JimmyB78
Regular.
dennisking said:
I also had the Hipsway last night, quick a nice tasty citrussy beer ... but as you say they are all starting to taste very similar.
Maxim American Pride tonight, then a few of my own SNPA's
The Sainsbury's Great British Beer Hunt Review Topic
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I also had the Hipsway last night, quick a nice tasty citrussy beer ... but as you say they are all starting to taste very similar.
Maxim American Pride tonight, then a few of my own SNPA's
RobWalker
Well-Known Member
JimmyB78 said:
I agree. It's the american bigger is better thing all over again I think (sorry Baz, just how some of us perceive america over here :p). My favourite of the lot (including a few more from the last post) is still Gonny No Brew That for the overall balance and great flavour, but Infra Red was actually a really nice change from a ridiculous hoppy IPA with the yeasty malty taste in combination as well as forward hops.
further to this -
American Pride - Rubbish and boring
Gower Gold - same, but maybe a good session beer. nothing special tho.
Serendipity - Not sure, dad drank it. he liked it tho, so I'd suggest it :p
Black Pepper Ale and Reindeer Droppings to try tonight! :
dennisking
Regular.
Last one of my buys, Hunters Devon dreamer. Buy far the best of the four. Bottle conditioned very well balanced beer. Would buy this one again.
Dave1970
Landlord.
Just drinking the Batemans Black Pepper....
Poured with a big head that's lasting very well. Really like the pepper aroma coming from the glass, the beer itself is...well, fine. It's a pleasant but unremarkable beer. I could happily drink it all night but I wouldn't be excited by the prospect, it's not the innovative brew that it claims to be.
and the Hipsway...
More interesting. Not sure it 'does what it says on the tin' though. Says it's a lager with 'crazy' hops and strawberries...I'm not getting the strawberries at all, or the lager. I was expecting lager type hops but more of them than normal, that's not what this is. Although it's lager coloured it tastes like a hoppy APA, I like hoppy APA's so it's no surprise that I like this and I'm glad I bought 2 of them.
Poured with a big head that's lasting very well. Really like the pepper aroma coming from the glass, the beer itself is...well, fine. It's a pleasant but unremarkable beer. I could happily drink it all night but I wouldn't be excited by the prospect, it's not the innovative brew that it claims to be.
and the Hipsway...
More interesting. Not sure it 'does what it says on the tin' though. Says it's a lager with 'crazy' hops and strawberries...I'm not getting the strawberries at all, or the lager. I was expecting lager type hops but more of them than normal, that's not what this is. Although it's lager coloured it tastes like a hoppy APA, I like hoppy APA's so it's no surprise that I like this and I'm glad I bought 2 of them.
RobWalker
Well-Known Member
I had the hipsway on friday. I could get the strawberries! Really enjoyed it, unique hop flavour too, but it is, as said, a bit intense again. It seems craft beer isn't craft beer if it's not rammed with hops these days, but I could get on with this one a bit.
Honey Thief is rather the same affair, another hop bomb with a boring malt profile that leaves little room for any actual characteristics apart from hop oil.
Did anyone else miss the black pepper sachet in the black pepper ale? hahah.
Dad also rates Reindeer Droppings in his own way. "Yea it was alright!"
Honey Thief is rather the same affair, another hop bomb with a boring malt profile that leaves little room for any actual characteristics apart from hop oil.
Did anyone else miss the black pepper sachet in the black pepper ale? hahah.
Dad also rates Reindeer Droppings in his own way. "Yea it was alright!"
JimmyB78
Regular.
Trying the Gower Gold at the moment, as others have said a bit of a let down being nothing special. Also had the Serenity on friday which I though was quite nice and refreshing.
Found a few pics from the East tasting I went to showing the range of beers we got to try, amazing how some of these have got through to the shop considering how many were there originally, must have been much better on offer. You got to try 8 and score them but then could go next door to try all of the entries.
The range of bottles for tasting
Score sheet showing the 8 I tried, Can't remember what order I scored them in though.
Found a few pics from the East tasting I went to showing the range of beers we got to try, amazing how some of these have got through to the shop considering how many were there originally, must have been much better on offer. You got to try 8 and score them but then could go next door to try all of the entries.
The range of bottles for tasting
Score sheet showing the 8 I tried, Can't remember what order I scored them in though.
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dennisking
Regular.
