The Return Of The Brew

I’ve been pretty quiet on the beer blog front as of late, 4 months to be exact. Which is just unacceptable, don’t worry it’ doesn’t mean I’ve stopped drinking beer. BUT I’ve been moving house and it’s been one headache to the next, so much beer was consumed.

Just thought I’d write this to give a little update on what’s going on and what the plans are for the new future! First and foremost I’m heading off to Cardiff for the rugby this weekend with a couple pals in tow. Which can only mean one thing, Brains and Brewdog. Wales is the home of Brains, but don’t have the dangerous stout, that’s a big no no unless you’re buying it for your mate and not telling him about it. In an attempt to branch out the blog i’ll be writing a review on the beer we drank there and the experience as a whole because for anyone that’s been there before, Cardiff is brilliant!

Now we’re in a new house, not renting, It will be THE RETURN OF THE BREW - my second attempt at Brewing which will hopefully follow a better path than the last attempt which sparked ‘The great beer disaster of October’ And of course I’ll have a blog of the process hopefully with more success and it’ll end waiting in anticipation as the fermentation happens rather than mopping up never ending sludge. So that is stage 2 and blog 2!

It’s Christmasssssssssssssssss which means much beer will be drank and as many different possible combinations so you can bet there'll be updates! And a thrilling conclusion.

So hold tight the blogs are coming!!

Mad Goose Review

So the girlfriend is off doing something with work colleagues for the evening leaving me with full responsibility for myself, which is worrying in itself, so what do I need? A curry, beer and Netflix. Now naturally people would be thinking ordering a curry for delivery is the best solution here, BUT I thought into this more, I go order my curry in the restaurant, go next door to the pub for a beer, go back and collect said curry and walk home (less than 30 seconds), all part of the experience. 

So curry ordered and off to the pub I wander, mouth salivating after just uttering the words of my order, the pub is a Weatherspoons and I normally shy away from tap/pump beers due to their either tasteless lagers or ‘old man ales’ and head straight for the fridges for a Snake Dog, 13 Guns or Resin. This time however my attention was drawn by a pump beer - ‘Mad Goose’ by Purity, an English brewery, and always one for supporting the UK craft revolution I opted for what was described on the tap as a ‘citrus pale ale’ which is fine with me. So I swan on over, get it swan? Goose?, to the young lady behind the bar ‘Can I have a  pint of Mad Goose, please’ now her reply I was not ready for and it took me a moment to comprehend the situation, her reply to asking for a ‘Mad Goose’ was

‘Okay, no worries I’ll just head to petting zoo now’

… followed by a loud laugh to herself as she tapped away on the till. Panicked by the whole situation and taken aback by what is actually a pretty humorous joke I take a moment and laugh awkwardly like a socially inept teenager in the beginning stages of puberty. So this is already a right experience.

After the awkward encounter, I wander away with my beer, we’re back on track. And here it is: First thing I noticed was the complete lack of head, I thought to myself ‘oh no, I’ve only gone and got an old man ale’ there’s no gas which usually means 1 of 2 things, it’s either an old man ale, or it’s a still cider, both of which I really do not want. Secondly go in for a big ol’ whiff, of which there is none, brilliant, now I really am up shit creek without a paddle, a headless, aroma-less beer… So only one thing to do, embrace it and take a big gulp. To my surprise - It’s pretty good, oaky is the stand out flavour, it’s definitely a grower! At first taste I thought it was pretty good but by the end I was loving it! It’s a beer that knows what it’s about, a 4.2% ‘zesty blonde ale’ with a solid 3 hops in there, 2 aroma based and 1 bitter hop. So not the most hoptastic of beer but from the taste of oak rather than earth you could guess that.  

Naturally the taste changes as you get down the pint, but the oaky taste stays the same, it is in no way refreshing, so drinking this on a warm evening was kind of a double edged sword. In one way it was great drinking a nice oaky beer but in many other ways it made you quite warm the same way in which you drink red wine in the winter and white in the summer.

