New Bristol Coffee & Biscotti Stout

Wow!  You can smell the delicious aroma of coffee as soon as you open the can of this Coffee & Biscotti stout from New Bristol Brewery.  It's a lovely looking stout with a dark brown body and a deep tan head.  The head disappears quite quickly and leaves a very patchy layer behind.

The aroma is coffee, coffee and a bit more coffee with a slight hint of milk chocolate and malt biscuits.  The flavour is sublime as my taste buds were hit with a lovely biscotti taste followed by a generous helping of creamy white coffee that isn't bitter at all.  It does have a slight bitter aftertaste but it's very pleasant.

Carbonation is very light, which gives it a beautiful silky smooth mouthfeel, and it's so incredibly full bodied that I was almost tempted to stick a spoon in it to see if it would have stood up.

I was very impressed with this stout; it is what it says on the can and it has the perfect balance between sweet and bitter, being neither too much of one nor the other.  If you love coffee cream chocolates then I would definitely recommend trying this one.  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by New Bristol Brewery, Bristol
5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.5/5

Find out more at New Bristol Brewery

Wiper and True Milk Shake

 

Milk Shake from Bristol brewers Wiper and True is a dark, creamy stout brewed with lactose.

It's a very dark, black velvet stout with a small, tight, beige head that retains a thin layer.  It smells delicious: lashings of malt and loads of chocolate produce a sweet and roasted mouthwatering aroma.

The flavour is awesome.  A combination of sweet chocolate, malt and vanilla tantalises the taste buds and leaves a fabulous roasted malt taste on the tongue.  It's full bodied and lightly carbonated to give a velvety-smooth, silky mouthfeel.

It really is a delicious milk stout.  It may appear be a no-frills chocolate and vanilla stout but it's so very moreish and easy to drink that Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Wiper and True Brewery, Bristol
5.6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Wiper and True Brewery

Left Handed Giant x Highland Park Brewery Intrinsic Value

Instrinsic Value is a vanilla and blueberry imperial stout brewed by Bristol brewers Left Handed Giant (LHG) in collaboration with Los Angeles brewers Highland Park Brewery.  

As you would expect from a beer brewed with fruit, there is some sediment in the can so it needs a careful pour.  It pours a very dark brown with a huge, tight deep tan coloured head which is possibly the darkest coloured head I've ever seen.

It has a very distinctive and appealing aroma of chocolate, vanilla, malt and fruity blueberries so this is a beer that smells as good as it looks.  The all-important taste is not disappointing at all; it is delicious.  Smooth milk chocolate, fruity blueberries, sweet malt and vanilla all combine beautifully.  It's actually not as sweet as I expected, it's a bit earthy, woody and dry with a bitter chocolate finish.  A hint of blueberries keeps appearing every now and again.

It's a very full bodied beer that's well carbonated to give a bit of a tingle to an otherwise smooth mouthfeel.  With such a high ABV of 11% there's not even a hint of raw alcohol in the taste but it's quite warming which makes it feel incredibly boozy.  

LHG have produced some cracking beers and Intrinsic Value is no exception.  I would definitely recommend this imperial stout and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Left Handed Giant Brewing, Bristol
11% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Left Handed Giant Brewing

Butcombe Brewery Bitter

A beautiful dark amber coloured ale with a typical bitter style thick creamy head.  It has a lovely hoppy aroma on pouring and I can actually smell the pepper that it mentions on the label.  It does have a lovely crisp taste with a malty kick in the aftertaste.  The carbonation is perfect making it a nice smooth pint and exactly what you would expect in a traditional bitter.  The head is quite a revelation as it doesn't just lace, it actually sticks to the side of the glass.  I'll need a brillo pad to get it off - both the glass and my upper lip!

A very nice bitter that leaves little bursts of flavour on my tongue between every sip.

Brewed by Butcombe Brewery, Bristol

4.5% ABV

Find out more at Butcombe Brewery