Anyone know when this offer ends.
JimmyB78
Regular.
dennisking said:
Think it runs for 3 weeks, though I'm not sure exactly when it stared. Prob a week to 10 days left, then they flog the leftovers off for £1 a bottle
Dave1970
Landlord.
Infra Red tonight. Fairly full on malt & hops and you can taste the 6.2% ABV. Compared to other hop bombs like Brewdog produce the sweeter maltiness is apparent. Only complaint from me is that it seems a bit over carbed to my taste. Might chill the other one a bit to calm the carbing down a bit.
Dave1970
Landlord.
Like the Harbour IPA. Not a traditional IPA, has a big citrus American hop flavour going on. Not a lot of malt, which makes for a light refreshing brew, albeit not a particularly balanced one.
Although there's no mention of it on the bottle it seems to be bottle conditioned, didn't realise this first time so got a bit of sediment in the glass. I do have another though so might have a go at culturing the yeast, probably e-mail them and see if they will tell me what yeast it is - no point culturing it if it's just US-05
And Harbour's Porter No. 6...I quite like this, porter isn't normally my thing but this has just enough bittering to keep it from being too malt dominated.
And Maxim American Pride IPA. Better than I was expecting after other reviews, it's a similar beer to the Harbour IPA...but not as good. The hop flavour isn't as clearly defined. Although it's not as good as the Harbour it's not a bad beer. If it was added to Sainsburys normal range I'd definitely buy it ahead of most of their standard beers
and finally (probably) Hilden's Barney's Brew - Belfast Bap Wheat Beer. Nasty! Sorry but don't like this at all. No head retention, which is odd for a beer claiming high wheat content. The main problem though is just a weird taste, it says brewed with cardamom, coriander and black pepper and I think it's the cardamom that doesn't work. Manages to have a nasy smel, an unpleasant initial taste and a slightly different unpleasant aftertaste...regrettably I have another bottle
Although there's no mention of it on the bottle it seems to be bottle conditioned, didn't realise this first time so got a bit of sediment in the glass. I do have another though so might have a go at culturing the yeast, probably e-mail them and see if they will tell me what yeast it is - no point culturing it if it's just US-05
And Harbour's Porter No. 6...I quite like this, porter isn't normally my thing but this has just enough bittering to keep it from being too malt dominated.
And Maxim American Pride IPA. Better than I was expecting after other reviews, it's a similar beer to the Harbour IPA...but not as good. The hop flavour isn't as clearly defined. Although it's not as good as the Harbour it's not a bad beer. If it was added to Sainsburys normal range I'd definitely buy it ahead of most of their standard beers
and finally (probably) Hilden's Barney's Brew - Belfast Bap Wheat Beer. Nasty! Sorry but don't like this at all. No head retention, which is odd for a beer claiming high wheat content. The main problem though is just a weird taste, it says brewed with cardamom, coriander and black pepper and I think it's the cardamom that doesn't work. Manages to have a nasy smel, an unpleasant initial taste and a slightly different unpleasant aftertaste...regrettably I have another bottle
morethanworts
Landlord.
Quick comments on three of them:
"No Gonny Brew That"
A fashionable beer right now, I'd say, and enjoyable enough for its taste vs relatively low session ABV. But there are just so many of these very pale beers around where the (barely detectable) malt balance only exists to give the hops a stage. Once you've tasted citrusy hops in such a beer, you're done really. The next exponent is likely to taste remarkably similar. Very little complexity, and quite similar to the way the new world did/does 'big' grapes in the wine world IMO. Think Wolf Blass etc. A deliberately simple generalisation, I know. Did I enjoy it - yes, to a point. Will I remember it. Probably not.
Batemans "B Bock"
Hmm. Not as interesting as I'd hoped. I don't know the bock style well enough to get technical, but I'm sure this can't be a great example. Malt forward but no aspect really grabbing me. Dull.
Harbour IPA
A different story. A much more credible showcase for high-hopping (than the No Gonny...) in my view. Massive hops aroma and taste, remarkably like my dry hopped Wherry but even bigger (and 0.5% higher ABV) and perhaps more citrussy, but not annoyingly so. I haven't read up on the hops they use, but I'm getting all the notes I got from my EKG pellets, plus some more lemony scents. If you're a kit brewer who likes this stuff, then dry hop a short-brewed Woodforde's Wherry with around 50g plus of EKG pellets for 5 or 6 days and, given 6-8 weeks in bottles, you'll have a fairly comparable imitation in taste, maybe one shade darker. Maybe a dose of a citrussy hop too. An exceptional beer, with a far better mouth feel than the other two (bottle conditioned!) and a wealth of flavour, necessarily hop-forward for the style. I hope they stock these forever, though I'm in the business of making my own!
