Hiver Amber Beer

This is a beautiful deep amber coloured beer with a small, robust cream coloured head.  It smells deliciously malty and hoppy with a hint of honey.

It tastes absolutely lovely with flavours of sweet malt, smooth honey and tangy hops, followed by a slightly bitter finish.  It's pretty smooth to drink with soft carbonation and and a decent medium body.

I really enjoyed the amber honey beer.  It's sweet, malty and slightly bitter with a delicious hint of smooth honey.  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Hiver Beers, London 
4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Hiver Beers

ALDI France Bière Triple Traditionnelle

I picked up this huge 750ml Belgian tripel from an Aldi beer festival and it's not bad at all for a budget beer.  

It's a deep golden beer with a frothy, robust off-white head.  It has a sweet and hoppy aroma with the distinctive tang of a Belgian ale.  I could smell notes of caramel, honey and banana in addition to the hops.

The taste isn't as much of a Belgian ale as the smell implied, although it is a very easy drinking ale.  It's a sweet taste of honey, fruit and hops all blended together beautifully.  It has a thin body and is very well carbonated with prickly bubbles that are a little on the harsh side.

It's a lovely, sweet honey beer that's not as hoppy as I expected but enjoyable nonetheless.  It's a good attempt by the French but it just goes to show that nobody does a Belgian ale as good as the Belgians!  The huge size is a little too much for me so whilst I enjoyed it, Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed in France for ALDI
6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Seven Bro7hers Honeycomb Pale Ale

This beer was very eager to get out of the can.  It was very very lively and it took four pours to get it in the glass so it ended up a bit cloudy.  The colour is amazing, it is the deep golden colour of honeycomb and it's topped with a huge, frothy cream coloured head.

The aroma is very sweet and it does actually smell like honeycomb with some underlying maltiness.  I couldn't wait to taste it and I was not disappointed.  It is SO good; sweet honeycomb, malt and hops combine to create a taste explosion in the mouth.  It's actually not as sweet as I expected so Seven Bro7hers have got the balance just right with this one.

It's well carbonated but it's not as harsh as I expected from its lively appearance.  My tongue got a good tingling as little bubbles of honeycomb burst to release their amazing flavour. 

Seven Bro7hers have got this one spot on; it really is a Crunchie in a glass and I could drink it all day long to satisfy my sweet tooth.  Ale Be Seeing You again and again!

Brewed by Seven Bro7hers Brewing Co, Manchester
4% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.5/5

Find out more at Seven Bro7hers Brewing Co

Hiver Honey Ale

 

I bought this bottle when I visited Tynemouth Priory (in the days when we could visit places) as the label caught my eye and then when I saw that it was a brown ale, I had to have it.

It's a lovely chestnut brown coloured ale with a small but tight cream head.  Unsurprisingly for a honey ale, the predominant aroma is sweet honey but I also picked up notes of malt and chocolate.

There is no mistaking the flavour of honey in the taste and it actually feels like it's an ancient recipe.  The honey is tangy and sweet with a lovely maltiness and hoppy bitterness to round it all off.  With soft carbonation giving it a smooth mouthfeel, this is a very pleasant ale to drink.  It's what I would consider an all-season ale; I think it would be a lovely winter ale to drink sitting beside a roaring fire but also perfect to drink in the garden on a sunny day with bees buzzing around.

Delicious and environmentally friendly with 10% of the profits going to pollinator charities and urban space projects, Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Hiver Beers, London
4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Hiver Beers

BrewDog Santa Paws

 

Way back in 2016, I was delighted to find a deliciously dark ruby tinged ale inside the bottle of Santa Paws, BrewDog's Christmas Scotch ale.  It has a large frothy beige head that is quite loose but does leave a thin foam layer when it disperses.

The aroma has a lovely cinnamon spiciness to it that reminded me of Coca Cola and it's a lovely blend of malt, dark fruit and caramel with a hint of winter spice.  The aroma transfers to the flavour and it's a delicious blend of chocolate, malt and coffee with a treacle or slightly burnt toffee aftertaste, perhaps from the heather honey that is included in the brew.  

Well carbonated, it gives my tongue a good tingling but the body is rather thin.  It's only 4.5% and it feels quite light to drink so it goes down very nicely indeed.

I do like a scotch ale now and again as a lighter alternative to stout or porter, and Santa Paws is a lovely subtle, easy drinking scotch ale.  If it's brewed again, Ale Be Seeing You!

