BrewDog Puppy Love

 

A milkshake IPA containing lactose, Puppy Love is a limited edition Valentine's Day beer from BrewDog.

It's a hazy deep yellow colour with a small, loose, rapidly vanishing off-white head.  Once the head has gone, it looks like a glass of orange squash.  It has the most amazing aroma of fresh, juicy raspberries with a hint of zesty citrus.  

The flavour is quite light and it's very refreshing.  It's citrussy but there's no bitter pithiness at all, there's a definite hit of sweet not tarty raspberries and there's also a slight hint of tropical fruit that's almost perfumy like lychee.  Lactose gives an overall creaminess to the taste.  The body is thin and ever so slightly watery with low, firm carbonation.

With a lower than usual ABV for an IPA of 4.7%, it's very easy to drink and I really enjoyed it.  It's limited edition for 2022 but I hope it's brewed again next year.  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by BrewDog Brewery, Ellon, Aberdeenshire

4.7% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Quench Quake

Although I'm not sure they should be considered a beer, I keep being drawn to fruity, refreshing sours - the more lip-puckering the better.  So, I thought I'd try Quench Quake, BrewDog's grapefruit and tangerine sour but I was a little disappointed to be honest.

It's a lovely bright golden colour with a small, rapidly disappearing off-white head.  Once the head has gone, it looks like a glass of cider.  I leaned in for a sniff and was very disappointed; it smells just like a lager and lime!  

There was no lip puckering in the taste, although the zingy grapefruit citrus had a good attempt at pinging my tastebuds.  It does have a sour taste but it's not overly so, it's like it can't quite make its mind up what to be between a lager and a sour.  Body is unsurprisingly thin and watery and carbonation is low and soft.

Whilst it's tasty and fruity, it's nothing exciting.  There's not even any lime in it, but to me it just tasted like a lager and lime with far too much lime in.  It's maybe one for those who like alcopops, which isn't me, so Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by BrewDog Brewery, Ellon, Aberdeenshire
4.6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

Corsendonk Pater Dubbel

 

Pater is a dark brown, mahogany tinged Belgian dubbel with an amazingly tight and frothy cream head.  It looks absolutely splendid and I couldn't wait to dive in for a sniff and a sip.

The aroma is so deliciously malty with a hint of tangy hops, as you would expect from a Belgian beer, along with notes of boozy fruit, like you get in a Christmas cake.  It also has a slightly soapy floral fragrance that was a bit strange and prevented it from scoring full marks for aroma.

It redeemed itself in the taste though.  It's very malty with notes of dark fruit, liquorice and treacle followed by a slightly dry, bitter coffee finish.  It really does have a lovely sweet/bitter balance.  It's very well carbonated and full bodied, giving a full tongue-tingling experience and resulting in one or two bubbly burps.

This is a lovely Belgian dubbel with a sweetness that reminded me of treacle pudding and Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Corsendonk Brewery, Belgium

6.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Corsendonk Brewery

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

Siren Broken Dream

 

Broken Dream from Siren is a deliciously dark stout brewed with lactose.  It's a dark brown ale with a decent sized tan head that's very loose and quickly disperses to leave a flat appearance.

It gets full marks for aroma with notes of coffee, chocolate and malt.  It smells so rich and decadent that I couldn't wait for my first sip.  The taste is lovely; much like the aroma, it's a mouthwatering combination of coffee, chocolate and malt.  The sweet chocolate (and lactose) takes the edge of the bitter coffee to give a perfectly balanced stout.

It's a medium bodied, semi-smooth stout with low, tingly carbonation.  It's not one of the more expensive stouts either - currently priced around £2.30 for a 330ml can, which is amazing value for money.  It's so tasty that Ale definitely Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Siren Craft Brew, Berkshire
6.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Siren Craft Brew

Black Sheep Milk Stout

Black Sheep is one of my favourite breweries so I had high hopes for their award winning Milk Stout and I was not disappointed. 

Brewed with lactose, it's a velvety black stout with a tan head that is thick, tight, creamy and robust, as we have come to expect from Black Sheep.  The head lasts a lot longer than the beer did, that's for sure!

The aroma is quite light with notes of malt, chocolate and hops that you would expect in a stout.  The flavour is delicious; it's so chocolatey and malty that it's almost the same sort of flavour as a chocolate Horlicks.  It's so smooth, creamy and full-bodied that it's silky smooth in the mouth.  It's perfectly carbonated - it's not too fizzy so it retains a lovely smooth mouthfeel.

It's a very well-balanced stout with an initial hit of sweet malt and vanilla contrasting with a slightly bitter chocolate and coffee finish.  It feels like a hug in a glass - it's so delicious and easy to drink that Ale definitely Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire
4.4% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

Brew York Mos Eisley Catharina 2020

 

As a Star Wars fan I just had to try this guava, coconut and lime sour from Brew York and I was not disappointed.  It looks, smells and tastes like it could be served at the Mos Eisley Cantina.

It's a hazy golden yellow beer with a small, loose, rapidly vanishing head that ends up looking like a glass of fruit juice.  It smells like juice too with a delicious fruity aroma of guava, sour fruit and a hint of coconut.  It has a strange sweaty smell too so it's not an overly appealing fragrance.

Thankfully, it didn't taste sweaty!  The mix of guava, lime and coconut is delicious and although the tangy fruit flavour isn't mouthpuckering, it's definitely a sour.  It has a medium body and low, prickly carbonation so it has a smooth mouthfeel like fruit juice but with an added bit of fizz.

Very fruity and refreshing, it tastes quite boozy and the flavour develops as you drink it to really bring out the lime and coconut flavour that had originally been overpowered by the guava.

I'm not sure I would call a sour a beer so they're not my usual tipple but with a Star Wars theme, it had to be done.  I'd recommend trying it but I wouldn't necessarily have another one as it was a bit of a gimmick for me. 

Brewed by Brew York Brewery, York
6.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5/5

Find out more at Brew York Brewery