"No Gonny Brew That"
A fashionable beer right now, I'd say, and enjoyable enough for its taste vs relatively low session ABV. But there are just so many of these very pale beers around where the (barely detectable) malt balance only exists to give the hops a stage. Once you've tasted citrusy hops in such a beer, you're done really. The next exponent is likely to taste remarkably similar. Very little complexity, and quite similar to the way the new world did/does 'big' grapes in the wine world IMO. Think Wolf Blass etc. A deliberately simple generalisation, I know. Did I enjoy it - yes, to a point. Will I remember it. Probably not.
Batemans "B Bock"
Hmm. Not as interesting as I'd hoped. I don't know the bock style well enough to get technical, but I'm sure this can't be a great example. Malt forward but no aspect really grabbing me. Dull.
Harbour IPA
A different story. A much more credible showcase for high-hopping (than the No Gonny...) in my view. Massive hops aroma and taste, remarkably like my dry hopped Wherry but even bigger (and 0.5% higher ABV) and perhaps more citrussy, but not annoyingly so. I haven't read up on the hops they use, but I'm getting all the notes I got from my EKG pellets, plus some more lemony scents. If you're a kit brewer who likes this stuff, then dry hop a short-brewed Woodforde's Wherry with around 50g plus of EKG pellets for 5 or 6 days and, given 6-8 weeks in bottles, you'll have a fairly comparable imitation in taste, maybe one shade darker. Maybe a dose of a citrussy hop too. An exceptional beer, with a far better mouth feel than the other two (bottle conditioned!) and a wealth of flavour, necessarily hop-forward for the style. I hope they stock these forever, though I'm in the business of making my own!
Dave1970
Landlord.
Reindeer Droppings...Quite enjoyed this. Not remarkable but decent, and not what I'd expect of a Christmas beer. Pale coloured and well hopped. The hopping is reminiscent of an EKG SMASH I tried so there's probably some Goldings in there. A bit like the Maxim it's not amazing but I'd probably buy it ahead of most of Sainsburys standard range
Crafty Dan..Another good one. Golden colour, slight fruity sweetness and a lingering hoppy aftertaste from the Amarillo and Pacific Gem credited on the label. I read another review that claimed a "ready salted crisps" taste. I dismissed this on first tasting but about halfway down the glass there it was! First in the smell and the flavour. Very drinkable for a 6% beer, potentially dangerous. I'd be very happy if Sainsburys stocked this permanently.
Crafty Dan..Another good one. Golden colour, slight fruity sweetness and a lingering hoppy aftertaste from the Amarillo and Pacific Gem credited on the label. I read another review that claimed a "ready salted crisps" taste. I dismissed this on first tasting but about halfway down the glass there it was! First in the smell and the flavour. Very drinkable for a 6% beer, potentially dangerous. I'd be very happy if Sainsburys stocked this permanently.
dennisking
Regular.
Due to a **** up on the brewing front I've had to go buy some more, if your going to run out of beer it's good to do it when there's a bargain on. Choice was limited as a few of the shelves were empty.
So tonight's beer is wayfarer from The Orkney Brewery. Yet another highly hopped beer. Not seeing much variety so far.
I've had to go buy some more, if your going to run out of beer it's good to do it when there's a bargain on. Choice was limited as a few of the shelves were empty.So tonight's beer is wayfarer from The Orkney Brewery. Yet another highly hopped beer. Not seeing much variety so far.
dennisking
Regular.
Tonight's delight Batemans B Bock. Not a style of beer I no much about but after a succession of heavily hopped beers it was nice to drink a malty beer. Very sweet, bit to sweet for my taste but drinking this one has made me want to try a few examples of the "real thing".
dennisking
Regular.
So tonight I'm having 2 Swedish blonds :party: Not bad, certainly not as hoppy as some I've drank this week, but nothing special. Not as nice as a Swedish blond I have a vague memory of from 1974 :whistle: .
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