Beers to note - February 2017

I'm a bit late in posting this as I had the in-laws over for two weeks which meant I haven't had time to write up. In February I managed to sample 51 different beers. Some were good (Which will be listed below) whilst others were not to my taste. One beer in particular that I had bought and was expecting good things from but which turned out to be the first beer in ages I was unable to complete and pour away was Flat White from ABC. I honestly tried to drink the beer but it was just tasting like coffee and wasn't enjoyable, and I struggled, even with it only being 330ml from a can. Thankfully I enjoyed the below beers a bit more, but we all have different tastes so I've no doubt others will have found the Flat White right up their street.


Brugse Zot (De Halve Maan) - 6.0% | Bottle 330ml
After a hard days work this was a nice beer to tuck into. It was a nice straw colour and have a fruity aroma and taste. At 6.0% though I'm leaving the other bottle for another time.




Bengal Lancer (Fullers) - 5.0% | Cask Pint
Lancer is one of my favourite Fullers ale. It's not too hoppy and has a nice malt flavour coming through. Although I believe its no longer a seasonal, I normally only see it on cask in the winter period. The bottle version though is readily available in London and comes in at a higher 5.3% ABV.






Davy's Old Wallops (Charles Wells) - 4.2% | Cask Pint
This was in my December beers to note and it's back here again. The beer was once again in fine form and easy to sup. It was made all the more enjoyable by the basement setting and the metal pewter it was served in.

Malt Brown (Harveys) - 4.8% | Keg Pint
My first Harveys keg beer and I was very impressed. This brown ale had the right sweeteness balance to it and went down a treat. I didn't realise it was coming in at 4.8% but I certainly think you could have a few of these in a night.







Chimay Blue Grande Reserve (Bieres de Chimay) - 9.0% | Bottle 330ml
I do like the Chimay beers and this was certainly a good one. Yes you can feel the percentage but it's not a burning or over powering taste. This one was so enjoyable I actually had another after, which I would suggest is not a good choice if the wife is expecting you home by a certain time.



Hertford Castle (McMullens) - 5.0% | Bottle 500ml
This is the first McMullen's beer I've had in a while that I could drink all night. I like McMullen's but have gone off their beer as the taste is just not right. This bottle version of Hertford Castle though was spot on. It was a nice sweet Pale Ale. I hope I can come across this on Cask soon.





Scrum Down (Sambrook's) - 4.0% | Cask Pint
A very decent Irish red ale from Sambrook's. It may be seasonal for the rugby but it had a nice sweetness to it with no bitterness. The only thing letting it down was the head retention but that could be more pub specific than brew related.






Little Tenderness (The Little Beer Corporation) - 5.4% | Keg Pint
First time I've come across this brewery. Beer had a roasted dark malty beer taste to it even though an amber. Slightly Smokey as well. Nice and different.











Barbarossa (Ilkley) - 5.0% | Keg Half Pint
Another red ale in the list. This one used Australian and New Zealand hops, but for me there wasn't a massive hop hit (Which is a good thing) and everything was nicely balanced.

Beers to note - January 2017

So there were less pub visits in January than a typical month, mainly due to friends being on Dry January or just not going out due to over expenditure in December. Alongside this I didn't drink too many beers outside of the pub. Just to put this into perspective I had a look through my Untappd stats and for last year my average number of drinks a month was 58 (which obviously doesn't take into account measure e.g. halves, 330ml or pints). For January 2017 my drink total was a lowly 39 which did include a few bottles. So below are my beers to note from January 2017.


Santa Paws (BrewDog) - 4.5% | Keg Pint
This was the beer I used to break my New Year duck and ensure I don't follow Dry January. A Christmas beer in January is normally to be avoided after a certain stage by 2nd January is acceptable. I had this beer previously in bottle format but the keg version was far superior as the flavours were more powerful and better aroma. I hope BrewDog have this one out again next year as its definitely one of the seasonable beers I will look for next year.






Organic Cherry Ale (Samuel Smith's) - 5.1% | Bottle 355ml
I didn't even realise this beer was 5% until checking it out for this list. I do like Sam Smith drinks and these fruit beers are no exception. The only problem with them is the high price they always charge, but the beers are always amazing. Cherry has to be one of my favourite as the smell and taste are so perfect, and what I expect from a fruit beer. It's actually quite refreshing to drink, though certainly not sessionable.






