Posted on 06/10/21
Oli Meade
It was as I tucked into a new beer from Boxcar earlier this week (see below) that I started thinking one thing:
Boxcar are surely one of the most – if not the most – underrated breweries in the UK.
So before I move on to new epic import sours and big barrel aged darks, I’m going to start this week’s list with Dreamlets DIPA by Boxcar. It really is a special beer.
Boxcar’s Dreamlets DIPA is soft fruit punch from the very first sip, and it just gets better as you work your way through.
Up there with DEYA, Polly’s and Beak – and Boxcar do not get the credit for it.
Boxcar reckon it’s soft, soft water that makes Dreamlets and their other beers so good.
Whatever it is, it’s epic. If you want top quality beer for mid-range prices, this is your brewery – get involved!
Northern Monk’s Fresh From The North is also a gem (even if it is a bit more obvious!). Have you ever even heard of a quintuple IPA?!
This is the latest in their series showcasing fresh monthly hops. It’s hopped to the high heavens, and it’s 15.0% – take care!
At least it’s only 330ml…
And of course when it comes to hops, you can never go wrong with a bit of Beak, whose Supp Citra IPA is as good as we’ve now come to expect from the new Lewes brewery.
Three different types of Citra showcase what the hop can do – a clementine-grapefruit-marmalade-yuzu cocktail. Beautiful stuff.
This is probably the section I’m most excited about this week, cause I managed to get two new mega import breweries in, and Drekker’s gloopy and bonkers sours are out of this world!
Mega, mega limited quantities on Braaaaaaaains: Passionfruit Sour, on CHONK Tropical Berry Blast Sundae Sour and on Slang Du Jour: Black Currant Plum Cobbler.
My pick is probably the passionfruit. With only 3 left in stock right now – you’ll need to be really quick!
Mountains Walking’s Sweets: Caramel Apple Sour is also next-level.
This has been described as ‘liquid apple pie’ and ‘mulled cider but better’.
Somehow it’s also a smoothie sour, and it basically pushes the boundaries of sour brewing forward.
This is just as limited as the Drekker stuff! Only 4 left at the time of writing!
Finally, the UK kings of craft lager have released two new lagers, underlining their already distinguished reputation!
Lost + Grounded’s Marzenbier was initially brewed for Oktoberfest, so is all amber on the eye and biscuit on the malt. It’s only £3.20 per can, and it’s also perfect for the season – a right autumnal treat.
(Sunshine State Of Mind Czech Pils, by the way, is the quencher of the two!)
I hope you’re getting as excited as I am about the imminent uprising of the darks, but if you need any encouragement then look no further than three new bottles from Dig.
These are all big imperial stouts from Dig’s ‘Eddie’ series. I have no idea who Eddie is or what he’s done, but I haven’t let that stop me from tucking into Eddie Toasts Judge Doom, Eddie Finds Judge Doom and Eddie Crosses Judge Doom.
My favourite is Toasts – Dig brewed an Imperial Coffee Porter back in 2020, barrel aged it in Bourbon barrels for a year, then recently blended it with a fresh imperial stout and conditioned the thick, suave concotion on toasted coconut.
Serious stuff.
Mountains Walking’s Dessert Cart: S’mores Impy Stout might not sound as serious on the face of it, but it very much is.
A rich, decadent, chocolatey and marshmallowy smooth imperial milk stout… best enjoyed around campfires or, in this country, cosy living rooms on dark and chilly nights.
Finally, how about Northern Monk’s PB&J Cornflake Tart Stout?!
Here the brewers are paying homage to the Shipley bakehouse’s fabled PB&J Cornflake Tart in beer form – so they’ve taken a stout, pimped it to Snickersville with peanut butter, added jammy strawberry puree, plus a dollop of golden syrup for honied cornflak-iness.
The curious can expect a rich & chewy, sticky, biscuity, slightly fruity treat.
Lager fans can go nuts this week with lots to choose from, including an Oat Lager from Newbarns to compliment the same brewery’s Pilsner, SMOD’s Laska Pils and their spicy Festbier. Meanwhile new US brewery UFO offer up White Witbier while CM favourites Drop Project have gone with this Crispy West Coast Pilsner. Lager is in!
There’s lots of new stuff in from Left Handed Giant, who are always great… the German IPA is novel, Time Moves Slow NEIPA uses a novel hop and Feel At Home NEIPA is the comforting sweet, juicy and fruity usual we all already love. Oh, and if you want in on their popular gose… there are just three left in stock!
We first introduced Loch Lomond to our shelves a few weeks back, and their popularity has meant a reorder – this time we’ve picked up Tripp Trapp Milkshake TIPA and Falling Water Black Sour DIPA. A Black Sour DIPA… WTF?!
Northern Monk’s OFS series continues to experiment as it reaches Norway. There’s an interesting DIPA, a really interesting Raw IPA and a Lingonberry Raspberry Sour to explore. Actually, if you get in on Monk’s DIPA, you may want to compare it with Drop Project’s – Cruisin’ Kviek Pale– the similarity being the Kviek yeast both use.
Sour fans will want to check out new-in brewery Humble Forager, too. The Wisconsin based brewery sent us over a WC DIPA, but the sours are where it’s at – Mysterious Ravine V1 Fruit Punch Sour IPA and Coastal Sunrise V4 Vanilla, Cardamom, Mango, Coconut Sour are far from just pretty cans.
Rounding off the new darks this week is, first, Brew York’s Jackie Flan Pastry Sour: Maple Edition and also Northern Monk/Neon Raptor collab Lend Your Time Imperial Stout (12%!).
Finally… you know how I said Boxcar are underrated?
Alongside Dreamlets, Infinite Flags Pale, Higher Plane Pale and Native Place Pale all prove it. Subtle, understated and unpretentious… but outstanding across all fronts. Superb value for the quality.
Happy drinking!
Oli
(The founder)
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
