Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier - Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan (5.4% ABV)

Man, it's been too long since I've had a Weizen, and this one from Weihenstephan has a mighty reputation preceding it. I loved their Kristal-Weiss offering, which took me by surprise by how good it was.

I tentatively poured this into the glass, but it made no difference as the head seemingly erupted before any liquid touched the glass! Needless to say, it produced an impressive thick white head that looked like whipped cream. Golden straw in appearance with only at hint of cloudiness, although it gets 'thicker' towards to end of the bottle.

On the nose, the aromas are intensely vivid and clean; white pepper, cloves, banana, coriander, bubblegum and hint of sweetness from the wheat. Beautiful...

The taste gets even better... 'Creamy' is the first thing that is instantly apparent. How did they make it so creamy?! It's quite something. Banana and toffee at the front end, blend nicely with an undertone of wheat flavour. Pepper and cloves on the finish blend with a mild hop bitterness

This beer has a great mouthfeel. Very creamy and smooth, partly thanks to the superb carbonation. Great construction and brilliantly balanced, the flavours hit you hard and fast. Can a Hefe-Weiss get any better than this?

 

Old Hooky - Hook Norton Brewery (4.6% ABV)

Old Hooky boasts to be a fruity, full bodied ale with a well-rounded body. I'm not sure what Old Hooky means, but I hope it's not a reference to 'Hooky Street'... That would be a bad thing.

Pours a decent amber colour with a slightly opaque appearance. Frothy white head pops up, and then retreats quite quickly to a thin layer.

Good mix of aromas coming up from the glass; gently toasted pale and crystal malt are evident giving you biscuit & caramel. A swirling mix of overcooked fruits suggest apricots and plums, amongst other complex notes.

Rich, malt flavours envelop the tongue at first, before a hint of grain makes a welcome appearance. Caramel sweetness lingers underneath it all, whilst the fruity mid-palate offers up stewed plums, cherries, apricots and cooking apples. Hops kick in at the back to cleanse the palate and give a nice clean finish, suggesting coriander, cloves and resin hop flavour. Some of that sweet malt sticks to the palate for a nice, warming linger.

Medium/full bodied and goes down nice and smooth. Pleasant dryness and carbonation keep the flavours in check, which are well balanced with a fair amount of complexity

Not ground-breaking, but still, it's a good session ale.

Bitter & Twisted - Harviestoun Brewery (4.2% ABV)

Harviestoun are a new brewery to me; I've never even heard of them before, let alone tried any of their beers! This is an IPA which has managed to win a few awards over the years.

Pours a golden straw colour, nice and clear, with a wispy white head briefly making an appearance, before dissipating to a thin layer.

Lots on the nose to pick up: light malts and a definite graininess mixed up with plenty of hop aromas which offer up citrus, wet straw, slight skinniness and an unfortunate stewed vegetal hint underneath it all.

Again, the there is a lot to pick up on. Great deal of complexity to this brew. First off, the pale malt give a biscuity backbone with grain, oak cakes and honey sweetness thrown on top. Malt flavours are quickly wrestled into submission however, as the hops kick in quite rapidly; orange zest, grapefruit, grass / straw and a generous dose of hop bitterness cleanse the palate with a pleasing dryness.

Light bodied and slightly on the thin side, but it goes down very well thanks to the gentle carbonation and low astringency. Great complexity; there is a ton of flavour in here. Balance is good... but not great. Malt flavours are beaten down too quickly for me

Despite a slightly funky bouquet, and questionable balance, it was bloody tasty! Great mix of flavours and easily sessionable.

Double Chocolate Stout - Wells & Young (5.2% ABV)

Been wanting to try this one for a long time, and I finally managed to get one from a local supermarket recently. After all, who doesn't like chocolate or stout? There is, however, some bizarre French-Anglo fusion of literature on the labels which is haven't seen before.

Pours blacker than a black thing; no light is getting through this bad boy. Nice soapy mocha head sticks to glass nicely and retains itself very well. Looks great.

Nose gives you roasted coffee, cocoa, milk chocolate and a distinct lactic note. Hazelnut praline is one way of describing it. Very nice! No hops at all that I can detect, but who wants hops when you buy a chocolate stout?

Heavily roasted malt flavours blend nicely with milky chocolate and nougat. Develops into dark chocolate bitterness, coffee and milky sweetness. Lots of complex bitter/sweet chocolate and lactic flavours in there to just about balance things out, seeing as there are almost no hops detectable

Mouthfeel is a bit of let down unfortunately; weak carbonation, thin on the tongue and coats the palate with a powdery / chalky feel. However, on the plus side, it does go down smooth (somewhat contrary to the thinness) and is medium/full bodied. Astringency is low too.