Cake Boy Hazelnut Ale (Meantime) - 5.0% | Keg Pint
This beer is from the Pilot Series that Meantime brew and was a special one for the winter period. They have done a fantastic job in capturing that amazing hazelnut taste when sipping the beer, along with some nice malt and chocolaty-ness. This is a beer I would recommend to try but again not something I would consider sessionable.







Hibernate (To øl) - 6.0% | Bottle 330ml
This was one of those beers that you pick up to try and once you open, you wish it was in a bigger bottle or you picked up more. This was a beautiful hoppy wheat beer and I'm not sure what else to say. If you can get your hands on this, do!






Sussex Best Bitter (Harveys) - 4.0% | Cask Pint
This beer is always a beautiful drink, and never disappoints. Harveys brew some wonderful beers but this as a flagship is flawless, and when served in perfect condition in cask cannot be beaten. Easily sessionable.





Old Ale (Harveys) - 4.3% | Cask Pint
Another Harveys beer, and again a great pint served in perfect condition. The beer is dark but light and easy to drink. I haven't tried the bottle version which is a lower ABV of 3.6%, which I'm concerned could impact the flavour, so would suggest sticking with the cask if found. Easily sessionable.







Coconut Porter (Old Hands) - 6.0% | Cask Half
The beer pours dark. There is no real aroma coming off the beer but the taste of the beer is distinctly coconut. The coconut came through and fitted perfectly with the beer. I wouldn't say this was a refreshing pint but I did enjoy the coconut taste which they perfected.

Ægir India Pale Ale (Ægir Bryggeri)  - 6.5%| Can 330ml

I firstly liked the design of the can, which was eye catching. Also the ring pull takes off the whole top half of the can like on a soup can. I admit I did pull a bit too hard and split a little of this precious liquid. It was a nice hoppy pale ale, and one I wouldn't mind trying again, maybe in keg format....a trip to Norway beckons I reckon.

Beers to note - December 2016

In December, due to it being Christmas I did drink a lot of seasonal and special Christmas and winter brews. These beers are always hit and miss and so perhaps next year I'll avoid all the seasonal ones that crop up, apart from the big hitting seasonal regulars from Harveys and Shep Neame. This is reflected in my list below of beers to note:


Bloody Notorious (Beavertown) - 9.1%
This was a beer in a can that I shared due to it being such a high hitter. It tasted amazing. Big hop hits, fruit notes not entirely orange as they try to make out and abv not feeling higher than 6%.

Davy's Old Wallops (Charles Wells) - 4.2%
Now I'm not sure if it was the mug it was served in that made this beer stand out for me, but it tasted great. Was smooth and easy drinking session beer that is well worth trying.

Organic Chocolate Stout (Samuel Smiths) - 5%
This beer is one of my all time favourites. Actually this and any of the fruit beers that Sam's do. The chocolate favour is amazing, it smooth and creamy to drink, doesn't feel like any percentage, which of course is dangerous. Though you certainly can't have more than 2 of these in a session as they are heavy and will become to sickly sweet.

Delirium Noel (Brouwerij Huyghe) - 10%
This was a heavy hitter but again was a bottle share. The citrus smell coming off it was everything you would expect from the perfect Belgium beer. It's taste was exactly following on from the scent and went down a treat, but you do easily feel the ABV on it, which is a very good thing for a double digit beer.

Trooper Red 'N' Black Porter (Robinsons) - 6.8%
I've included this one as I had been looking for it for a while and happened upon it by chance but sadly it didn't live up to my expectations. It was of course red when held up in the light much like a Guinness but it lacked that bit extra I was expecting. It was a decent beer and I would definitely drink again, but I think maybe my own hype let this one down.

Santi-Freeze (Burton Bridge) - 4.5%
This was the best Christmas themed beer for me. perfectly balanced beer that was easy to drink and I had a few as part of my session which is unusual for a Christmas beer.

Icelandic Arctic Pale Ale (Einstok) - 5.6%
Einstok make amazing beers, is my judgement after drinking this one. I'd previously had their stout and still have a another one spare to drink. The pale ale was just as well developed. Beautiful crisp beer that makes you want more. Now I need to find the White Ale, just hope my hype doesn't get the better of me like it did with Trooper.

Stiegl Pils (Stiegl) - 4.9%
A beautiful tasting Pils that shows up some of the mainstream Pils we have over here like Camden Pils or Veltins. This beer shows how a Pils should be done and was a pleasure to drink