One woman's ale journey

A beery boozy journey with delightful snacks along the way and a book in my hand.

Monday 31 July 2017

Adnams Dry Hopped Lager


A light straw yellow lager with an almost non-existent head.  It has a lovely fruity pineapple aroma and lots of hops.  It tastes so light and refreshing and it's definitely on the dry side - I almost felt as if it needed a squirt of lime to give it a bit of sweetness and some flavour.

It is different from standard lagers, although it feels quite thin and watery in consistency. It has a slightly sour and bitter taste but is so crisp that it's definitely well labelled as 'DRY'.   Despite the lava lamp appearance, it is surprisingly lightly carbonated and would be a perfect thirst quencher on a sunny day, should we ever get one in the North East of England.

Brewed by Adnams, Southwold, Suffolk
4.2% ABV

My rating:





Find out more at Adnams

Sunday 23 July 2017

Hogs Back T.E.A.


I can't start my day without a nice cup of tea, so a beer named TEA feels like it was made just for me.  In this case TEA stands for Traditional English Ale, aka bitter.  It's even the beautiful russet/deep amber colour of a good cuppa, but I'm not a fan of cold tea so I'm hoping that's the only similarity.  There's a thin tight beige head that laces beautifully and a delicious aroma of sweet malts tinged with copper coins.

As refreshing as my morning cup of tea, Hogs Back T.E.A. is a smooth, malty, fruity bitter with hints of caramel and a dry finish.  There is no metallic aftertaste that you often get with bitters, making it very palatable indeed.  I'll definitely be looking out for more fantastic brews from Hogs Back.

As an all round bitter person 😉, Hogs Back T.E.A. is most definitely my cup of tea and Ale Be Seeing You Again!

Brewed by Hogs Back Brewery, Surrey
4.2% ABV

My rating:






Sunday 2 July 2017

Robinsons Trooper


Inspired by Iron Maiden, Trooper is a deep golden ale that looks like molten toffee with a fabulous thick, tight creamy head.  It smells deliciously hoppy and malty and I couldn't wait to have a sip.

It has quite an unusual mix of flavours leaving an extremely pleasant taste explosion on the tongue: tangy, sweet, metallic and slightly citrus, but they all work so very well together.  It has a nice sweet toffee and biscuit flavour with only a slight hint of citrus which makes it very refreshing.  It's relatively softly carbonated so feels quite smooth, helped along by the thick milky head; an impressive head that doesn't lace, it sticks to the glass.

I really liked it, it's what I would call a 'proper beer' and one Ale definitely Be Seeing Again!

Brewed by Robinsons, Stockport
4.7% ABV

My rating:





Find out more at Robinsons Brewery