In conclusion Purity from Mad Goose is a nice beer for a winter evening, a tasty beer which will leave you knowing you’ve had a beer without leaving a bitter taste. In all honesty it’s not, in my opinion, a session drink; I couldn’t see myself drinking much more than 2 perhaps 3 no matter how nice it is it doesn’t have that refreshing feeling that I’m into with my beer. I could perhaps try this again during a colder spell and see if I feel a bit different. Of all of the beers I’ve tasted this is basically slap bang in the middle of Old man ale and craft which is strangely satisfying to drink.

Would recommend for:

• An Ale fan who wants something a little different
• Something a little soothing and homely - like a big fat roast dinner.

Top 5 Beers So Far - A Beer Fuelled Journey.

So now, I’m probably 4 years into a craft beer fuelled journey of excitement and wonder and I have tried a lot. There are up and down sides of trying a ‘new’ beer every time you wander into an unknown pub; I’ve had some incredible beers but also some incredibly underwhelming stale beers. There’s been gold, brown, pale gold, bright yellow, black even a very slight green all sorts in this journey and if it’s one thing I’ve learnt it’s that the most mental looking beer counts for nothing. It could mean they’ve packed as many hops as they can in it just to say they have ‘X’ amount, could mean someone went a bit mental with the food colouring or it could mean they’re being off the wall and trying to make their brand stand out because they know they have a solid product that the public needs to know about.

I’ve decided to conjure up this list  (on the right is the short list) in a hope to narrow down the ever growing beer list to top quality crafts that will refresh, inspire and even excite. Now I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to narrow down all the beers I’ve loved into a list of just the 5 best so there’s gonna be some honorable mentions thrown in for the ones that didn’t make the list but for one reason or another stood out to me. I’ll do it backwards because you know, it's dramatic and stuff.  Let's do this.

TLDR; I Bloody love beer, and you should drink Jackhammer, Resin, Snake Dog IPA, 13 Guns and Jaipur IPA.

5. Jackhammer - Brewdog

At five we have a entry (not the only one) from Brewdog, The crafters that kicked off my spiritual pilgrimage into the world of beer, it’s an amazing beer on the strong side but it’s just so flavoursome that the punch that it packs doesn’t even affect you because it’s just such a nice tasteful beer. Jackhammer, the ruthless IPA as described by the artists at Brewdog themselves is a 7.2% quite literally ruthless beer. Incredibly smooth for such a punch, that much so that when you have your first sip it’s like you’ve woken up all of a sudden and your mouth is having a little internal party like “come on pal get some more of that down you” it doesn’t taste like a 7.2% which is good but also incredibly dangerous for a long day. It’s so bitter and that might put people off but I cannot recommend this beer enough it’s like a kick in the face quickly followed up with love and affection. It’s almost addicting tasting this beer, the only reason it is this low down is because of the % drinking this is incredible but it simply couldn’t be an all day drink, even for me. Beer as we all know is also about being social and being with friends enjoying yourself and you definitely would with Jackhammer just not for as long as you would like to probably.

4. Resin - Sixpoint

At four we have another big hitter (certainly in terms of ABV %) it makes Jackhammer look like a… little hammer? As this beer packs in at a whopping, eye watering 9.1%, Resin from sixpoint across the pond, considering it is 9.1% they still sell it in a regular format of 335 ml Cans or even pint draught in some very very lucky places in America. Again much like Jackhammer it’s very easy drinking and smooth considering its ABV it doesn’t even really pack that massive punch that you’d expect. It’s so full of flavour and aroma it’s a real experience drinking this beer and you’re only going to want more of it, not that you can have a great deal of it before toppling.

I went to the local and it was there as a special guest craft section; naturally I tried it straight away drawn in by the pretty can (yes I’m still a marketing mug)

, as you can guess 4 cans later I’m tipsier than you should be after 4 cans, this is the moment I glance down to see the 9.1% ABV and it all makes a lot more sense. I really again can't recommend enough as it’s so smooth, it leaves really small head when poured (for quick accessible drinking) and there’s no stale taste left in your mouth like many beers leave, especially ones of this ABV. The one downside is that it’s so in demand over here in England it’s so hard to get your hands on, as soon as it’s in stock it’s gone again, for such a high demand it’s strange the demand hasn’t been met. To be in at 4 is no mean feat but again it falls down at the same place that Jackhammer does, it’s not a social day long drink otherwise this would be a lot higher on just taste alone it’s just incredible.

