Days Pale Ale

I’m pretty impressed with this Days alcohol free pale ale.

It’s a beautiful deep golden, molten amber coloured ale with a small beige head that dissipates to leave a thin patchy layer.  It smells deliciously hoppy and malty and I think the aroma is enhanced as it’s not masked by the overpowering smell of alcohol.

The flavour is spot on for a pale ale with notes of malt, hops, dried fruit and a dash of sweet caramel followed by a lingering bitter finish.  It’s softly carbonated with a medium body and it’s very smooth to drink.

This is a very impressive alcohol free pale ale - you can taste more intricate flavours without the alcohol and it’s very pleasant to drink.  I would be happy to drink this beer on a regular basis so Ale Be Seeing You again!

 

Brewed by Days Brewing, Edinburgh
0% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5/5

Find out more at Days Brewing

Williams Bros. Joker

 

Joker is a lovely golden yellow IPA with a very tight, thick off-white head.  You can often find Joker in supermarkets and it's especially good value when you can pick one up in Aldi or Lidl so make sure you grab one in your next shop.

It smells deliciously hoppy with notes of citrus and a delightful freshness from the hint of cedar.  The taste is the perfect bittersweet combination; it's slightly sweet at first with just a hint of citrus bitterness in the aftertaste.  It has slight herbal and pine notes that develop more as you drink it.

Medium bodied and perfectly carbonated, I loved the bittersweet balance of Joker IPA.  It's so delicious it had smiling from ear to ear just like the Joker and Ale Be Seeing You again!  

Brewed by Williams Bros. Brewing Co., Alloa, Scotland
5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Williams Bros

Black Sheep My Generation

 

A bright golden yellow, slightly hazy session pale ale, My Generation is a collaborative brew between Black Sheep and My Generation Beer Co.  As we have come to expect from Black Sheep, it has an amazing thick tight frothy head that leaves excellent lacing.

The aroma is very fruity with underlying hoppiness and a little malt.  It's definitely a citrus fragrance but seems a little sweeter more like pineapple.  The hops gives it a slightly sour aroma too.

The taste of tangy hops and citrus blended with sweet malt give a lovely fresh, bitter finish.  The bitterness is slightly metallic at first but transforms to more palatable citrus as you drink.  Although you can see bubbles, which maintain the head beautifully, it is quite softly carbonated and medium bodied.

With just the right level of citrus for me, this is an easy drinking pale ale and I'd have one again; it's a lovely refreshing beer to drink during the day in Spring/Summer.  Yet again, award winning brewers Black Sheep can do no wrong in my eyes.  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire
4.7% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

BrewDog Slot Machine

It's not an optical illusion (or a very small glass), this is a 660ml gigantic bottle of Slot Machine, a red rye IPA from Scottish brewers, BrewDog.  It pours a beautiful russet brown colour with a huge frothy but tight beige head.

The aroma is mainly malt and biscuit with hints of citrus fruits and warm spice.  The initial flavour is predominantly citrus followed by a floral, spicy taste.  As you drink it, the citrus flavour seems to diminish and more toffee and caramel flavours develop.  The citrus flavour remains throughout to give a lingering bitter aftertaste.

Surprisingly softly carbonated, it has an almost smooth mouthfeel and is a full bodied ale.  The head leaves good lacing on the glass and I loved the developing toffee flavour which takes the edge off the initial citrus hit.  The spicy rye flavour is well balanced, giving more of a hint than a full hit which can often take over.  

It's a decent red rye IPA and very drinkable, which is just as well as I got two full 330ml glasses out of the oversized bottle.

Brewed by BrewDog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire 
5.2% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

Wainwright The Golden Beer

As you would expect from a golden beer, this is a perfect light molten gold colour with a thin loose white head that disperses to a thin film.  On opening, there is a very strong smell of hops but also a hint of sweet fruit that made me think of pineapple.  I also got a strange whiff of dirty water like you often get with Shepherd Neame ales.

I was really surprised by the depth of flavour: an initial smooth, sweet taste mixed with fresh cut grass and straw is followed by a strong hoppy aftertaste with a hint of liquorice.  The aftertaste reminded me of strong hoppy beers like Stones.

It's so softly carbonated that it tickles the tongue and the beer itself has good body and isn't too thin.  I loved the beery taste but the dirty water smell put me off a bit and knocked one pint off what would have been a five pint rating.

Brewed by Marstons, Wolverhampton

4.1% ABV

My rating:

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Brutal Pistonhead

I was really surprised with this one.  I'm not usually a fan of golden yellow ales, never mind lagers, so I put off drinking this for a while; a can with a skull on the front can't be good - how wrong I was!  It's a crystal clear traditional looking lager with a bright white loose frothy head and a delicious aroma of hops followed by sweet pineapple.  

It is not at all what I expected.  I can only describe it as sweet and sour and lip-smackingly good.  It is so bubbly, like a glass of champagne but very easy to drink and so refreshing. For a lager, it is full of flavour and so very unusual.  Top marks!

Brewed by Brutal Brewing, Sweden
4.6% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Brutal Brewing