Posted on 16/11/22
This week, one of the biggest beers of the year is back, and it has a new BA buddy! Plus some of the biggest and best collabs I’ve seen in an age from some of the world’s best are in, be it hoppy, sour or dark – they’ve nailed them all!
One of the most anticipated beers of the year is back and it’s as outstanding as it’s always been!
If you’ve been under a rock for half a decade then here’s what you need to know: Neon Raptor Centaur Army – it’s thick, it’s oily, it’s got bucketloads of chocolate, peanuts and caramel, all perfectly balanced and working in harmony.
This is what put Neon on the map, and it continues to be one of the classic modern dark beers.
As a bonus, this year we had access to the BA version… and Neon BA Centaur Army is everything the original is but with a depth and complexity ON TOP of all that lush gorgeousness plus this monster is still insanely smooth.
Both exceptional beers. Get in quick!
Hard to follow but I think I just about can with lashings of amazing hoppy beers and a whole bunch of collabs.
First up we have Basqueland. We had the head brewer over to visit us recently and fell (even more) in love with what they do.
The UK collabs such as the Verdant Double Down DIPA is exactly the place to highlight how good they are. Smooth drinking but complex as heck and bitter to boot, it really is excellent stuff.
…And even when Basqueland push the booze levels to 11 with the Garage collab The Great Beyond TIPA the drinkability stays on. That’s testament to the mad brewing skillzzz on display.
I also picked up a huge haul of Funky Fluid big collab cans this week too.
There’s a cracking Fuerst Wiacek Fundamental NEIPA and a UK buddy-up with Northern Monk Devoted Double DIPA.
Want to push it further? Then the hops again go off the scale with a Forager collab Unrestricted TIPA. I’d say the sweet spot for me was the DIPA but depends how much of a hop-head you are!
With all this going on it would be easy – but criminal – to skip two amazing Barons.
I’d say the Baron Soft Focus IPA is my favourite with a name perfectly reflecting the mouthfeel and flavour. Baron go from strength to strength, every single week.
If I were to put together a few dream collab combos I’d probably say Nerd Brewing x Funky Fluid x Moersleutel… and right now I have two huge brews from them here to satisfy my desires!
Who could say no to Royal Cookie Tompounce Imperial Stout?
The mellow and classy vibes from the dutch brewery come through even in this collab and it’s perfectly balanced between rounded roasty notes and slight sweetness.
The Nerd Royal Cookie Smores collab is a bit more bonkers with added biscuit sweetness but still a banger and everything you’d expect from these giants of dark brewing.
Back to the Basque. As awesome as the Basqueland hoppy brews are, for me their stouts and porters are even better!
It’s a toss up for best in show here with yumminess like Waffle Supreme Impy Stout and Pōhjala Chocomel Chocolate on the menu, but I’m going to go ahead and crown Mustachio Pistachio as the best of the bunch… mainly because my kids think it “has daddy on the can!”.
The sweet nuttiness and dark chocolate dream combo is just an added bonus!
I’m always excited to get new Holy Goat in as their sours are some of the best in the biz.
Of the three new bottles I managed to get hold of this week the brilliantly titled Holy Goat Funk Weapon is my pick.
Think a traditional lambic but with extra ripe fruitiness of apricot and peach – “Drink young, or age. This will get weirder.” is what the brewery say!
Yonder are a brewery really ramping up what they do at the moment. They used to have the odd amazing sour here and there but now they are coming at us at pace with great new beers every week and I’m excited to see what they make every time.
This week we have the big almond-laced Yonder Cherry Cocktail Amaretto that nails both the fruit and the adjuncts to a tee as well as the Strawberry Cheesecake Pastry Sour… think creamy but not over-the-top, and so much real fruit flavour it feels like it’s just been freshly squeezed into your glass!
There’s still lots of little treats I’ve not mentioned above like the masses of amazing Full Circle we have. For hop-heads the core Full Circle Looper IPA is a must when it comes to a go-to IPA but also check out the brand new Full Circle Extraterrestrial Locomotion NEIPA and see how this brewery hits the hops hard.
I did mention we were collab-heavy this week didn’t I? Take a look at those four Collective Arts Origin of Darkness cans pictured above – what a thing of beauty! They range from the somewhat grown up and complex team-up with Garage with Vanilla Cacao and Pinot Noir to the downright insanely fun in the shape of the Vitamin Sea Coffee, almond and Speculoos Cookie number.
I also managed to get two Arpus collabs this week too. The first is a cracking Northern Monk hop-monster with Vic Secret, Simcoe, Mosaic and Sabro. This DIPA is huge on flavour! A little more restrained but no less juicy the Polly’s On Balance DIPA really is a gem finding a smoothness to hide the ABV like a ninja!
We also welcome Mad Scientist to our blog for the first time – I know, what have we been playing at?! It certainly won’t be the last time based on these. Fans of tonka should head straight to Mad Scientist Candy Man for a fix of that cheeky little bean along with lashing of marshmallows too.
Being a huge fan of lagers I also couldn’t resist this week grabbing the freshest Donzoko Citra Pils for you to enjoy (and for me to drink!). It’s one of those brews that you’re just thrilled is in a 500ml can as the freshness of the hops comes through with each sip on top of that clean base.
Fans of chilli stouts should also be alerted to the newest dark brew from Left Handed Giant and their Holy Trinity Mexican Chilli & Chocolate Stout. 9% ABV and as big on flavour as it is big on booze this is a rollercoaster of a beer!
As always enjoy your shopping and thanks for supporting our small business!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
