Posted on 09/02/22
Oli Meade
This week, there are new BPAVK imperial stouts out from Three Hills, Overtone’s latest TIPA is out and there’s something very special from Low Key stout fans will find hard to resist.
So without further ado, let’s discuss the best new beers to try this week!
Breaking news… WE GOT HOLD OF A LIMITED NUMBER OF THE LATEST LOW KEY WAX TOP EARLIER THIS WEEK!
Unravel Raspberry & Chocolate BA Imperial Stout is everything we’ve come to expect from this lauded brewery and more.
It’s sweet, it’s complex, it’s rich and layered, with soft raspberry and smooth dark chocolate encased in subtle smoke that brings everything together brilliantly.
This is glorious brewery, glorious brewing. (Limited to just one bottle per customer to make sure as many people as possible get to try this.)
That’s right, Three Hills are back with their latest round of mammoth BPAVK’s – and it’s a case of choose which most appeals to you.
With BPAVK: Vanilla Custard Tart Imperial Pastry Stout and BPAVK: Almond Pain Au Chocolate Imperial Pastry Stout both to choose from, choosing is harder than it sounds!
The former is slightly more dessert-y, the latter a tiny (tiny) bit more serious. And if they’re sounding too strong for you?
There’s always the beautiful Baby BPAVK: Hazelnut Cappuccino Pastry Stout to fall back on…
Overtone’s Night At The Disco TIPA! I was so excited to see this released I snapped up both the cans and a cheeky keg for our taproom – and it definitely isn’t just me that’s loving this monster.
Thick, rich and unctuous, this is such a murk-bomb it’s borderline brown.
Filled with passionfruit and mountains of peach, and then there’s lovely gooseberry finish, this has got to be the best IPA released this week – get involved!
It was sad to see earlier this week that Weird Beard, a brewery that has a special place in my heart and the hearts of so many of us, has been put up for sale.
I’m really hoping their beers live on, and to support that the best thing any of us can do is actually buy their beer – which is exactly what I went and did when I heard the news.
So, while none of the above are new, this week, get yourself some Mariana On Mango DDH Mango NEIPA, or a can or two of West Country Boy WC IPA, and raise a glass in support of Weird Beard. Follow up with Black Perle Coffee Milk Stout too – which is probably my favourite of the lot.
Beak. No-one really makes much of a fuss about their beers – least of all the brewery itself – but my word, how they can keep knocking out such good hoppy stuff is beyond me.
The latest incarnation, Blub IPA, is yet another rendition of their murky, fruity, bitter loveliness – this one is filled with Simcoe and Eclipse, which brings sweet, candied orange to the forefront. It’s lovely stuff.
This week, we got hold of Elusive’s Oregon Trail WCIPA (a beer that’s gained cult fame in cask) in cans!
Oregon Trail is a proper West Coast classic, filled with Simcoe, Chinook and Columbus for malty, piney, clean and bitter brilliance.
The boys over at the Craft Beer Channel reckon we might be seeing West Coast IPAs rise in popularity as 2022 unfolds. With stuff as good as this hitting shelves, I really can’t see why not.
Anspach & Hobday are just the masters of bridging old school and modern brewing, and The Sour Dry Hop proves what a winning formula their approach is.
This modern Berliner Weisse is a lactobacillus-soured face scruncher that’s all lemon, lime and fruit thanks to the citra dry hop – if you’re after winter refreshment, this is it!
Overtone also got in on the Berliner Weisse game this week with Pretty Weisse Sour Cherry, Boysenberry & Red Currant Berliner Weisse.
A mammoth addition of winter fruits turns this a violent violet, and the resulting taste-party is a see-saw of tangy acidity and subtle sweet cherry, with the tangy acidity winning the battle by a clear margin.
Finally, for fellow lager fans this week, my lager tip is Neon Laga German-Style Lager. This is a touch darker than you’d expect, and full of sweet, malty, bready goodness – while retaining the lovely refreshing crispness you’d want in the style.
Neon Raptor know what’s what.
We took in a load of new stuff from Anspach & Hobday this week, which is always some of the best value genuine craft beer you’ll find anywhere in the country. Those into their lagers should check out Eine Kleine Kölschbier, for those into darks I’d recommend Chocolate Brown, for those yet to try A&H – dive on in!
Over in hop town, there’s more Polly’s just in which is just as good as ever. In fact, did I even mention a DIPA in the hoppy section above?! DIPA is where it’s at. Try Ghost Voices Simcoe DIPA and tell me otherwise.
Left Handed Giant went all nostalgic with Schwarzbier. The same brewery have also elevated Helles to their core range – which proves how popular it has been.
There’s more tropical hoppy goodness to be found in Neon Raptor’s Glad That’s Over NEIPA, and a wine-and-goosberry laden single-hop WC IPA courtesy of Burnt Mill’s Get The Jade WCIPA.
And finally, this week, treat yerself to some of the new hoppy Overtone – which is just about as good as hoppy UK beers come.
As always, I really hope you get to try some of these new beers this week.
Happy drinking!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