Brewed by BrewDog Brewery, Ellon, Aberdeenshire

4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

Skinner's Hops 'n' Honey

With an eyecatching colour that looks like it has just been poured out of a honey jar and an aroma of hops and honey, this ale is exactly what it says on the tin.  There's only a small head but it is tight enough to hold its shape.

As with any honeyed ale, the taste is quite mellow with a very smooth consistency that makes it slip down very easily indeed.  The balance of hoppiness and sweetness is perfect giving it a bitter/sweet taste with a tangy toffee aftertaste.

The head leaves nice lacing on the glass, showing that quality over quantity really pays off in some cases.  It's a very pleasant golden ale, that you think doesn't have a lot of taste at first but it awakens something in your tastebuds and you get a different experience with every mouthful.

Brewed by Skinner's Brewery, Cornwall
4.2% ABV

My rating:

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Wychwood Fire Catcher

Fire Catcher is a light golden straw coloured ale with a mix of citrus and honey smell.  It has quite a loose head but it holds its own and doesn't disappear too quickly.  With an abundance of citrus bubbles, there's certainly a good amount of carbonation resulting in this rather impressive head.

The taste, as I expected, is predominantly citrus flavoured.  It's not a strong lemon squeezy taste though, and there's a bit of a surprise as the initial citrus flavour mellows leaving a pleasant honey sweetness on the tongue.

You can pick Fire Catcher up for around £1 at the moment so for that price you really can't go wrong.

Brewed by Wychwood Brewery, Oxfordshire

3.5% ABV

My rating:

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Springhead Roaring Meg

From the glowing sun on the label, I wouldn't have expected anything other than the deep golden ale that burst out of this bottle.  It has a slightly floral aroma but the overall smell is of sweet golden honey.  There's a reasonably thick bright white head which shows no sign of dispersing.

Roaring Meg is a rather splendid golden ale.  It has a refreshingly crisp dry taste with only a hint of slightly bitter citrus aftertaste; it's so very pleasant and easy to drink which makes it disappear out of the glass very quickly.  It is well carbonated without being overly fizzy and the head leaves thick lacing on the side of the glass.

A lovely golden ale for a day in the sun or an evening in front of the fire reminiscing about the day that summer came to the North East.

Brewed by Springhead Brewery, Retford, Notts

5.5% ABV

My rating:

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Wells Waggle Dance

I absolutely love the stripey label on Waggle Dance and think it's especially clever to include the W as part of the bee's wing.  I really must applaud Wells for their ability to take unusual ingredients and add them to beer.  Some beers claim to have honey in them but the taste is so subtle as to be almost non-existent but Wells leave no room for doubt - their beer tastes exactly as they claim on the label.

I was really surprised to get such a hoppy aroma on opening as I thought the honey would have been the dominant smell.  It's a beautiful deep golden, almost light amber, colour with a creamy off-white head and I couldn't wait to get stuck in.

Wow!  What a taste explosion!  There is no doubt that honey is in this ale.  As the liquid rolls across your tongue you get the unmistakable taste of fresh golden honey, without being too overpowering to confuse your taste buds into thinking you're not having a pint of beer.

It's absolutely sublime and brewed to perfection.   Ale definitely be Seeing You Again!

Brewed by Charles Wells, Bedford

5% ABV

My rating:

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Black Isle Organic Scottish Beer with Heather Honey

You can smell the honey as soon as the lid comes off and I wasn't sure if I was going to like this or not.  Me?  Not like a beer?  Of course, I needn't have worried - I loved it and Ale be sure to See It Again!

It's a delicious pale golden colour and has a really robust head for a golden coloured ale - what you see is what you get, it doesn't disappear at all.  There are loads of golden bubbles bursting to the surface but it's surprisingly smooth on the tongue.  The head remains until the last drop, lacing down the side of the glass as it refuses to disperse.

What an incredibly unusual flavour; the honey taste is definitely there but it isn't overpowering at all.  There is a hoppy aroma when you're drinking it and a slight bitter aftertaste which has the edge knocked off with the honey.  I really like it.  It is smooth, palatable sunshine in a glass that, when I closed my eyes, successfully transported me to the Scottish Highlands with purple coated mountains and fluffy white clouds.

Brewed for Marks & Spencer by Black Isle Brewery, Scotland

5% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Black Isle Brewery