Beavertown Bloody 'Ell Blood Orange IPA

Beavertown Bloody 'Ell Blood Orange IPA

Style: IPA

Alcohol Content: 7.2%

From: Hackney, London, England

Purchased from: Beer Boutique, Putney, London, England
http://www.beavertownbrewery.co.uk/

Beavertown was set up in December 2011 by Logan Plant and Byron Knight in the kitchen of Duke's Brew and Que, in De Beauvoir, Hackney, London. The brew house, situated opposite the two Smokers of the BBQ restaurant, runs at 4 BBL per brew (650 litres - 1150 pints). In March of 2013 they moved out of their home at Duke's Brew & Que and into their new brew site at Unit 4 Stour Road, Fish Island, London E3 2NT. Now with a little bit more space they can push the boundaries of brewing and get more amazing beers out to the thirsty masses. So, after a few long months of searching through bottle shop after bottle shop, i finally manage to obtain a bottle of Beavertown Bloody 'Ell Blood Orange IPA. I'm so excited to try it, that i think a small bit of wee may of come out. So with no delay it's onto the tasting!

Colour: Pours a dark orange with a slightly hazy reddish hue. This colour clearly comes from the use of fresh blood orange which are squeezed and zested into every boil. A brilliant white head is also present and lingers in your glass for the duration of the beer.

Aroma: Notes of juicy citrus fruits mixed with a subtle blend of pine, grass and mango. The aromas will slowly dissipate after a few moments in the glass so catch them while you can. To me this is quite disappointing as it smelt amazing when I popped the cap off the bottle and I would of loved the smells to of linger longer.

Body: The addition of blood orange to this brew really helps to add a juice like quality to the body. It seriously feels like you are drinking a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice with just a hint of carbonation. Weird I know, but it helps to make this IPA very easy to drink and potentially very dangerous given the relatively high ABV.

Taste: Über juicy. Notes of sweet blood orange and slightly sour lemons dominate the palate. The flavour soon mellows to become more vinous and reveals base notes of sweet caramel and crunchy biscuits. The finish is mildly bitter (partly from the hops and partly from the additional orange zest) and feels slightly juxtaposed against the juicy start. This is a perfect beer to enjoy with a spicy pepperoni pizza as it cools and cleanses the palate on every sip. Juicy, Juicy!

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/beavertown-gamma-ray-pale-ale.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/schlenkerla-rauchbier-urbock.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery or like me on Facebook at Beefsbrewery

Beavertown Gamma Ray Pale Ale

Beavertown Gamma Ray Pale Ale

Style: Pale Ale

Alcohol Content: 5.4%

From: Hackney, London, England

Purchased from: Beer Boutique, Putney, London, England
http://www.beavertownbrewery.co.uk/

Beavertown was set up in December 2011 by Logan Plant and Byron Knight in the kitchen of Duke's Brew and Que, in De Beauvoir, Hackney, London. The brew house, situated opposite the two Smokers of the BBQ restaurant, runs at 4 BBL per brew (650 litres - 1150 pints). In March of 2013 they moved out of their home at Duke's Brew & Que and into their new brew site at Unit 4 Stour Road, Fish Island, London E3 2NT. Now with a little bit more space they can push the boundaries of brewing and get more amazing beers out to the thirsty masses.

Really love their label designs

Colour: Pours a sumptuous bright orange with a minimal head. This little head laces the glass beautifully throughout your drinking experience.

Aroma: Upfront notes of grass and carbon dioxide to start with, however this quickly settles down to unearth notes of fresh grapefruit and sharp, ripen oranges. It's a bit like you are walking though an orangery just before the summer harvest in sun kissed Italy. All that's missing would be your beautiful summer crush.

Body: Speaking of oranges, the mouthfeel of this drink is remarkably similar to that of a orange juice that's been slightly watered down. If you can remember a drink call Sunny Delight, then you will understand what I mean. Very smooth and easy to drink which could be rather dangerous if you attempt to session this beer given it's 5.4% ABV. As you swallow this drink, you will notice a very slight clogging on the back of the throat. This is caused by the use of four hops, Magnus, Columbus, Bravo and Amarillo working in tandem to create 45 units of bitterness.