3. Snake Dog IPA - Flying Dog

Again a common theme here with ABV Snake Dog IPA comes in at 7.1% so again a bit high for all day drinking...unless you want it to be quite a short, glazed over day. Obviously as the name suggests we have an IPA here, it’s a different creature to the previous 2 in the list. It’s mad fruity, which is good it’s really smooth and there’s just a taste sensation going on with every second it’s in your mouth. It’s most notable taste is one of grapefruit, with a rich caramelly finish (that would probably be the caramel speciality malt used) we have a whopping 5 hops in there meaning it sits happily at the mount of hops included, now I know, I know I suggested in the intro that packing hops in is a simple novelty approach and rarely transforms into anything but a poor attempt at a marketing niche. Yet as you can probably guess with it being here on the list it’s a great great effort at shoving hops in there and you can tell they’ve put them together with a great deal of thought, Flying dog have made a great name for themselves within the Hoppy community and I for one hope they stick around for a long time if they make taste sensations like this on a regular basis. This beer really isn’t for everyone, if you’re an IPA lover you will love this but if you’re recently introduced into the craft beer world then it will probably be like marmite and could go either way. If you mostly like lager and only dabble in this world of craft then chances are you’re going to think it tastes pretty eccentric and quickly put it down. But anyone up for a bit of beer adventure, give this a go! And even if you don’t like it brag about the amount of hops you’ve drunk to your friends and look super cool.

Honourable mention goes to… Albino Squid Assassin - Brewdog

Albino squid assassin.. Do I need to say more? Well, yes! What a name firstly, secondly it’s one of the only Red Rye crafts that I have come across and actually liked. Usually I find Red Rye, any kind of Rye for that matter so fruity it may as well be a cider, which obviously has it’s place but as a non-cider drinker I’m far from impressed. It sits pretty at 7.4% which is a good ABV for a Red Rye, this is the wonder of craft beers they put so much thought into every invention, they don't just walk in and stick the conveyor belt on and see what comes out, they research, they test, they test, they test again, they fail, they test again and just keep going until they have a quality product. So if you’re looking for something really different to your normal craft beer experience, grab a can/bottle of Albino Squid Assassin and see what happens, you may just have found a new style of beer.

And you’ll never fail to be cool drinking something with such a bitchin’ name.

Here we are, down the big final 2!

2. 13 Guns - Crafty Dan

13 Guns, this is a tad different to the rest of the beers on the list it sits at 5.5% which for the sake of the list is actually quite low! But obviously this means great things in terms of drink-ability, in contrast to the rest of the list you can sit down and have more than 3 without feeling a bit jaded - we love an all day drinking session. It has a solid 6 hops in there which makes it more impressive how they compiled them in such a way to give this beer a medium body with a whitish tinged amber head. The smell is something heavenly, doesn’t smell of the typical citrusy, fruity aroma that most craft beers do, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but that is what makes this beer stand out - the smell of pine. This beer also stands out for another reason, it’s made here in the UK, in comparison to what seems like the rest of the world the UK was pretty late to the  craft beer party. It being really low key and niche until about 2009(ish) when Brewdog really started to make their mark in the UK and woke everyone's taste buds up with a punch to the throat. Daniel Thwaites of Thwaites brewery is the founder and chief with the brewery actually having a record of producing beer all the way back to around 1807, so it’s fair to say they probably know their way around a brewery. With their expert knowledge spanning many a generation of the Thwaites family they decided they would create a crack team of experts to innovate and inspire the beer world, aptly timed with the craft beer UK revolution - thus ‘Crafty Dan’ was born. Now, they have a kick ass name they have more than enough knowledge and they birth us the beautiful 13 guns, the kind of beauty that can only be conjured up by many years of experience coupled with sheer innovation and love of what you’re doing. It really is a beautiful beer for ever sense from the pine smell to the medium sparkling yellow body topped with a little white afro the way it domes from central pouring, it would have every right to be #1 on many lists but it was beaten out by what is my favourite beer of all time, to date.

