Tag: Great Heck Brewing

Beer Round Up 2

A few notes about some of the beers that I have enjoyed recently. There is no particular order to the listing. A couple of them have featured in some earlier posts.

Northern Monk. Heathen IPA 7.2% – yellow/gold with a haze and pours with a good head. This is really appealing with citrus aromas of grapefruit and lemon with tropical mango, pineapple and a slight touch of pine. There is a slight creaminess but also a crispness which make sit very refreshing. Low bitterness, nice mouthfeel. The finish is dry with an aftertaste of bitter oranges. This is excellent and very drinkable. Beware the ABV.

Northern Monk. Moobing on up. Triple IPA 10% – Yellow and as cloudy as it gets! Aromas of peach, banana and lemon. Palate is low bitterness, creamy, smooth, tropical fruit, merest hint of liquorice, gentle sweetness. This is a lovely beer, packed with flavour and a long, long finish.

Brixton Brewery. Low Voltage Session IPA 4.3% – Unfiltered, unpasteurised, natural beer. Light amber, hazy with a non persistent small head. This is  a very clean, refreshing beer. the nose has lovely aromas of malt, orange, grapefruit and a touch of mango. The palate is low bitterness with excellent character, hoppy with a touch of pine. Well made and very drinkable with a nice touch of bitterness on the finish. just what you want from a session beer.

Top Rope. Papa Mango, Mango Pale 5.1% – Vibrant orange in colour, cloudy with a strong white head. Aromas of mango, pineapple, banana. Palate is intense mango, low bitterness, nice carbonation. Mouthfeel is good with a slight creaminess. Long, lingering finish of mango puree!  Have been rather unimpressed with this beer in the past but this example was rather excellent.

Wylam. All Formats. DDH Citra Pale 5.2% – Yellow,cloudy, nice persistent head. Aromas of lemon, peach, apricot. Palate has low bitterness and is nicely carbonated. Tropical fruits, bags of lemon citrus. There is a lovely bitter lemon finish.

Verdant. Maybe One More PSI. DIPA. 8% – Orange/yellow and cloudy. Pours with a strong, bubbly white head. Aromas is complex,  orange, mango, peach and grapefruit, there is a lot going on here. The palate is juicy, tropical, low bitterness with gentle carbonation. A very well balanced beer with a lovely orange finish. This is so good, very drinkable despite the high alcohol.

Verdant. Track and Field. IPA. 7.2% – Yellow, cloudy, thin white head. Aromas of tropical fruits, pineapple, mango and banana, malty with a touch of pine. The palate is creamy, excellent mouthfeel, gentle carbonation, low bitterness with bags of tropical fruit and lemon. Nice finish. Very nice.

Yakima. Great Heck Brewing. IPA. 7.4% – Dark amber, clear and with a small white head. Aromas of malt, caramel, toffee and nuts. This is a serious west coast style IPA with bags of sweet malt flavours, it is creamy with low bitterness and hints of citrus and dark muscovado sugar. Very nice.

Rigg and Furrow Farmhouse Brewery.. IPA. 5.6% – Yellow, cloudy with no head. Aromas of orange, lemon and malt. The palate is juicy with a slight sweetness, good mouthfeel, low bitterness, gentle carbonation. A very refreshing beer that is very drinkable. A brewery based in the North East that is new to me.

Magic Rock. Cannonball IPA 7.4% – Amber, hazy with a strong white head. Aromas of citrus, pine, orange, earthy, malty. Palate is medium bitterness tropical fruits with orange, creamy with nice gentle carbonation. Finish is bitter orange. Very good.

In conclusion a lot of IPAs and several with high ABV. Perhaps I will look at some different styles in the next instalment.

Waterloo Beer Festival

The 14th Waterloo Beer Festival was held at Old Christ Church in Waterloo, just a short train ride from central Liverpool. On a hot day in a very atypical summer the venue was cool and most welcoming.

One hundred and sixteen beers from 29 different breweries along with ciders and gin were available for sampling. All beer was sold in halves. I sometimes think that thirds should also be an option as it enables you to try a few more of the beers on offer.

Elderflower Ale. Gibberish Brewing. Speciality Pale. 4.5% – With a taproom in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle Gibberish is very much a local brewery. Pale amber in appearance with a slight haze. Aromas of lemon and grass and the palate is soft, round and low bitterness. Doesn’t have much elderflower character which is a shame. Has a nice lemony tang on the finish.

Juicy 4pm. One Mile End. Pale Ale. 4.9% – From the East End of London One Mile End has been in operation for four years. This beer is dark yellow and cloudy. There are aromas of tropical fruits; pineapple, mango, melon, candied peel and lemon. Palate is creamy, low bitterness with orange pith and tropical fruits. As juicy as the name suggests this is New England IPA in style and has been double dry hopped. The finish is reminiscent of lemon and orange cordial!. There may be better examples of the style out there but this is very drinkable non the less.

Juicy 4pm

First Chop Brewing Arm. SUP. IPA. 3.9% – With a brewery now based in Salford this beer pours amber, clear, small white head and some nice lacing. The aroma is malty, lemon, caramel and yeasty. The palate has a nice hit of resinous pine, pineapple and is smooth with a slight creaminess. Low bitterness. Nice malty finish.

Crusader. Milestone Brewery. Pale Ale. 4.4% – Light amber in colour, clear with a small white head. Aromas of malt and grassy. Palate is slightly sweet malt and is low bitterness. Well made and quite drinkable.

South Island. Vale of Glamorgan Brewery. Pale Ale. 4.2% – Very pale yellow, clear (just) and with a non persistent head. Aromas of citrus and hoppy mango. Palate is very dry, crisp, medium bitterness and malty in character. There is a nice bitter tang to the finish. Very light but characterful and very drinkable.

Gulp. Milk Street Brewery. IPA. 4.8% – based in Frome, Somerset. This beer is amber, clear with a small white head. Aromas of malt, caramel, bread and a touch of citrus. The palate has a little crispness and is not overly sweet. West coast in style.

Mango Fever. 4T’s Brewery. Special Pale. 4.6% – Brewery based in Warrington. This beer is yellow gold, clear, bright and has aromas of grapefruit, lemon, mango, pineapple, candied peel and pear drops. It has a good mouthfeel with medium minus bittering.  There is a sweetness here and the flavour is reminiscent of fruit salad sweets.The finish is full on mango.

Yakima. Great Heck Brewing. IPA. 7.4% – Dark amber, clear and with a small white head. Aromas of malt, caramel, toffee and nuts. This is a serious west coast style IPA with bags of sweet malt flavours, it is creamy with low bitterness and hints of citrus and dark muscovado sugar. Very nice.