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Posted on 03/08/22
I’m going to jump straight into this list this week because today we start with something pretty special, and it’s already seriously low in stock!
Vault City have Iron Brew Sour. Verdant have Putty. Should Overtone’s Northern Hemisphere also be added to the hallowed list?
Maybe I’m pushing things… but after trying Northern Hemisphere 2022, it is hard to argue that this is anything other than utterly incredible.
A pretty rare celebration of Northern Hemisphere hops, this is juicy white peach through and through. There’s a subtle spiciness if you look for it, and it accents the NEIPAs tropical deliciousness to perfection. A squeeze of lime coats proceedings while oats and white wheat exclusively keep things thick and creamy.
Only 3 left in stock – get yours, and get it quick!
If you do miss out… well a Beak Double IPA ain’t a bad substitute, is it?!
Curl DIPA makes warm summer’s evenings even better. The hops all combine for tangerine-papaya notes, with Beak’s trademark cloud-level fluffiness running throughout.
This should be called gulp. Mind you, that probably already exists.
What, you want even more fruit?
Then look no further than Seven Island/Northern Monk collab Nomad Clan Tropical IPA.
Here you’ve got oranges, you’ve got pineapple, you’ve got mango and you’ve got melon – this is an unapologetic fruit punchbowl that reminds us how juicy the juicy NEIPA can be!
Fruit is the name of the game on the sour front this week too, beginning with Dugges’ Tropic Thunder Sour, which has so much flavour for a non-smoothie sour you wonder how the hell they’ve packed it all in.
Lactobacillus adds the tang factor – serious tang factor, at that – then fermentation with mango, peach and passionfruit adds three more flavour layers that all interweave for an unforgettable experience.
Charlie and Olly are both big fans – as is pretty much anyone who sinks a can.
Funky Fluid have released a Sangria Sour! Where has this been all my life?!
Refreshing, zingy, sessionable; 500ml, imported, and just £4.80 a can!
The warm weather we’ve been having is set to continue. You’ll want at least two of these in your fridge.
When I saw Vault City had released Raspberry Vanilla Lollipop Sour earlier this week, I couldn’t resist – this is Vault City doing exactly what continues to underline their name.
You’ve got exactly what you’d expect to get from a favourite 90’s lollipop reimagined in beer form. There’s the sour fizz, the rhubarb sweetness, and that creamy vanilla-custard edge. These things shouldn’t work, and yet Vault City make them brilliant.
That’s why Vault remain kings of experimental excellence.
Few breweries have embraced Tonkoko to the same extent as Brew York, and the York-based funsters’ expertise in the area is now really starting to make their tonkoko stouts stand out.
Yes, the new Tonkoko Tiramoosu Imperial Milk Stout could be thicker, but the flavours are right where you’d want them to be…
Coconut at the forefront, vanilla-infused chocolate on the finish.
Northern Monk’s OFS080 Coffee Milk Stout, meanwhile, is more on the suave side.
Here Monk’s OFS series has hit Rwanda, whose mountainous climbs bless the country with some of the world’s best coffee. OFS080 celebrates that – smooth, rich, fresh ground coffee that’s marked by a hint of juicy red berry.
A collab with a small Rwandan brewery, too – hats off to that.
By the way, I also added Monk’s Flake & Sauce Ice Cream Pale Ale to the dark snap this week.
Yeah, I know it doesn’t belong, but it’s sweet, desserty, and full of raspberry, vanilla and even chocolate, and where the hell else was I supposed to put it?!
Stop judging me. Stop it!
There is no section titled ‘Northern Monk weirdness’!
For those who would’ve liked to come to our Maltgarden meet the brewer last week but couldn’t… good news.
Lukas left us with some real gems that you won’t find in many UK bottle shops – if any at all.
Every beer, without question, is top drawer here. And the barrel aged stuff? It’s world-class. Check it out.
Funky Fluid supplemented their Sangria Sour this week with Triple Gelato: PB&J Ice Cream Sour. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve heard only good things, and Funky Fluid just do not miss the mark. If this is your kind of thing, then snap it up.
Other noteworthy sours (/experiments) this week include a Banana, Raspberry & Jasmine Fruited Ale from Northern Monk, there’s Mango & Lime Lassi Gose from New Bristol, Brew York’s The Floor is Guava Guava Pale Ale is good fun, and Monk really went far out with their Beach Smoothie Hard Seltzer. Let the forum debates over when a beer is no longer a beer descend!
There’s some lovely hoppy stuff from understated masters Burnt Mill – seriously, if you’re yet to try these guys, where have you been?! A Polly’s and Verdant session IPA too! Northern Monk weigh in on the hoppy line up proper with a Rwandan IPA and, at the other end of the spectrum, they have Don’t Mess With Yorkshire Pale Ale, and New Bristol Brewery court controversy with a single hop IPA that celebrates the most contentious hop of the beer world, Sabro. The Happy World of Sabro IPA will divide opinion.
Oh, and finally, Overtone’s Big Joe has been topped up. Gotta love a bit of Overtone – epic on all fronts.
As always, I hope you get to try some of these gems this week. Free delivery on orders over £60, order before 1pm to get your beers next day!
Cheers & happy drinking!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
