Love Lane Maple Syrup Stout

 

I have a sweet tooth and I love stout so I was really looking forward to trying this maple syrup stout from Love Lane Brewery in Liverpool and whilst it is nice, I was a little underwhelmed.

It has a dark brown body with a small, loose tan head that tries to disappear as it's poured so I had to straighten my pour to get a decent head and take a very quick photo.  

I was a bit disappointed when I leant in for a smell as I only got a very slight whiff of maple syrup beneath the malt and treacle notes.  I think if it didn't say maple syrup on the can I wouldn't have noticed it at all.

The taste is more like it; it's sweet and tangy with notes of dark chocolate, treacle and maple syrup.  It has a bit of a liquorice aftertaste and weirdly, it's slightly soapy.  It has low but firm carbonation and a decent medium body.

It's a very rich and dark stout that's surprisingly easy to drink considering it's high ABV of 7.4%.  There's just nothing particularly special about it, which is a little disappointing as I was really looking forward to it.  I'm glad I've tried it but Ale not Be Seeing You Again.

Brewed by Love Lane Brewery, Liverpool
7.4% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5/5

Find out more at Love Lane Brewery

Innis & Gun Mangoes on the Run

Mangoes on the Run is a beautiful deep golden, orange hued ale with a large, frothy, and surprisingly robust off-white head.  There is no sediment at all so I got every last drop out of the can.

I was expecting a strong smell of fruit when I opened it but it's mainly just hops with a slight hint of fruit that's more citrus than mango.  Although I was a little disappointed with the aroma, it redeemed itself in the taste.  It's definitely mango!  The flavour is very hoppy with notes of caramel, biscuit and citrus and it has a very bitter, pithy citrus aftertaste that lingers.

It's thin bodied with low, reasonably soft carbonation that feels quite smooth in the mouth with a little bit of a tingle on the tongue.

It's what it says on the tin and Innis & Gunn deserve a round of applause for getting the unmistakeable taste of mango just right.  The pithy aftertaste was a little too harsh for me which is where it lost marks so although Ale not Be Seeing You again, it's worth trying if you like pithy bitterness.

Brewed by The Innis & Gunn Brewing Company, Edinburgh, Scotland 
5.6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.25/5

Find out more at The Innis & Gunn Brewing Company