Now let’s make this super dramatic by throwing in another honourable mention before the big #1

Honourable mention - Punk IPA

Now an Honorable mention has to go to Punk IPA, it almost broke my heart leaving it out of the top 5 as it’s a staple beer in my beer fridge. It is a brilliant beer in every way, the smell is great, the colour is golden, the pour is fresh and the head is frothy but minimal. A mark of a good beer is when finished pouring the head still raises for another 5-10 seconds which is what Punk has that many don’t. Brewdog is now pretty accessible in UK bars and pubs with the vast majority of places having bottles and many now seeing the popularity and demand installing pumps, unlike most beers Punk actually tastes near enough the same whether from bottle of draft which is obviously as impressive as it is great. As I continue my beery adventure which I hope spans for the rest of my life, no matter how many I taste, what breweries go in what direction I will always have a special place in my heart for Brewdog and Punk. Not only did it start my personal craft beer journey but it bought craft beer to the masses, to the UK and in many ways paved the way for not only established brewers to try something different but the new kids on the block.

Brewdog showed that you can go from just 2 men, a dog and a shed to the pinnacle, from begging and pleading banks to fund your failing business to winning award after award, from an idea to a empire.

If you want to know more about Brewdog and their journey I can’t recommend enough Business for Punks written by James (Elvis) Watt, it’s as much about sticking a big middle finger up to doubters as it is about the Brewdog journey. I got the book for my personal indulgence and interest in Brewdog but came away from it with a newfound understanding of business, finance, startups, human nature, funding, a whole host of different useful life skills. So this is as much an honorable mention to Brewdog as it is to a beer.

1. Jaipur IPA - Thornbridge

This is it, the beer to end all beers, if I only had one beer I could drink for the rest of my life (probably the worst kind of hell) this would be it. Jaipur IPA is something extraordinary,  at 5.9% it’s in the middle of all day drinkable and 3 cans jaded. Something very special has been produced with this beer, the gas is basically non-existent which makes it all not only drinkable but also very pleasant and smooth. I have no idea if they use a different brewing method, ferment for longer/shorter, let it sit in a different container who knows but it works. In contrast to 13 Guns it’s quite standard in aroma, citrusy and sweet, it has a very, VERY subtle oaky smell to it but unless you’re sat there with your nose in it or bathing in it you probably wouldn’t notice it. For months upon months I drank Jaipur IPA and absolutely loved it but couldn’t really put my finger on why, didnt know what made it different and like some beer soaked epiphany drinking from the bottle one day I got it, I finally realised the ‘secret’ ingredient. Of course I could have just looked on the back of the bottle or Googled it, but where’s the fun in that? It’s honey. It pours well into a really deep yellowy/gold, a lot darker than most other beers it almost looks like cloudy lemonade, the head is incredibly minimal (a result of the very minimal gas which is magically removed somehow). The taste is bitter initially not fruity as you’d expect from the aroma it’s not to some people’s taste, the bitterness but to mine it works just perfectly as if I wanted something fruitier I’d either have a Rye or a cider. The best part of drinking Jaipur IPA comes when you’ve actually swallowed it, the hops are released almost like slow burning, all of a sudden you mouth and throat is overcome with that really special hoppy flavour which is what most people drink crafts for. The after taste is earthy, which is something I find purely whimsical about craft beer and one of the traits which really fuels my passion for it, it’s almost like you can taste how much effort has been put into it, how they’ve taken something fundamentally filthy from the ground and made it something special. Maybe my love of this beer is something fantasized but if it is I’m fine with that because that’s the reason I drink beer, for something really special and enjoyable. The one downside to this beer is that it’s just not that accessible, it’s in very few bars and pubs  in all the bars and pubs around the country I’ve been into I’ve seen it in 2 pubs. In 1 of the pubs it’s a staple and is always there which is brilliant and obviously one of my favourite pubs to go to, whereas the other was in a bar as a guest craft which was there for 2 weeks and then shipped on luckily with me visiting within those 2 weeks on pure chance. Another excellent bonus is that again much like 13 guns, it’s produced in the UK by Thornbridge and you can even go on a brewery tour and see it being made!

