Howling Hops - Beer 2

Howling Hops 

Pale XX no.2 5.1%

Another from howling hops in London. This beer is brilliant. It doesn't smell of the four different hops, which I don't like I want to and like the smell of the hops it helps to add to the experience . But tastes amazing. 

DERBY BREWERY Old Intentional 5.0abv
A delicate beer with a delicate hop taste and delicately drinkable.Delicately forgettable as well.
Pity.Really drinkable but forgotten quickly.

GLOUCESTER GOLD - GLOUCESTER BREWERY

Another from Secretts Farm Shop at Milford, and again a new brewery to me. This is a bottle conditioned golden ale, and it pretty average to be fair. Does not excite me, so not a lot to say.  Made with Galaxy, Motueka and Cascade hops, its citrusy with a bitter finish but there's far better ones out there. Not one I would try again.4.1% volume. Brewed at Gloucester Docks.

Brewdog - Beer 8

Brewdog 

Born to die 18.08.2016

Terminally hoppy IPA 

8.5%

This beer is from brewdog. Is a limited edition beer and it will die 18.08.2016 they claim the hops they use will cause this decay after that date, so in other words they want you to drink this fresh. I don't know if this is a gimmick /  marketing ploy to get you to spend lots of money to buy this beer. However when I saw this I thought I got to get a bottle to review on here especially as I have been drinking a few of their beers lately. 

So my first thoughts were this is going to be strong tasting at 8.5% how wrong was I on that one. Secondly this is a double ipa that got me slightly worried only cause I'm not use to them. In some ways this is like their Punk IPA for a review of it Click here. It has slight grapefruit taste to it. It has lovely hop flavours. A long bitterness which is good. This beer does take you heaven and back. Love this, brilliant! The big question is what happens if you open it after 18.08.2016 does it taste so differently. I also love the fact that it's in a nice big bottle 660ml it felt like this was something to have on a special occasion, not that today is. My only regret is that I only bought 1 of these. I could quite happy drink another bottle of this. 

Howling Hops - Beer 1

Howling Hops 

Pale ale No.1 3.8%

This is another of london's new breweries which started off in a pub making their beers. This is  a pale ale and has a lovely smell of pineapple. The only thing  that bothers me is the Alcohol percentage - it's rather low and makes the beer taste slightly watery. The beer does have a cloudy look to it. 

DERAIL ALE - INDIA PALE ALE - BOX STEAM BREWERY

Strange things are afoot...I cannot remember the last time I had a duff beer. Just lately I've had a stonking run of great beer. Shouldn't knock it I guess. Anyways, this is another new brewery to me, and purchased like the last few from Secretts Farm Shop in Milford. This is another belter I'm happy to report. Huge mouthwatering flavours of hops, fruity malt and citrus, really collides in the mouth and gently fades leaving a light bitterness, very light actually. I could quite happily drink this all night long - derailed, train wrecked, a one way ticket to oblivion! Brewed in Holt, Wiltshire by Box Steam Brewery, I don't know them but by 'eck I'm gonna check out their wares. 5.2% volume.

BATTLEFIELD BREWERY Archers Hoppy Pale Ale 4.9abv
This is nearly 5.0% and not as satisfying as Diamond Lil.A lightly fruity pale ale.o.k but no cigar.
My second beer from Battlefield and haven't really enjoyed either.Beginning to suspect the water.

TWO COCKS BREWERY Diamond Lil Golden Ale3.2abv
This was a big suprise a beer the colour of light straw with very low alcohol and tasted great.Really refreshing and light.If you were doing a barbecue you could happily drink this all night.They put a different colour of feather on their different beers.Two cocks brewery come from Newbury in Berkshire and I have another of theirs to try.Look forward to it.They are a bit coy about which hops they use and I can appreciate that as who wants to give away a good beers secrets.

LOXHILL BISCUIT - GOLDEN ALE - THE CRAFTY BREWING CO.

My 2nd and last from Crafty, and this one is good too. Lovely deep golden colour with white froth. Good carbonation. Another complex flavour, with the various hops and malts in the mix, this time we have UK and US hops, Amarillo, Challenger and First Gold plus English and Munich malts with Belgian biscuit. Makes for a very quaffable and full flavoured drink, with the Belgian biscuit most prominent. Brewed in Loxhill, Surrey. 3.8% volume.

Stone brewery - Beer 2

Stone brewery 

IPA  6.9%

This was a shock I was expecting to get a fruity smell and instead I got malt.  Stone brewery are based in California which is on the west coast of America. Not sure which hops have gone in. It's a lovely IPA just not what I was expecting. Maybe I should of have had this first and then the saison but this is good.

Stone brewery - Beer 1

Stone brewery 

Saison 6.0%

This is wonderful. This is a very hazy beer that has lovely white head that lasts most the way down its got a good carbonation This beer is made with two different hops plus lemon zest, lemon thyme, lavender and habanero chilli. You get a strong smell of spice and floral. You get a taste of Pepper and heat (only a small amount though). I didn't pick up on the lavender which is probably a good thing. 

I've now had three different saisons and I've liked all of them. They seem to be rare unless you go to a Belgian farmhouse and buy some. I'm so glad I bought two of these. 

HEADY STEADY GO - AMERICAN PALE ALE - THE CRAFTY BREWING CO.

Another from Secretts Farm Shop in Milford, another new brewery to me. Pours a slightly hazy dirty gold colour with a gentle white head. Quite a complex flavour and hard to pin down exactly, its actually quite well balanced, lots of hop action going on but the finish is a dark toasted (roasted?) malt flavour which is great. Made with US, Slovenian and New Zealand hops, English and German grains on a farm in Loxhill, between Dunsfold and Godalming in Surrey. 4.4% volume.