Damn, I was expecting so much more from this, and perhaps this is why I feel deflated are trying it. It is still a nice beer, but I feel like Wells & Young have tried too hard to get a ton of chocolate in there, and it doesn't quite work. Also, the roast is bordering on burnt which is never good. Perhaps if I managed to get a bottle without French written all over it, it might taste different...?

 

Double Drop - Marstons (4.0% ABV)

Double Drop is a reference to the brewing method that this particular beer goes through which is far too dull to go through, but it is supposed to produce a cleaner flavour... We'll have to wait and see!

Pours a slightly cloudy caramel colour. Nice thick, foamy off-white head which sticks to the glass and retains itself quite empathically

Nose suggests earthy toasted malts & toffee. Some floral hops are lingering in there too.

Up-front, there is no escaping the heavy malt profile; brown bread, toffee and butterscotch sweetness have a distinct earthy and toasted grain flavour to them. Autumnal leaves and resin flavour from the hops on the finish, with a mildly bitter, toffee linger. Maybe a hint of saltiness in there too...

Medium bodied, smooth and very quaffable. Carbonation is light and astringency is bordering on high, but it manages not to be unpleasant (just).

This is certainly a well made brew, and the flavours do seem cleaner and fresher, but I'm not sure if you would determine that this had been through 'double dropping' if you didn't know the name! There is no great level of complexity to this, but it is quintessentially English. It's not something I would go out of my way to buy again, but is probably more suited as a session ale

Organic Honey Dew - Fullers (5.0%)

Another review of a Fullers brew. Not that that's a bad thing; pretty much all their line-up on the shelves are top quality. I have had this once or twice in the past, but that was some time ago and don't remember too much about it.

Nice golden honey appearance; very clear. A big soapy head rises up, but then drops down to absolutely nothing. Quite a bit of carbonation present as well.

Nose gives you yeast, biscuit, honey and a good mix of floral & citrus hops, with a mild hint of pine hoppiness.

Good malt base with delicate honey sweetness, wrapped in a biscuit and yeast blanket. Slight graininess as well before the hops clean the palate with melon, grapefruit and a very mild herbal hint. Finishes dry, but very clean and crisp with moderate bitterness.

Medium body, good texture and a welcoming level of carbonation. Well balanced and a nice dry finish

Another well constructed ale from Fullers, it's very refreshing and worth a try

Estrella Damm Inedit - Damm (4.8% ABV)

'The Beer Created by Ferran Adrià'

That's the tag line on the front of the box, and I have to admit that I have never heard of Mr. Adrià... Unless he does a guest appearance at a nearby Harvester, I doubt I will ever get to visit one of his over-priced establishments. This is a Spanish 'beer' (no style mentioned) and it has won a number of awards from various countries which is a good sign, I suppose.

Pours a slightly cloudy straw colour with plenty of bubbles rising to the top. Lovely thick meringue-like head sticks to glass throughout. Looks like a golden ale at this point, but I may change my mind

Nose offers light malt aromas with a definite underlying Belgium yeast giving off cloves, banana and tropical / citrus fruits.

Honey & oat bread taste is prominent at the front end, with a good dose of wheat thrown into the mix. Develops into cloves, coriander and citrus zest flavours. Faint banana and straw notes are in there too - finishes with a gentle hop and pith bitterness. Clean and crisp with a mild yeasty linger.

Mouthfeel is smooth and medium bodied. Creamy texture lends itself to the subdued carbonation and astringency levels are quite high, but not abrasively so.

A good effort by the Spanish to emulate a Belgium style. Hop flavours take a back seat here, but there is sufficient complexity to keep you interested. I managed to sink all 750ml of this in a relatively short period of time, and I imagine I will do the same again in the future; preferably on ahoy summers day with a BBQ.

Bad King John - Ridgeway Brewery (6.0% ABV)

Happy New Year everyone! I have been lazy of late, and not posted any updates for a few weeks. I did have a have several beers over the New Years period, but I failed to take decent notes as I was in a state of permanent intoxication. So I'm back on the horse today and drinking a Bad King John 'English black ale'.

Pours almost pure black and produces a tanned, soapy head. Looks very inviting

Lots of roasted coffee, dark chocolate, liquorice and toffee on the nose. Gentle underlying yeast note too.

Taste up front is burnt toffee with a ton of roasted malt flavours. Mid-palate offers a delicate mix of bitter dark chocolate, molasses and coffee. More malt sweetness on the finish; syrup and coffee, but there is very little hop flavour. There is a very mild raw leaf and nettle tang, but only very mild.

Medium bodied, but a little thin. Feels slightly oily at the end, but also has a very high levels of astringency - it strips the mouth quite unpleasantly. Could do with a bit more hop to give a bit more balance.

Good flavours, but let down by the lack of complexity and palate stripping dryness