Taste: Just like the nose, this beer is full of juicy grapefruit and orange notes. There are slight hints of the caramalts which help to provide some extra body and sweetness. That being said, I personally found this beer rather thin and feel it could benefit from a little extra body. This is rather unfortunate as I loved their 8-Ball Rye IPA but feel rather let down by this beer. Let's hope their Blood orange IPA goes down better (once I get my greasy little mitts on it).

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/partizan-brewing-pale-ale-cascade.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/schlenkerla-rauchbier-urbock.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery or like me on Facebook at Beefsbrewery

Beavertown 8-Ball Rye IPA

Beavertown 8-Ball Rye IPA

Style: Rye IPA

Alcohol Content: 6.2%

From: Hackney, London, England

Purchased from: Utobeer, London Borough Market
http://www.beavertownbrewery.co.uk/

Beavertown was set up in December 2011 by Logan Plant and Byron Knight in the kitchen of Duke's Brew and Que, in De Beauvoir, Hackney, London. The brew house, situated opposite the two Smokers of the BBQ restaurant, runs at 4 BBL per brew (650 litres - 1150 pints). In March of 2013 they moved out of their home at Duke's Brew & Que and into their new brew site at Unit 4 Stour Road, Fish Island, London E3 2NT. Now with a little bit more space they can push the boundaries of brewing and get more amazing beers out to the thirsty masses.

Beautiful labels appear on all of Beavertown's Bottles

Colour: Unlike regular IPAs, this drink is a dark hazy, chestnut brown with a thick white head that will stay with you throughout the lifetime of this drink. This colouration comes from the rye used to make this drink. The drink leaves a fine lacing in the glass (this is always a sign of a quality beer in my book).

Aroma: As the primary ingredient is rye, you can certainly pick out notes of wholemeal bread mixed with slight hints of wet mud and freshly grass. You can also pick out notes of tropical fruits and crisps pine needles. Although this beer is not overly aromatic, this beer certainly has enough to peeked my interest.

Body: This beer is slightly heavier than the normal IPA. Again this heaviness comes from the Rye used. If you have ever sampled German rye bread you will notice that it feels noticeably heavier in the mouth when you compare it to wholemeal bread. The mouth feel is very similar to that of an English bitter or mild, quite rich and satisfying. The drink is lightly carbonated and will leave you with a slight sticky resin coating the back of the mouth after every sip.

Taste: This IPA is quite rich and has a slightly different flavour profile to most drinks in this style. The first flavours that will strike you, will be those of toasted chestnuts mixed with subtle notes of salt. You can then pick up hints of earth mixed with fresh pine needles. As the drink warms, a slight sweetness will start coming though. This tastes slightly like strawberries that have been ripen under the summer sun. There is a very faint bitter after taste to this brew but this is very welcome in my book. This is one of those beers that reminds you of why you search for elusive one. Very tasty indeed and i would certainly go back for more.

You can see how dark this beer is in the above photo

Simliar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/kernel-brewery-ipa-columbus.html
Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/brewdog-international-arms-race.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery or like me on Facebook at Beefsbrewery

Camden Brewery Pale Ale

Camden Brewery Pale Ale

Style: Pale Ale

Alcohol Content: 4%

From: Camden Town, London, England

Purchased from: Hog's Back Brew Shop

http://www.camdentownbrewery.com/

Now i am no stranger to this beer. Almost a year ago to the day i was drinking one of these beauties in the Old Red Cow in central London. I remember talking to my good friend Jon about writing this blog whilst sipping on this brew. You could say, that this was the beer that started it all. However as time past, the drink faded from my memory. Whilst touring the Hog's Back brewery, a bright green object caught my eye. As i drew nearer, the familiar font drew crisper in my eyeline. Yes!!, I screamed. I had managed to find a bottle of Camden Town Brewery Pale Ale outside of London. Naturally, i whisked the bottle off of the shelf and into my shopping basket. I now had in my hand one of the beers that gave me the inspiration for this blog you are now reading today. So enjoy this post as much as i enjoyed drinking this fine pale ale.

