Posted on 13/10/21
Oli Meade
This week, we look at some mammoth darks (that reach as much as 18% ABV!) and sours as good as I’ve ever, ever seen from the likes of Vault City, Pastore and the upcoming brewery Tartarus.
Kicking things off though, with the seasons changing, there are some great value hoppy beers to grab right now. A 500ml DEYA pale for under a fiver? Say hello to MUD, the new DEYA pale…
DEYA beers are, obviously, outstanding, which is why they usually cost a bit.
But MUD, the new collab with the band Do Nothing, weighs in at just £4.95!
DEYA quality too – clean, soft and drinkable with all the hoppy goodness you’d expect. A great value beer.
Next up, ever had a craft beer from Belfast? Cause if not, say hello to Boundary.
New to our shelves, Boundary have piled in with some lovely hoppy stuff this week, and I reckon Imbongo IPA will be a big hit.
The IPA’s extra pale malts let the sweet, juicy and tropical hops take centre stage, creating a full-on tropical fruit extravaganza!
Howling Hops are one of those breweries who fall into the ‘underrated’ category given the quality of their brewing.
Take Heavy Operator DDH Pale as an example.
It’s double dry hopped with the mighty Sabro, which could easily morph it into coconut milk.
But the brewers trump the sabro with fruit-forward Citra and Amarillo to make this a juicy fruit salad topped with coconut sprinkles – it’s immense.
Equally tropical Parlour Games NEIPA is even more fruity, swerving the coconut altogether. Great brewing.
Although we’re moving into dark season, sour sorcery shows no signs of stopping.
Pastore & Neon Raptor’s Breakfast Sour claws at the top of the sour stack this week – two heavyweights uniting for something seriously special.
Rice, maize and breakfast cereal as the base! Oat milk in the boil, conditioned on blueberries, cherries, raspberries, hazelnut, almond and vanilla.
How much flavour can you pack into one beer?! This is nuts.
Over in Gipsy Hill’s corner, the question is ‘how much flavour can you pack into a 1.2% beer?’. For the answer, get your lips round Soft Scoop Screwball Sour.
Inspired by beloved childhood screwball ice-creams, this ours vibrant purple, with huge doses of raspberry and a bubblegum finish.
Low-alc doesn’t get much better.
Finally, Tartarus are back! And this time, as well as some epic dark stuff, they’ve released a new, massive, Blueberry Pancake Fruited IPA.
Blueberries, maple and lactose are the backbone, all hopped up to something special with Ella and Mosaic.
Cutting edge brewing. And that artwork (the flamingo) is wicked!
Dark season is well and truly upon us, and Brew York have planned ahead!
With BA HYG Imperial Milk Stout, they’ve taken their already excellent Peanut, Caramel and Marshmallow Milk Stout… then aged it in bourbon barrels for 18 months.
Expect a complex, indulgent and warming chocolate and caramel swirl with a boozy vanilla-bourbon edge – only 5 left in stock at the time of writing!
Talking of boozy, Left Handed Giant’s We Are Floating In Space Imperial Stout is 15%!
Their biggest imperial stout to date oozes marzipan and sweet banana drenched in rich cacao.
As Left Handed Giant put it, this is a sharer, and would be well suited to some kind of dreamy autumn fireplace situation.
De Struiss Brouwers’ Tora Tora ups the ante even further – with an 18% Barrel Aged Triple IPA, which has been resting peacefully for a full two years now!
This one’s been aged in barrels that once housed Jenever, a juniper-flavored traditional liquor of the Netherlands.
Response to this so far has been mixed – some say it’s like nectar, others ask where they’ve hidden all the booze. ‘Specialist’ is probably the best description – you’ll know if this one is for you.
Then there’s Vault CIty’s Double Maple Triple Chocolate Blueberry S’more Sour. This is a big one.
Three layers of chocolate sit atop rich marshmallow and sweet maple.
Fresh Scottish blueberries cut through the chocolatey sweetness.
In fact, to achieve the cut through, Vault had to add more blueberries to this than they’ve ever added to a beer.
Is it a dark? Is it a sour? Both?! Try one – then write to me with your answer.
Gipsy Hill’s Twitcher is back for 2021! The popular DIPA is as fruity as ever. The same brewery’s latest Squashed: Blueberry and Banana is fruitier still… with 20% of the can being pure fruit. Then there’s Glimmer Tropical Stout – a sweet and easy drinking dark that you do not need to share.
Kees fans will be pleased to see a new Kees drop, with each as good as the last. Eclair is the vanilla pastry stout. Swedish Vaccuum Cleaner is a thick, 13% pastry stout with chocolate and marzipan. The Export Porter is black, sticky and velvety with deep chocolate and coffee notes. Collect the whole set!
Hoppy by Nature DIPA, meanwhile, is Kees’ hoppy offering. Kees aren’t known for their hops, which is a shame, cause this is a decent drop.
Whenever Vault release anything you take it as given that it’s gonna be top drawer, and the latest batch holds no exceptions. SDIPA Strata is a sour DIPA, while Vault City’s Mango is a nice little session sour.
Boundary call on blueberries in You’re Not Getting Any Imperial Stout. DEYA have teamed up with SMOD for Golden Boy English Bitter, Pastore’s Tropical Sour DIPA straddles boundaries, and their Port Barrel Aged Peach Wild Ale is a demonstration of what a wild ale should be.
And finally, if you want to get hold of Gipsy Hill’s latest Bogan NEPA, there are just 3 left in stock right now – be quick!
Cheers & happy drinking!
Hope you get to try some of these wicked beers this week. As always, stay safe out there.
Oli
(The founder)
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We trawl the globe tasting great beer
