Posted on 03/11/21
Oli Meade
Unbelievably, in the week we brewed our first ever collab beer, Polly’s decided to release their first ever core range!
Talk about stealing the limelight!
Luckily, as excited as I am about our new collab, I kinda find the new Polly’s core range even more exciting.
So how did the range turn out? Read on, my friend, and all will be revealed.
Here are the 9 best new beers to try this week.
The juicy hoppy specialists we all know and love have been threatening to do it for a while, and this week, they actually went and did!
Polly’s released their first ever core range – three exquisite hoppy beers that really showcase the Polly’s brewing philosophy.
Rosebud IPA is the flagship and it’s a bundle of New England style tropical brilliance.
Little Petal West Cost Pale is pure resinous deliciousness for those that remember a time before the NEIPA.
And Floret Pale Ale is a lower strength peach, mango and pineapple cocktail.
All are very reasonably priced too – so treat yourself and congratulate Polly’s – here’s to a craft brewery on the up!
More big news on the hop front this week comes hot in from Leeds… because Northern Monk’s 8th Anniversary NE DIPA is here!
As is the brewery’s outstanding tradition, they’ve brewed this to celebrate where beer is at the moment. So this is a massive DIPA that’s heavy on the jooose with an underlying dank edge balancing the beer out – which is spot on if you ask me!
Oh, and the new Fresh from the North DIPA is just in too – as always, get this while it’s fresh!
My final hoppy hat-tip this week goes to Track, but not necessarily for the beer you’d expect.
The new Gold Top DIPA Saving Grace is as creamy and immense as ever, but given that’s about to sell out definitely take a look into the loveliness on offer from Floating Moment DIPA too.
I mean, peach, mango and cantaloupe melon with an orange sherbet sprinkle. How can any beer fan say no?!
My must-try sour recommendation this week is hands-down Neon Raptor’s Vampyre Disco Imperial PB&J Sour.
It’s a dripping sour fruit concoction, with Blackcurrant, Strawberry, Cherry and Redcurrant all fighting for your attention, while a huge dollop of salty Peanut Butter slowly slinks into the frame and, like a Dark Side Star Wars Ship, overshadows all.
If you only go for one sour this week, this is the one.
Hardly a week goes by without me recommending something from Brew York and this week is no different, cause Granny Smith’s Brambling Habit Blackberry & Apple Pie Pastry Sour is a right treat.
Sours were once only for summer, but in this collab with Unbarred, Brew York call on seasonal fruits and warming spices to make this perfect when the cold fronts come in: it’s a blackberry and apple crumble with warming cinnamon, and just a hint of tartness.
You’ve got to love Howling Hops too, first for being mischievous enough to brew a coffee sour, and then for absolutely nailing it in Jairo And The Juice Coffee Sour.
My mind can never understand how these work but to be honest I’m happy enough to not even bother trying, preferring instead to let the pale straw appearance, espresso aromas and funky, juicy berry notes take my appreciation of craft beer into unchartered waters.
It’s a beaut.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a thick and hard-hitting impy badboy then Northern Monk’s 11% Shaun of the Dead Strawberry Cornetto Imperial Stout is ready and waiting.
This is Death taken to another level: thick vanilla cream and ripe strawberries all slathered on a rich and roasty chocolate base.
It’s a dessert stout but a sophisticated one, like the kind you’d see posh people eat in tiny bites really slowly after their roasted partridge main.
Completing our glorious (if a little pared down) stout stock-up this week is Brew York’s Blueberry Muffin Pastry Stout, which I haven’t yet tried, but which I’ve got my eye on.
Lager fans, we’ve just taken in a new Pils from Boundary, and we’ll do our best to keep you stocked up with the best lagers coming out over the colder months too.
The only milkshake pale we took in this week was Neon Raptor’s Millscherrn Milkshake Pale – but rest assured, it’s a lovely, smooth and sweet breakfast-esque gem.
Track’s last WCIPA sold out quick-sharp, but the brewery has just released a belting update in the form of Up On The Moon WCIPA, a collaboration with California-based Green Cheek Beer. Truly Likely So Pale Ale is also just-in, for those who prefer Track’s East Coast offering.
Finishing things off this week is a steady hoppy ensemble from Howling Hops, including the new and fruity Company Shakes DDH Pale, the crushable Swing Time DDH Pale, the resinous Lonely Town Session IPA and the thirst-quenching Wolves At The Door Pale, which is actually a collab with the cycling company Rapha.
As always, I really hope you get to enjoy some of these wicked new beers this week.
Happy drinking!
Oli
(The founder)
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
