Tiny Rebel Shake Down

 

This was a very lively beer and if I didn't know better, I would have thought that the can had been shaken before opening.  It took a couple of pours to get it out of the can and leave some of the more chunky bits of sediment behind.  

It has a hazy, deep yellow body with a huge, frothy off-white head that lasts and laces.  It has the most amazing smell of mango and it smells like a tropical fruit cocktail with a hint of citrus and another helping of mango for good measure.

The taste is a bit disappointing after such a strong and fruity aroma.  It's very lightly flavoured with notes of mango and a dash of citrus.  It's like a very watered down beery version of a tropical fruit punch.

With such a lively exit from the can, I expected harsh and abundant carbonation but it's surprisingly softly carbonated with a thin, but not watery, body.

It's a very refreshing IPA and a lovely sunny day kind of beer.  It's a lot lighter in flavour than I would normally expect from Tiny Rebel but it tastes like it says on the can.  Ale not Be Seeing You again but it's well worth trying if it's brewed again.

Brewed by Tiny Rebel Brewing, Newport, Wales
4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5/5

Find out more at Tiny Rebel 

BrewDog Silk Road

 

I picked up this can of mango and lychee hazy IPA in Herons for something silly like 69p, so of course it would have been rude not to get one....or two.

It's a lovely hazy golden beer with a small, rapidly vanishing off-white head that leaves a patchy layer of foam.  There's quite a lot of sediment in the can so I left a lot of it behind as it was hazy enough already for me.

It has a beautiful aroma.  It's very fruity with notes of mango and some highly perfumed lychee.  It tastes very refreshing with the delicious flavour of sweet juicy mango and a slight bitterness of lychee.  It has a lovely soft and silky mouthfeel with low, soft carbonation in a thin to medium body.

This is a lovely hazy IPA but because of the mango, it tastes more like an alcopop than a beer to me; it was just missing a cocktail umbrella.  I can't complain for the price though!  Unless I saw it cheap again, Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by BrewDog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire
6.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

To ØI Solar Flare

 

Solar Flare pours a hazy orange colour with a small, loose cream coloured head.  The head disappears quite quickly, leaving the beer resembling a glass of fruit juice.  It smells like fruit juice too - it's very fruity with fresh and juicy notes of tropical mango and citrus fruits. 

It doesn't taste as fruity as I expected from the smell and it's a lovely smooth, sweet and creamy blend of fruit, hops and malt.  There's no bitterness at all from the citrus fruit and the mango adds a lovely fragrant fruitiness.  It's very fizzy and has a thin body but it's very refreshing and easy to drink.

It's a very interesting flavour combination and I loved the sweet tropical fruits that smooth out the citrus bitterness you expect from an IPA.  It seems stronger than its 4.2% ABV and Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by To ØI Brewery, Denmark
4.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Brewery

Fourpure Juicebox

I was drawn to Juicebox, Fourpure's citrus IPA, by the striking can - it's certainly very eye-catching and I wanted to see just how orangey it is.

It's a lovely clear golden beer with a small, loose, off-white head that leaves behind a small layer on dispersal.  It smells SO fruity - oranges (of course) as well as mango.  It's more of a sweet fruit aroma rather than bitter citrus.

The flavour is predominantly citrus but it has a slight floral note from the papaya and a sweetness from the mango.  The orange citrus is not pithy at all and more sweet than bitter.  It's quite a thin bodied beer with low, tingly carbonation.

Juicebox is a very refreshing citrus IPA and it feels like a very summery beer.  It's not as fruity as I expected as it has more of a balanced flavour from the mixture of orange, mango and papaya.  I'm glad I tried it, but Ale not Be Seeing You again. 

Brewed by Fourpure Brewing Co., London
5.9% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3/5

Find out more at Fourpure Brewing Co.

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