If you are lucky enough to stumble across Jaipur IPA in a pub or bar don’t think about leaving it to a later date as it’s probably disappearing in a couple weeks, so quickly have as many as you can before you’re stumbling around and finding it hard to pronounce Jaipur.

So there you have it, the best beers I have come across in the last few years since starting my beer fuelled journey, so if you come across any of these have them, order them, buy as much as you can. I know I’ve waffled on for a long time, so if you have stuck it out to the end, thanks! And we should probably get a beer together sometime, I know a few good places.

#IBloodyLoveBeer.

The Hops Of America

Devils Backbone IPA Review

So here we are, it’s not often you get a craft beer sold on tap at a cheap price, so going into this I really wasn’t expecting much from the initial signs. But hay what do I know, it might be a breakthrough to sell it cheap, get everyone hooked then ramp it back up to the crafty prices we’re used to seeing. Devils Backbone is an american brewing company in Virginia, a family run place which started on a craft beer exploration in 1992 when they went on a trip to Italy and found their first ‘craft’. Their website is pretty cool, tells you a lot of information and makes the brand look really approachable and homely http://dbbrewingcompany.com/ which I like. You really get a sense that craft beer really is their passion and they brew it to enjoy with family and friends, to introduce people through innovative approach. That being said, obviously has no impact at all on the overall taste, but everything points towards a good beer, a innovative approach based on passion not money. So that’s the origin of this beer, for convenience it’s actually brewed over here by Wolverhampton based ‘Marstons’ but it’s a Devils backbone recipe just brewed here for convenience really. Before it came over here the Devil guys actually tweaked it slightly to accommodate ‘English pallets’ which again really confirms how much they are passionate about serving a good beer for all their customers or “Friends”.

The Background

Devils backbone IPA is a 5.2% ABV so basically smack bang in the middle of the IPA scale making it a bog standard IPA in every sense. It’s a pretty cool Amber colour almost a red which makes it stand out a bit which is always a good thing in a competitive market.

The smell

The smell is incredibly fruity, smells almost like a fragrance of some kind, which is really nice, it’s not overpowering, it’s not smack in the face, it really gives the impression of a social beer. As you would expect from an insanely fruity smelling beer most the hops involved are on the citrus side with Admiral making a huge part of it closely followed by EK Goldings and West coast american hops to give it that crafty finish. This is really cool actually because what they’ve done to limit on costs of setting up an English centre of beer is they’ve sourced UK based hops which taste similar (if not the same for the most part) to the true american hops used in the ‘real’ batch. I won’t say much about the hops as it’s obvious, just citrus taste and smell it’s actually the yeast that really gives the unique taste to this beer. But a lovely smell none the less, won't overpower you or your mates.

The pour

As already mentioned it comes at a beautiful amber colour, almost red. It looks almost like a fruity larger which isn’t a bad way of describing almost every element of this beer. When poured well you’re left with a decent finger of head (giggity) which is frothy and thicker than most heads but that’s the Belgian yeast involved. So if you’re a bearded gentleman (or woman) then it gets all sorts of stuck in your moustache, which depending on how you view this is either embarrassing or incredibly funny EVERY SINGLE TIME. The beer makes you look really cool too as it’s so dark, so you get the best of both worlds 1) you look awesome 2) you get a decent beer, what more could you want?

The taste

It’s a Belgian yeast  that really makes the beer stand out and the reason for that is it works better at ‘standard ale temperature’ which obviously there is still a place in the UK’s heart for ‘old man ales’ as I call them. But no, this doesn’t mean it’s meant to be warm, like the age old stereotype our friends over the pond have of us. Taste an ‘Old man ale’ and then a Lager, they’re both cold but generally lagers are meant to be served ice cold, hence the frosted glasses etc. So what Belgian yeast actually gives us is an insanely drinkable beer straight away, downing a larger generally leaves you with a mouth full of bubbles, a belly full of gas and a brain freeze whereas this is enjoyable and refreshing without the pain. Now I’m a fast beer drinker, I saviour the first taste with a good manageable 2 or 3 gulps to really get the beer into me, so this benefits me no end. If I’m honest it’s just a really good all round beer, nothing to blow your mind but I’ve had it several times and it’s my go-to draught beer in spoons now.