ISIS PALE - COMPASS BREWERY

Popped into Secretts Farm Shop in Milford, Surrey last weekend, great garden centre, pick your own and extensive farm shop well worth a visit. Reasonable range of local, and other craft beers. New to Compass, and this is a good start. I do like a larger bottle, and 500ml is just dandy. This is a wonderful nutty brown colour, pure white foamy head and strong hoppy aromas. Its a real fusion of flavours with citrus and malt  balancing the dry hopped bitterness which lingers lust enough. It just tastes so fresh and I'm enjoying it immensely. Brewed by Compass Brewery, Carterton, Oxfordshire. 4.9% volume.

Tiny Rebel Cali  American pale ale 5.6%

This is absolutely  brilliant very much a West coast pale ale. The only thing that makes me think that it not quite a West coast is the fact that it looks cloudy. Has lovely fruity smells and tastes bloody good.

Brewdog - Beer 7

Brewdog brewery

#mashtag16 10.5%

So this is brewed by brewdog which is based in Scotland.  This is a beer that made from what there drinkers wanted. So after extensive polling they came up with this. So people wanted a triple IPA and cherries and malty. And that is want you get. On the first mouthful you get cherries and by the bucket load and once the cherry taste disappears and it does you get the malt. You don't get the hops which actually I don't mind I love the cherry taste. You do however notice the strength of the Alcohol and that doesn't matter because I guess I like the cherry taste too much. 

This is obviously very strong and you wouldn't want too much but one 330ml bottle does feel good. 

I've been very reluctant to drink beers this strong as I've always been too strong and overpowering put this totally different and would happy to have again. 

Brewdog - Beer 6

Brewdog 

Ace of Chinook 4.5%

Single hop session IPA 

This is a beer that only arrived today i guess I couldnt wait to try this ( sorry Andy). This beer is all about the hops and nothing else it only uses Chinook hops which comes from America.  It's a very good style of an IPA. This has really lovely smells of pine. As you drink this it goes from a piney smell to a grapefruit finish in the the mouth. I'm liking this a lot. 

I bought this beer from brewdog's website I didn't have plans to buy this I wanted their limited edition beer which is called Born to Die 18.08.2016 this will be drunk on the weekend as it's a big bottle. 

Hogs back brewery

Brooklands Goldstar 

This is a beer I've had only once before and i cant remember what i thout of it. It is brewed for the old race track Brooklands for their museum  gift shop. 

It an okay beer drinkable but not exciting. I guess I'm finding these new IPA'S much more enjoyable that these bitters that are about. 

BENGAL LANCER - INDIA PALE ALE - FULLERS

Please be good. Please be good. Blessed relief this is a little gem. Bottle conditioned, so I left a thimble full in the bottle, good carbonation even so. Smells very hoppy, has a very lush and full flavoured taste, theres peppery bitterness, but the fruity malt fights it to the death and it goes down a treat. Certainly one of the best IPA's I've had. So Yanks you ain't got it all your own way!
5.3 % volume. Brewed by Fullers at Griffin Brewery London W4.

BURTON BRIDGE BREWERY Burton Porter 4.5abv
A very decent porter.Dark and powerful but not one of the great porters.A little thin but not bad drinking.ho hum.

EAST COAST IPA - GREENE KING

I was proper looking forward to this. All the Greene King beers I've had to date especially the IPA's have all been really good. Imagine  my disappointment when I tried this. I had to have 2 to make sure the first one wasn't a ringer. It has a vague taste of beer for a nano second then its gone. Might as well be drinking Peckham Spring. Cannot believe its 4% volume, I'd rather have a Top Deck. Brewed by Greene King in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

Odell brewery

India Pale Ale 7.0%

This is possibly the most malty beer I've ever had.  Most IPA'S I've had have fruity smells and taste fruity. This is neither however it's pleasant. Thats it just pleasant nothing more but drinkable.

BURTON BRIDGE BREWERY Tickle Brain Ale7.5abv
My first reaction was I was surprised at the alcohol being so high,certainly didn't taste that strong.
Was a decent drinkable ale without much character.Within a short space of time I would really like to open a beer and go wow must get some of this in.I am clearly not drinking enough beer I actually like.

Parma beer

Birrificio Del Ducato

Freeride 5.2%

West coast IPA 

This is Italian craft beer brewery which is brewed in Parma. This is a really good style of a West coast IPA. Has lots of the flavours of the American hops used. I would like more flavours though. 

A Hop Explosion

Magic Rock

Cannonball India Pale ale 7.4%

I can't seem to remember if I've reviewed this or not but since I think it's bloody brilliant I would review it anyway.

So this magic rock's Cannonball. It's one of those beers where they are loaded with hops and then add more. This is 7.4% but you don't realised it. It has lovely fruity smells. I enjoy this beer so much that every time I put an order in I do end up buying one or two. I can only guess why they called  this cannonball, and my guess is that its like filling a cannon full of hops and firing them into your mouth because you are blown away with hops. 

Next month I'm hoping to pop up to London and find a craft beer pub and try these on tap.

I have done some research and they do two seasonal beers called human Cannonball and unhuman Cannonball. These are a double and treble IPA, and again I had to some research on these styles and it basically means double or treble the amount of ingredients to make the beer. It does however have a downside and that the ABV goes up, in the case of the treble it's 14.5%. I really want to try them but am slightly worried that I won't like them but as Del Boy says "he who dares wins"

BURTON BRIDGE BREWERY Bramble Stout5.0abv
this is made with blackberry juice.I wish I could taste that,I quite fancy a fruity stout.No not getting it.More juice fellers.
On a lighter note the reason there is 2 photos of the lable is that its so wide you couldnt get it all on one.The label is the most interesting thing.