Goose Island Midway

 

This session IPA is a beautiful deep golden colour with a frothy off-white head that retains a thin layer on dispersal.  It smells incredibly fruity with notes of citrus and tropical fruits bursting out of the can along with a tang of hops and a metallic bitter hint.

The citrus and tropical fruits combine beautifully to create a very refreshing beer with a big dollop of hops.  It's well carbonated and has a thin body, as you would expect for an IPA.

This is what I would call an everyday beer; it's light, easy to drink and refreshing .  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed for Goose Island Brewery, Chicago, USA
4.1% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Goose Island Brewery

Winding Path 885 Porter

 

This porter from America looks like black velvet in the glass.  There's a small beige head on top of the dark body that retains a thin layer.  It smells amazingly malty with hints of roasted nuts and sweet treacle.

It tastes as malty as it smells with additional notes of liquorice, treacle toffee, roasted nuts and some dark fruit.  It has a surprising bitter coffee finish that I didn't mind at first but found it lingered a little too long after a few mouthfuls.  It's well carbonated and fizzy with a full body.

It's a lovely rich, dark porter that tastes like it's brewed with a bit of everything to give it a sweet, dry, roasted, nutty and bitter taste.  I would have scored it much higher if the aftertaste hadn't been a bit too overpowering for me but it's well worth trying, even though Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Winding Path Brewing Co., Dallastown, Pennsylvania, USA
5.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Winding Path Brewing Co.

Evil Twin Wake Up and Smell the Gose

I don't drink beer for breakfast but if I did, I would definitely have Evil Twin's imperial breakfast gose on the menu.

Wake Up and Smell The Gose is a deep golden crystal clear ale with a loose and rapidly disappearing off-white head.  It smells of blueberries, burnt toffee and red liquorice laces at first then develops into something more like blueberry and caramel pancakes.

The flavour is very unusual, it's like fruity blueberry pancakes with a salt chaser.  It's tangy and slightly mouth-puckering but I liked it.  It has a thin but not watery body and it's quite harshy carbonated and very fizzy.

It's actually lip-smackingly good.  It's really tasty and very unusual.  I love how the salt lingers on the lips and it perhaps doesn't taste much like a beer but I liked it.  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Evil Twin Brewing, Brooklyn, USA
6.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Evil Twin Brewing

Goose Island Honkers Ale

 

No longer produced in bottles, Honkers Ale is an English style bitter from USA.  I love bitter so I was really looking forward to this one.  Let's see what I thought.

It's a beautiful warm amber colour but it has a dirty dishwater coloured head that vanishes within seconds.  There was also quite a bit of sediment in the bottle so it needs a careful pour to get a clear ale.  I got a bit of sediment in mine so it does have a bit of haze to it and the sediment seems to remain suspended in the liquid which was quite off-putting when drinking.

Rather alarmingly, it has no smell whatsoever.  I couldn't detect a whiff of anything and my nose was in full working order.  Slightly odd, but on to the taste.  Erm...there's not much taste either.  It's a little malty perhaps but I'm really pushing it to even say that.  It doesn't help that the body is very thin and watery and the bubbles are really harsh despite the flat appearance.  It's like drinking slightly malted fizzy water.

It's nothing like a beer never mind an English Bitter and Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Goose Island Brewery, Chicago
4.3% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 2.5/5

Find out more at Goose Island Brewery

Bear Republic Grand-Am

 

With a fabulous chequered flag on the label, this looks like the perfect beer to drink while watching Formula 1, although it's quite strong at 6% so I wouldn't like to drink too many of them.  

It's a deep golden beer that's so bubbly and lively it produces a huge off-white head.  I didn't think I was going to get it all in the glass!  

It has a lovely aroma of sweet juicy mango and pithy grapefruit with a hint of caramel and hops.  The flavours all transfer into the taste and it's a rather nice blend of tropical fruit, citrus fruit, caramel and malt with a slight floral hint.  The citrus aftertaste is quite strong but isn't so pithy that it's unpleasant, it just lingers a little bit too long for my liking.

It doesn't feel like a strong beer when you're drinking it, but I got a bit of a flushed face so I knew it was a strong one.  It's quite fizzy and harshly carbonated that it gives the tongue a good tingling and maintains the head right through, leaving thick lacing on the glass.

Not bad at all, I really liked the tropical fruit flavour that took the edge off the citrus.  A very pleasant American Pale Ale and I'd definitely have another one if I saw it again.  Ale Be Seeing You!

Brewed by Bear Republic Brewing Company, California, USA
6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5/5

Find out more at Bear Republic Brewing Company

Anchor Steam Beer

 

Anchor Steam Beer can often be found on supermarket shelves but strangely enough it wasn't a beer I'd tried until someone bought me one as a gift.  On seeing the glorious amber coloured beer with its thick and tight creamy head, I couldn't believe it had taken me so long to try it.  With the amber colour creating a beautiful orange glow in the glass, it really is a beauty to behold but let's see if it tastes as good as it looks.

The aroma is very hoppy with a hint of fruit, sweet caramel and malt.  My mouth was watering as I leant in for my first sip and I was not disappointed.  It is deliciously malty with hints of biscuit, bread and caramel, resulting in a beautifully dry and crisp flavour with a slightly metallic bitter finish.  With a decent body it is quite fizzy but not harsh.

I haven't had many American ales, but Anchor have certainly nailed the Yorkshire head; a head so thick it clings to the glass and lasts to the final drop, which you almost always experience in ales from Yorkshire and North East England.  The mid-amber colour makes it a bit of an in-between beer, being neither light nor dark, so it will definitely appeal to many palates.

I absolutely love the crisp, dry and refreshing flavour and can see why Anchor Steam Beer is a permanent feature on supermarket shelves - it should be a staple beer in any beer stash and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Anchor Brewing Co, San Francisco, USA
4.8% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Anchor Brewing Co

Michelob Ultra

Although I rarely drink it, sometimes it's nice to have a lager; especially if the sun is shining and you want something thirst-quenching and quaffable.  I think it's really good that some breweries are promoting health and wellbeing by producing a range of low carb, low calorie, gluten-free, low alcohol and alcohol free beers.

Michelob Ultra is billed as a superior light beer and targeted at people who want to keep fit but still want to enjoy a beer, without feeling guilty about the number of calories they are consuming.  I'm not sure about the keep fit thing for me but limiting my calories is something I'm keen to do, however, I love beer so much that I really don't want to compromise on taste.

So very pale it appears anaemic, Michelob Ultra looks a bit sorry for itself in the glass.  It's a very very very pale yellow with a rapidly disappearing loose white head.  I had to take the photo as quickly as possible as it gets a very headless flat appearance within a few seconds of pouring.

The aroma is equally uninspiring, but then again you don't expect much from a lager.  It has a very weak smell of hops and maybe a hint of sweet honey.  Unfortunately, the taste test continued the disappointing theme.  It really just tastes like beer flavoured fizzy water, although it is clean and refreshing to drink. 

I have to give them full marks for creating and marketing Michelob Ultra but it's a very uninspiring tasteless experience; I'd rather forego the 3.5% ABV and have an alcohol free Becks Blue or a glass of fizzy water.

Brewed by AB Inbev (Anheuser-Busch), USA

3.5% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Michelob