Conclusion

Is this a beer that will knock your socks off? Not at all

BUT

Is this a beer to enjoy with family and friends? 100% yes

Is this a beer that’s manageable ABV and incredibly nice? YES

Is this a beer I could see myself drinking a lot of? I already have…

A really good beer all round, Devils Backbone pride themselves on a family approach with clear principles that revolve around innovation and spending time with the people you love. This a beer for that, it’s not insanely strong so you have 4 and you’re dribbling on the table with your parents disdain stares burning the back of your head. Overall it’s a solid 3.5, nothing to write home about but a great social beer which I will be enjoying many many more of.

Would recommend for:

- Anyone really, it’s a good beer.

- For a social occasion to remember.

- A hipster who wants to look even cooler.

Camden Pale Ale Review

The background

Camden pale ale, where do I even start with this beer? It’s a funny one, In one way it’s everything a pale ale ‘is’ but in another way it’s also incredibly tasteless and incredibly just ‘blah’.

Camden PA is a 4% Pilsner which almost pushes it into the session bracket but it’s not marketed that way so hey what do I know (ps. It’s definitely a session) It’s really incredibly pale gold, like insanely pale gold, almost like staring straight through gold coloured waterfall.

The smell

Ah the smell, well there is literally none. By none I mean it is actually odorless, bare in mind I was drinking this out of a can so getting a big old concentrated sniff was pretty easy and still nothing. This is really odd considering the hops that that are included-:  Perle, citra and simcoe so we have some pretty big hitters in there! Most notably simcoe which seems to be the new kid on the block and brewers are chucking it at everything. Simoce is an American hop (I’ve almost definitely covered it before) but it’s the Hop that kicks off a lot of IPA styles as it’s the hop that gives a beer that really grounded earthy raw smell and taste (used in right quantities) yet somehow in this beer they’ve taken one of the most incredible taste provoking hops and effectively watered it down into a dull mess, should be punishable really. Perle is a bizarre hop that generally isn’t found in a lot of beers and I actually feel a little sad that my first experience of perle was with this beer as I can only imagine the actual taste of it could be something quite special and unique. It’s a floral hop which is spicy and gives a bit of a tangy taste which is what it makes it interesting, coupled with some good quality hops it could be a real big hitter, even a single hop brew would be interesting, maybe not nice but definitely unique. Last but not least there is citra a bog standard hop found in a lot of beers, usually found more in sessions and sassions but IPA dabble with it as well as given away by the name it’s what gives beer the fruity flavour that really distinguishes usually session ales, gives it a kind of cider taste. Pretty standard but nice and has it’s place nonetheless.

The pour

Now this is relatively hard to comment on as It was can based so not a whole lot of pouring actually happened and I wasn’t offered a glass to enjoy my beverage so a can it is, disgraceful I know. But what I can touch upon is the new ‘softer’ type aluminium can which beer is now served in. ‘Tinnies’ used to be the standard within the beer industry, nice, easy, convenient to produce and drink from until the new age beer drinker came about and realised how unbelievably stale it made beer taste so glass bottles were the way forward into making people continue to drink beer for a good few years until the can was redesigned, with this new softer aluminium they’ve effectively scaled down the aluminium content meaning tinnies don’t taste as metal,stale and sour. Low and behold tinnies are back in the market.

The taste

Obviously the interesting part for someone who doesn’t care about hops, but as you can probably guess from the rest of this review it’s not going to be pretty. The hops, the appearance, the colour all pointed towards a good beer coming other end and it’s just not sadly, it’s just insanely boring. It’s not horrible, spit it out, follow with a chaser disgusting but I wouldn’t actively go to a bar and say yes a Camden pale ale is the one for me. It has all the ingredients of a great beer just put together shoddily in poor quantities, what appears to be the main issue to me is they’ve tried to please too many people with this beer. It’s neither here nor there, it neither tastes like a pilsner or an IPA. It’s sad because Pilsner is an incredibly good rich beer style but generally it’s produced in Germany, Prague or Belgium and it should probably be left to them as they do an incredible job of it like Pikeland Pils.

