Posted on 06/04/22
Last week new-ish breweries like Azvex, Baron & Holy Goat dominated the week’s best new beer releases, which had me asking: were the old guard in trouble?!
This week they proved their prowess.
Here are the best new beers of the week.
Vault City & Neon Raptor Collab Centaur Skies Strawberry, Cream, Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Toffee Pastry Sour stole all the headlines this week, and rightly so, because this is head and shoulders above anything else that came in.
This is a proper rollercoaster of a beer, starting with a little hint of strawberry, before moving on to a kind of peanut butter brittle that’s almost burnt and definitely crunchy… then we fade into a soft, smooth and creamy fruit jelly finish.
You would never know this is 10% – a brilliant beer that won’t last long!
Having said all of the above, it’s not as if Vault City’s other releases this week are second rate!
In Blackberry Blueberry Blackcurrant Choc Chip Cookie Dough, Vault City have used actual cookie dough to come out with a soft and warming blueberry choc chip cookie of a beer, to which they’ve added a side of sour blackcurrant jam.
I’m calling it: Vault City are in a league of their own.
Next up, there aren’t many beers I decide to crack open twice, but Kernel’s latest Pils was so damn good I sunk it two days in a row. t
Tink delicate fruit undertones and a huge, biting finish.
Get one in – you will have no regrets!
Sureshot followed their outstanding launch beers with a new hoppy trio this week, all of which are so good it’s almost impossible to recommend one over the rest, but I guess the fact that Name A Yellow Fruit WCIPA is about to sell out says it all.
Tropical pineapple, piney bitterness and a big squeeze of citrus are what make this so great.
There’s also a NEIPA and a Pale if you want to collect the full set.
Rivington’s Area Codes DDH Pale Ale is an altogether much more murky affair, with a novel hop combo combining to produce something brilliant.
El Dorado, Strata and Hallertau Blanc make this tropical, dank and vinous with every gulp.
Smooth and sinkable. A lovely pale ale.
Meanwhile, Pressure Drop dialled Cheese NEIPA all the way up to 7.4% this week to create a beer that had both me and our other Olly nodding.
This is your juicy fruit cocktail of the week: overripe mango mingles with sweet strawberries and passionfruit, and everything comes with a huge helping of fresh cream. Yes!
Dig have made a bit of a name for themselves with their ‘Eddie’ series, and the latest double release definitely bolsters Dig’s escalating reputation.
There’s the Bourbon Barrel-aged Eddie Draws Judge Doom Coffee Stout to get stuck into, and can you really turn down Eddie Buries Judge Doom Imperial Cherry & Cacao Nib Dessert Stout?!
Cherry, chocolate and booze – the ultimate in indulgence.
Kernel are probably the brewery insiders most respect, and when they release things like their new Vatted Porter 1864 it’s easy to see why – this just isn’t something most would ever have the gaul to produce.
What you’ve got is a rich, dark porter that Kernel fermented in the wooden Bordeaux barrels they’ve previously used to age their saisons – leaving us with a cross between a tart and fruity saison and a malty, chocolatey porter.
This is why are Kernel in a category of their own.
And finally, Neon Raptor’s lauded Clusters has been taken to even greater heights!
This time, Raptor’s renegades have added salted caramel to the mix, giving the Reese’s Peanut Butter cup an even sexier edge.
Salted Caramel Clusters Salted Caramel & Peanut Stout is sweet, rich, indulgent and vegan – it is absolutely the best Clusters yet!
Rounding off the darks this week are two Kernel rebrews in Brown Ale and Dunkel. The dunkel is gaining in popularity. This is how you nail the style.
Completing Vault City’s brilliant trio this week was Carrot Cake, which was brewed with 800 kilos of real carrots and four whole carrot cakes! That is what I want in my beer!
Kernel’s popular Biere de Saisons are also back, this time in Sour Cherryand funky Apple varieties.
Elsewhere, Rivington released their aptly named Won’t Be Long Now Blueberry & Pineapple Sour, while Howling Hops’ Pompadour became a certified sour cocktail.
While we’re on Howling Hops, I quite liked their Mothership Divider NEIPA, tinged as it is with marmalade. Duration’s Window To The World IPA is less controversial: ripe fruits, candied sweets and citrus that lingers.
There’s more fresh hoppy stuff from Kernel just in, Rivington served up a sessionable Hoppy Little Pale, Pressure Drop joined them with Just You Wait Table Beer, then Brass Castle broke convention with Ekuanot Crush. At 6.5%, is this really a pale?!
Beak’s Spin IPA roped in nectaron hops for tropical refreshment, S43 paid tribute to the West Coast with Chaps, and Northern Monk went antipodean with OFS068 NZ DIPA.
Elsewhere Dig joined the Cold IPA train with Frozone’s Lament Cold IPA and Polly’s gave the world a pale ale masterclass with Oh My… Vol. 2 Simcoe & Sabro Pale Ale.
Finally, there’s something a little bit different awaiting in Kernel’s Brett Pale Ale – a pale ale fermented with the stuff traditionally reserved for sours. Dry, funky, and delicious – all hail King Kernel!
As always, I really hope you get to try some of these epic new beers at some point this week.
Cheers and happy drinking!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
