! Thankfully there are no such surprises in the final four bottles in the autumn case, which means I've left the rich, dark beers for when we really need them - when the nights are swiftly drawing in and we want something rich and warming while we watch rubbish television with our WAGs!
RCH Ale Mary
This is a 6.0% bottle conditioned beer that's listed as "Something Different". Pour carefully to avoid the sediment. The aroma on this is quite interesting; it's like you've opened the oven while the Christmas cake is in there. Loads of clove, ginger, cinnamon and other seasonal spices. I'll admit I didn't chill this beer before tasting, but I think this benefits from being a little warmer than usual. The flavours really come out; all plum pudding and brandy butter. This is definitely one for a cold night when you need cheered up. Also, my wife's only comment was "Oo! That's lovely", so I guess I'd better get a few in for consumption over Christmas!
Felinfoel Double Dragon
The 4.2% flagship brew of the Felinfoel Brewery in Wales. This is a deep copper colour and pours with no head. The aroma is a little nutty, as is the initial flavour. Later there are some toffee notes that come through. To be honest I was expecting more from this beer, but it seems to lack depth to me. What do you think?
Hogs Back TEA
Another 4.2% beer, but from Hogs Back Brewery in Surrey. This one is "Brewery Conditioned" which means there is no sediment. On pouring there is no head, but there is a constant stream of bubbles which slowly form a thin head round the rim of the glass. The initial taste is very smooth and there is the hint of grass from the hops in the background. The whole beer is held together with a smooth malty flavour. This is definitely a beer you could drink quite a lot of!
Meantime Chocolate
And finally, the strongest beer in the case at 6.5%. This is a small bottle, 330ml, but worth every millilitre! It pours a deep black, with practically no head, just a thin rim of bubbles around the glass. The aroma is like standing in a Belgian chocolate shop; all heady chocolate and praline. The first taste is like rich dark hot chocolate with a hint of lightly roasted coffee. This is a truly great beer.
So that's the end of my review series on the Autumn case from myBrewerytap. I hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing the reviews.
A big thank you to Graeme for his great unbiased reviews of this quarters case. We'll have another guest bloggers thoughts on our Winter case as soon as its available. If you'd like a stab at reviewing and guest blogging in exchange for some free beer please get in touch - richard@mybrewerytap.com
You can sign up to the 52 Week Beer club here. The current excellent selection is also available as an individual mixed case here but don't leave it too long as they'll all be gone soon!
Very good blog.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Graeme did a great job of blogging.
ReplyDeleteLate, but my comments on the autumn case.
ReplyDeleteCrouch Vale Brewers Gold. This is in the Roger Protz book "300 beers to try before you die", so that's another on my list ticked off. It had good bitterness, but a strong hint of ginger which I wasn't expecting. 2/5.
Hawkshead Lakeland Gold. Pleasant aroma, mid-brown colour. Good bitterness; a bit more malt would improve it. 3/5.
Saltaire Cascade Pale Ale. Pale - looks rather like a lager. Well-balanced and pleasant enough. 3/5.
Hogback TEA. It used to be bottle conditioned, but now says "brewery conditioned" on the label, possibly to con people who read it quickly into thinking that it still is. Mid brown colour. Quite well-balanced, but I felt it would have been better if it still was bottle conditioned. 3/5.
Inveralmond Ossian. A plain and bitter golden ale. 3/5.
Williams Good Times. Pale, with a faint elderfower aroma. Noticeable elderflower flavour and fritziness. ( I don't know what meadowsweet tastes like.) It seemed pleasant enough, but I found that it didn't go down quickly or easily, which is usually a bad sign. 2.5/5
Brew Dog Punk IPA. I've had this before, so I knew that it was too bitter for me. As they say on the label they don't care if I don't like it. Fair enough! But they go on to tell me to go back to my fizzy lager, which I would like even less.
Fruity aroma, and pure tasting, in spite of the bitterness. 2.5/5.
Thornbridge Jaipur. I had been looking forward to this one, because of all the plaudits. Unfortunately this was not the bottle conditioned version (not just because it comes in bigger bottles, but because it has an even better reputation), but I understand how it would be too expensive for the 52 Week Beer Club. Better balanced than the Brew Dog. 3.5/5.
Felinfoel Double Dragon. No aroma and quite thin. Reddish brown colour. 2.5/5.
I haven't tasted the 4 bottle conditioned beers in the case yet, as I expect them to improve with age.
ReplyDeleteI've had the Meantime Chocolate before, so I know it's going to be good. Jeff Evans's Good Bottled Beer Guide says that the best before date is set at 6 months, but my bottle says 2013, so either I've entered a time warp or something has changed. Plenty of time to look forward to it.
After Graeme's review above, I'm really looking forward to the RCH Ale Mary. It sounds as if Xmas will be the right time to open it.