Brew York Goose Willis

 

I love seeing what imaginitive concoctions Brew York come up with and even the names of their beers make me smile.  Goose Willis is a gooseberry fool sour brewed with Nelson Sauvin hops and lactose and it completely exceeded my expectations.

It's a hazy golden yellow beer with a loose, rapidly vanishing off-white head.  It actually poured clear at first and became hazy as there must have been some sediment, but I wanted to get as much of this one out of the can as possible.

It smells delicious; it's so fruity with a sweet undertone, and made me think of a warm gooseberry pie just coming out of the oven.  Brew York rate this sour 3/5 for puckerability and I think that's spot on.  It definitely tastes of gooseberry but it's slightly sweet rather than being too tarty so I found it really pleasant to drink and barely had any lip puckering at all.  It's well carbonated but not overly fizzy and it has a thin body.

I really liked this one, it's very refreshing and easy to drink for a sour.  It's not too tarty and not too sweet, just perfectly balanced to fully experience the fruitiness of the juicy gooseberries.  I don't often say this about a sour, but Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Brew York Brewery, York
5.3% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Brew York Brewery

Brew York Mos Eisley Catharina 2020

 

As a Star Wars fan I just had to try this guava, coconut and lime sour from Brew York and I was not disappointed.  It looks, smells and tastes like it could be served at the Mos Eisley Cantina.

It's a hazy golden yellow beer with a small, loose, rapidly vanishing head that ends up looking like a glass of fruit juice.  It smells like juice too with a delicious fruity aroma of guava, sour fruit and a hint of coconut.  It has a strange sweaty smell too so it's not an overly appealing fragrance.

Thankfully, it didn't taste sweaty!  The mix of guava, lime and coconut is delicious and although the tangy fruit flavour isn't mouthpuckering, it's definitely a sour.  It has a medium body and low, prickly carbonation so it has a smooth mouthfeel like fruit juice but with an added bit of fizz.

Very fruity and refreshing, it tastes quite boozy and the flavour develops as you drink it to really bring out the lime and coconut flavour that had originally been overpowered by the guava.

I'm not sure I would call a sour a beer so they're not my usual tipple but with a Star Wars theme, it had to be done.  I'd recommend trying it but I wouldn't necessarily have another one as it was a bit of a gimmick for me. 

Brewed by Brew York Brewery, York
6.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5/5

Find out more at Brew York Brewery

Brew York Brew York

 

I picked up this vegan friendly triple hopped American Pale Ale a couple of years ago because I was tickled by the name but since then Brew York have taken off and become well known for brewing innovative and extremely unusual beers.

Just look at the head on that!  It's immense!  The cream coloured head is quite loose but there's lots of it so it doesn't vanish in a flash and it does lace the glass.  It sits atop a hazy orange-hued golden beer that is so vibrant it reminded me of the fiery colours of the setting sun.

It has an enticing smell of citrus and hops which transfer to the taste along with a hint of tropical fruit and caramel.  Well balanced, it's deliciously bittersweet with caramel infused citrus bubbles bursting on the tongue to produce a cream soda like flavour with a dry, bitter finish.  Very well carbonated (how could it not be to produce such an impressive head) and medium bodied, it's so easy to drink that it's a shame it was just in a 330ml can.

Brew York was my first Brew York beer and it certainly wasn't my last as I've tried a number of them since then.  I drank this in 2018 and it's possibly been rebrewed under another name by now as Brew York have a good range of vegan beers that are well worth checking out.  If it was still being produced, Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Brew York Craft Brewery, York
5.1% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Brew York Craft Brewery

Brew York Imperial Tonkoko

Awarded the 9th Best Stout in the World in the 2018 RateBeer Awards, this imperial milk stout from Brew York is brewed with coconut, tonka beans and Madagascan vanilla.  Weighing in at a stonking 7.5% this is definitely one to savour rather than glug.

Pouring a dark brown, almost black with a thick, tight tan head this imperial stout is a thing of beauty.  The impressive head hardly budges at all, leaving a good layer throughout and thick lacing on the glass.  It's an unfiltered beer so it needs a careful pour; I managed to get most of it out of the can without any sediment but there were some lumpy bits when I rinsed out the can.

The aroma is mouthwatering.  Roasted coconut, sweet malt and chocolate means that it does actually smell like a Bounty bar.  My first sip was an OMG moment as coconut, malt and chocolate swirled around my mouth in a liquid Bounty experience.  It has a bitter finish which is quite metallic and I found it a bit off-putting at first but you do get used to it and I hardly noticed it after a while.

It is so full bodied that I felt like I could have used a spoon to devour it and it feels very smooth in the mouth with low carbonation.

Imperial Tonkoko is an absolutely awesome stout; it is so decadent and rich that it makes you want the experience to last for as long as possible so make sure to take your time with this one.  I actually think the flavour developed into a sweeter richer taste by my taking so long to drink it and the bitter aftertaste seemed to disappear altogether.  

I really don't think you'll be disappointed if you decided to splash out on an Imperial Tonkoko; I don't usually spend over £5 on a can/bottle but I'm so glad I made an exception to spend a few extra pennies (RRP is currently £5.40).  It's my absolute pleasure to say, 'Ale Be Seeing You again!'

Brewed by Brew York, York
7.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.5/5

Find out more at Brew York