Firstly, a little bit of the back story behind the brewery.Jasper Cuppaidge is the grandson of Laurie McLaughlin, who ran the McLaughlin’s Brewery (Mac’s) in Rockhampton, Australia between 1910 to 1960. When Laurie past away he past on all his recipes to his daughter Patricia, who in turn then passed them onto Jasper. On Patricia's 50th birthday, Jasper decided to try and recreate one of Laurie's beers in the cellar of Horseshoe and that’s when it all started… Eventually the brewery moved from the cellar into several converted railway arches in Camden town and they opened for business in the summer of 2010.

Bright and refreshing label just like the beer

Colour: This beer pours a light copper brown with a juicy, thick white head. This beer looks like the quintessential pale ale. The head stays around for the duration of the drink.

Aroma: When you first smell this beer, you will be presented with sharp citrus notes mixed with fresh pine needles. As the drink warms, the aroma profile of this drink changes slightly. Notes of tropical fruits such as mango and sweet kiwi come to the fore. There is also a every slight note of rich molasses holding the aroma together like a bow on a present.

Body: This drink is very light in the mouth at first. Once consumed, a sticky honey like resin will coat the back of your mouth. This intensifies as the beer warms, leading to the beer feeling a lot thicker than before.

Taste: Now for the important bit; the tasting. What sets this beer out from the rest is that in my opinion, this drink actually has two different flavour profiles. One fresh the fridge and another as the beer warms. Once opened, a sweet lemon flavour is presented to your taste buds. The sweetness helps to dull the lemon tones slightly to make the beer very refreshing. On the second sip, you can pick out notes of freshly cut grass mixed with pine needles. One of my favour parts of this beer is the ginger-nut biscuit after taste. As the drink warms the lemon crispness dies down to relieve a slightly bitter lemon taste with notes of caramel biscuits. All theses different flavours can be contributed to the varied hops used to make this beer. In fact, no less than seven are blended into this beer. Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial and Citra provided the citrus flavours while Columbus and Simcoe provide the pine notes (I know that's only six but I cannot find the flavour profile for Calypso hop). A lovely beer indeed.

Similar to:http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/flying-dog-doggie-style-pale-ale.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/moa-brewery-blanc.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery

By The Horns Diamond Geezer

By The Horns Diamond Geezer

Style: Red Ale

Alcohol Content: 4.9%

From: Wandsworth, London, England, UK

Purchased From: Odd Bins, London Bridge

http://www.bythehorns.co.uk/index.html

By the Horns brewery was founded in 2011 by Chris Mills and Alex Bull. Originally two cheap lager drinkers the two gents soon discovered the varied and curious world of craft beer. The two twenty something lads had developed a love of proper beer and decent boozers and decided to link this love with London life into building an independent craft brewery in the Capital. After much travelling, meetings, tastings and a good deal of graft; we are now proud owners and operators of our own 5.5 barrel brewery in South London. After doing some research i actually found out that their brewery is not to far away from my girlfriends house. Sorry Emma, but i think we may have to take a little detour on the way home one day.

Before i start this review i must admit i am very, very fond of the label of this beer. It looks quite plain to start with red and white writing on a chalk board black background. But if you turn the bottle to the side you will be greeted by a Del boy esc. character. You plonker Rodney!!

Colour: As the beer leaves the bottle you are presented with a beer that is ruby red in colour. The beer will then settle down to a warm chestnut brown. There is a gorgeous amount of foam on the pour which then leaves after five minutes.

Aroma: Very warm and spicy on the nose. It reminds me of pepper mixed with spiced winter fruits or mulled wine. There is also a slight acidic note rising from the glass which cuts though the spice very well.  

Body: This beer is actually quite think and leaves a lovely sticky coating around your throat. There is a very low carbonation on this beer which helps it slip down a treat.

Taste: On the first sip you will notice that this beer is actually quite hoppy and it can be a bit bitter at first. This bitterness comes from the Willamette hops used in the making of this beer. Tasting deeper you can pick out notes of sweet molasses and chewy caramel. You may also be able to pick up notes of hazelnuts and hints of vanilla spicing. This drink reminds me a bit of Christmas around the Parsons household; Spicy pudding with a bitter bother due to getting pants and socks from the parents.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/windsor-and-eton-brewery-canberra.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/brooklyn-brewery-lager.html



This time next year we will be millionaires!

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery