Off Axis Don't Leave Me Stout in the Cold

 

Discount store Home Bargains stock a range of beers brewed exclusively for them under the 'Off Axis Brew Co' banner.  They may be cheap, but they're certainly not nasty and although I haven't scored them particularly highly, they're decent budget beers.

This Off Axis winter stout is brewed with lactose and it's a dark mahogany colour with a small tan head that leaves a patchy layer when it settles.  It has a lovely sweet stout smell of malt, treacle and toffee but I couldn't smell any spice.

The spice flavour is definitely there in the taste; I picked up hints of cinnamon and cloves along with notes of malt and treacle toffee.  It also contains nutmeg, star anise and vanilla to give it a real winter spice taste.  It's well carbonated and surprisingly fizzy with a medium body that feels a little thin for a stout.

It's a nice winter stout and it tastes like you would expect from its description on the can.  Although Ale probably not Be Seeing You again, I would definitely recommend trying it if you see it in Home Bargains.

Brewed exclusively for TJ Morris (Home Bargains), UK
5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Kasteel Tripel

This stonking 11% Belgian tripel pours a sunshiney golden yellow with a tight, off-white head.  The head is amazing; it actually looks like frogspawn as perfectly formed, distinctly separate little bubbles cling to each other.  I have to share a close up photo just to show what I mean.

It has a lovely hoppy aroma with a hint of sweet fruit, including citrus and banana.  The flavour is equally impressive with the expected tripel taste of tangy, sour hops but with the addition of zingy, fruit bursts that give a sweet edge to the sourness and a maltiness that lingers on the palate.  It has a medium body with good carbonation.

You can definitely taste that this has a high ABV but I couldn't really detect any hints of raw alcohol that sometimes overpower strong ales.  Let's face it, the Belgian's know how to brew decent beer so it's no surprise that I'm saying 'Ale Be Seeing You' again to Kasteel Tripel.

Brewed by Kasteel Brouwerij Vanhonsebrouck, Belgium
11% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.5/5

Find out more at Kasteel

Wychwood Hot Cross Bunny

I thought I'd try a novelty beer from Wychwood.  It smells a bit fruity on opening, and pours a lovely deep golden colour with a nice pearly white head.  It doesn't have a lot of taste though, just a very strong aftertaste of cloves.  I got an aroma of cinnamon but the "hint" of cloves is more like a big nudge in the ribs.  It wasn't horrible by any means, it didn't have enough taste to be horrible!  It was just far too odd for my liking.

Brewed by Wychwood, Oxfordshire

3.8% ABV

Find out more about Wychwood ales