Posted on 21/07/21
Oli Meade
I write this column weekly. And truthfully, I just cannot remember the last time one week’s worth of new beer releases was so damn good!
I’m obviously going to call out my favourites in a sec. But before I do, you should know that if you get hold of any of the beers mentioned in this week’s column, you’ll be a lucky, happy person.
With that in mind, let’s begin this week with new beers from one of the best breweries in existence…
It’s The Veil. The. Veil!!!
Now this is a US brewery widely acknowledged as one of the best breweries in existence, making some of the best beers you can get your hands on… anywhere in the world!
And somehow, there are currently five (FIVE!) of their rich and decadent hop-monsters resting on our shop shelves down in South London – including 4 DIPAs and the gargantuan We We Ded Did Triple IPA.
Now these are obviously quite pricey. But – fair warning – we only have extremely limited numbers available – just 3 or 4 cans of each.
So if you want to secure one of the best of the best for your own collection, now’s your chance. My tip is the Dirt Nap³ DIPA – but I promise you will not regret the Triple IPA!
Why stop at The Veil?
In fact, can you? Can you when DEYA and Verdant have teamed up to release Buy The Ticket Take The Ride West Coast Triple IPA?
This is from two mega breweries, it’s based on a beautiful biscuit malt backbone all topped with a gooey layer of apricot jam, and it’s a West Coast Triple IPA! Have you even seen one of these before?!
An outstanding beer at the forefront of brewing.
And OK, Overtone maybe haven’t made it to the ‘forefront’ just yet, but I’d say those in the know consider Overtone just as good – and maybe even better – than your DEYAs and your Verdants.
The new citrusy and smooth Pearl Clouds Triple IPA proves as much, while Overtone’s Chufft is a Double IPA I could just sink again and again.
It’s a blitzed up fruit bowl filled with luscious pineapple and juicy ripe mango with an expert hop bitterness that just shows how good Overtone really are – get involved!
On the subject of hops, you might be interested in Full Circle Brew Co’s Annual Service Plan NEIPA.
Brewery owner Ben grew up around parents in the wine business, then made the leap to beer a bit over two years ago, and is making a name for his brewery up in Newcastle.
With stuff like Annual Service Plan it’s not hard to see why – this is citrusy dank goodness from a brewery to keep an eye on.
Vault City turned 3 the other day and decided to celebrate with FOUR new specials… and each and every one of them is absolutely phenomenal!
I reckon the most popular will be the Raspberry White Chocolate Sour – this is Vault City after all.
Deprived dark fans will flock straight to the Raspberry White Chocolate and Honeycomb Impy Stout. Meanwhile Piñita Pina Colada Session Sour will do well for obvious reasons. But then Strawberry Stars?
Seriously – look at the colour of it!
Why is it in a clear glass bottle? Because Vault have added a mad gold glitter to the mix as a ridiculous celebration. It’s bonkers – but honestly, it’s Vault doing what they do, and doing it well. Only 3 left in stock at the time of writing.
Talking of Vault City, the two new beers from Vault’s offspring Holy Goat are truly immense.
Honeybucket Sour is my pick of the two. This was split into two batches pre-fermentation. One batch fermented open. The other closed. The two were then blended back together and refermented with raw blossom honey from bees feasting on wildflowers, clover, balsam, apple and lime nectar.
A late addition of fresh foraged elderflower adds refreshment.
Serious brewing here, and it’s seriously good. (Citrus Crusher Sour isn’t half bad, either.)
On a lighter note we have Gipsy Hill’s latest Squashed: Summer Fruits Sour.
This time round it’s crammed with 240g per litre of strawberries, sour cherries and apples – summer in a glass!
Anyone up for Belgian style beers from the USA?? If so, Allagash are on hand – with North Sky Stout and a pilsner too.
Full Circle complement Annual Service Plan NEIPA with Disco Stars DIPA. Get to know the brewery by comparing the two. Add in Looper IPAand Tiny Pinch Of Magic Pineapple Sour for the full set.
As well as their collab with Verdant, hop heavyweight DEYA joined up with Floc for a clean IPA in Ever So IPA, proving IPAs need not be hazy to be full of juice.
Germany’s Frau Gruber continue to lead Germany’s craft scene with Purple Haze DDH IPA and a welcome 4.5% session IPA in Covered In Sunshine SIPA. The brewery’s FrauGruberlicious: Mango & Orange Sour is a foray into sour territory – and not a bad one either.
Pomona Island added to the sour fun this week with Monkberry Moon Delight Sour and The Lemon Of Pink pink lemonade Sour. The first is pure raspberry. The second is lemon with a touch of raspberry, and that’s the one that gets my vote.
Lager-wise, there’s a 0% lager in from Kaiserdom. The German alcohol-free specialist also hit us up with 0% Pink Grapefruit Weissbier and a 0% Hefeweizen too.
Northern Monk’s lager contribution came in the form of OFS043 India Pale Lager – a spritzy lager with the juicy refreshment of an NEIPA. Meanwhile Monk’s The Awakening DDH DIPA is hopped up to the max with a massive 38g/l of Citra, Citra Incognito, Mosaic, Sabro, El Dorado and Cryopop™. This screams tropical goodness.
There’s also a pair of hoppy beauties from Gipsy Hill in fruity Catface NEIPA and the more piney, resinous Bedrock West Coast DIPA.
And finally, what about this from Overtone? Pitaya Fruited Gose is brewed with dragon fruit, prickly pear and passion fruit, plus Indian coriander seeds and pink Himalayan sea salt for salty exotic flavours. Come on!
As always, I hope you get to try some of these magnificent beers this week. I honestly cannot remember the last time a batch of new beers has been so damn good!
Cheers, happy drinking, and feel free to shout if you have any questions!
Oli
(The founder)
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We trawl the globe tasting great beer