Conclusion

Is this a beer to actively purchase? Not at all.

Is this a beer that is refreshing, different and unique? Nope.

BUT

Is this a beer that you could get a hoppy flavour? No actually not.

Would I drink this beer instead of other beers? Nope definitely not.

All in all it’s not good, it’s really not good, but as mentioned it’s not repulsive, I wouldn’t spit it out, But dear me I wouldn’t order it again. 1/5

Would recommend for:

• Someone that likes pretty colours? It's a nice colour...
• Probably no one in all honesty, it's bland and I can think of numerous different beers to recommend before this one. 

But hey, this a beer journey and it's another one to chalk of the list, I continue to stumble about in the search for good beer.

Hop House 13 Review

The background

So it was only an amount of time before big multi conglomerate mass producing company attempted to bully the little guy out the way with it’s own take on something ‘crafty’. Guinness are the culprits of this, the most heinous of crimes, taking something beautiful, something powered by the little guy, something standing for higher price better quality and reproducing it to see what happens. The saddest fact of them all, they’ve done mildly okay.

Hop house 13 is a 5% deep golden in colour ‘larger’ (although I very much question the likening to this claim) Price varies - they've taken the high price small volume thing but tried to undercut the original crafters (of course) generally 4 for £4.

The smell

The smell of it is something straight out of craft beer 101, almost as if it’s superficially enhanced it’s that ‘traditional’ which probably raises a good few questions. It’s hoppy (probably no surprise given the name..or is it?) Well being from Guinness naturally they used their own yeast, but actually have numerous hops in Galaxy, Topaz and Mosiac an international selection from USA and AUS. Now Galaxy from AUS is what makes it incredibly fruity smelling (and slightly tasting) but that’s not the main smell you get. Topaz again from AUS is incredibly fruity hop which has undertones of floral aroma again not the main smell. Now Mosiac is where the real smell comes from, it’s earthy and well kind of groundy, what you would typically associate with a ‘hoppy’ smell, Mosaic is that much of a powerhouse in the hop world you can actually make a strong IPA from using a single hop, Mosaic.

The pour

The pour is incredibly good, a lot of beer especially traditional ‘old man’ ales and Guinness feel like from pour to mouth is about 4 hours waiting for it to settle then pouring the next half. But Hop house got it right, a nice straight pour which musters the smallest of head, now I must admit I’ve poured a lot of beer in my time so I’m probably not the sloppiest poorer, so to test this good pouring I borrowed the Mrs and said ‘pour this see what happens’. After the glum look of ‘Sam what are you even doing’ she agreed and poured a straight pint with minimal head, much like mine. Ready to drink in seconds, just what you want from a beer especially a refreshing cold one.

The taste

Let's be honest did we expect much? No not really, a mass produced attempt at a knock off craft ‘lager’ but surprisingly, no actually it’s pretty stale initially but inoffensive. It’s pretty boring in nature, much like most mass produced lagers, little flavour, little anything really. Considering it has the king of Hops in it, some how they’ve got all the smell from Mosaic and none of the taste, which makes me think the smell is enhanced somehow, no way can there be noticeable amounts of Mosaic in this and it taste so bland. Despite it being so bland, the after taste is incredibly soothing and all in all it's very refreshing, the kind of beer garden drink alternative for the summer.

Conclusion

Is this a beer to crack open to enjoy? Probably not.

Is this a beer to really sit back and lose yourself in the beer world? Not at all.

BUT

Is this a beer that is refreshing? Definitely

Is this a beer that I could see myself drinking a lot of? Probably on a hot day.

It’s not the best beer you’re ever gonna have but it’s okay, it’s not a bad effort from a big company trying it’s hand a craft approach. Overall I would give it a 2.5/5.

Would recommend for:

• The lager drinker who wants a dabble in the craft world but probably not too much.
• Someone who is very hot and thirsty.
• Someone who likes to pour beer for the satisfaction of good manageable head...giggity.