Vocation Life & Death

 

I love the can design of this IPA from West Yorkshire brewers, Vocation, but let's see if it's as good inside as out.

It's a beautiful deep golden ale with a frothy, loose, off-white head.  It's unfiltered so there is a little bit of sediment in the can, but I managed to leave most of it behind and just had a slight haze to my beer.

The aroma is amazing - it is SO fruity.  It's a delicious aroma of juicy tropical fruits with notes of pineapple and mango on a citrus base of grapefruit and lemon.  The taste is more subtle than the smell but it's like a sweet and juicy fruit salad of sweet tropical fruits and zingy citrus, blended with a deliciously smooth maltiness.  It reminds me of fruit salad sweets but with added bitterness.

It has a thin body and it's well carbonated with tingly bubbles that kept my tongue fizzing for ages.

With the flavour being more sweet tropical than bitter citrus, I rather liked it.  It's very well balanced and refreshing; I would be more than happy to drink this in the summer.  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Vocation Brewery, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire
6.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Vocation Brewery

Vocation & Yeastie Boys - Breakfast Club

 

I have a sweet tooth so this collaboration between Yorkshire's Vocation Brewery and New Zealand's Yeastie Boys caught my eye.  

It's a stout so it's an unsurprising dark brown colour but what is surprising is the head: it's light brown but it has a hint of pink from the blueberries.  The smell of blueberries bursts out of the can the minute it is opened, along with sweet caramel, roasted malt and a little smokiness.

The taste is candy sweet, predominantly blueberries and pastry but there's an underlying smokiness that I found a bit odd.  It's so softly carbonated that it's as smooth as silk when you drink it and it has a lovely full body that I love so much in a stout.

As much as I loved the blueberries in this, it was spoiled by the smokiness that really seemed to take over.  Although I quite enjoyed it, I really wish I had drank it fresh as I think I had left it a bit too long (even though it was well in date).  If I try one again, I'll definitely drink it straight away so there's every chance that Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Vocation Brewery, West Yorkshire and Yeastie Boys, New Zealand
6.9% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Vocation Brewery and Yeastie Boys