Staggeringly Good Post Imperial Porter

A maple syrup and vanilla porter?  YES PLEASE!

I had my eye on this on Instagram when I saw it being brewed and ordered one as soon as it was canned.  I was not disappointed.

It's a very dark brown ale with a small, loose, rapidly vanishing tan head that leaves a patchy foam.  It smells SO boozy, which isn't a surprise as it has an ABV of 10%.  The aroma is mouthwatering with notes of malt, treacle, chocolate, maple syrup, liquorice and vanilla.  There's so much going on, it's like you smell something different with every sniff.

Full marks for flavour!  Wow, this is impressive.  It's a dark and decadent brew with treacle toffee, maple syrup pancakes, malt loaf and liquorice all having a party in my mouth.  Mouthfeel is perfect with low but firm carbonation, and a full body that looks slightly syrupy as it clings to the glass but doesn't feel sticky on the tongue.

This is a very special beer.  It's one to savour and take your time with as I didn't want it to finish.  It is everything a dark ale should be with treacle and maple sweetness balanced with burnt roastiness.  I was impressed that the high ABV didn't leave a strong alcohol taste in the mouth, simply a warming bourbon finish.

Very highly recommended and one Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Staggeringly Good Brewery, Portsmouth
10% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.75/5

Find out more at Staggeringly Good Brewery

Seven Bro7hers Throw Away IPA

 

Seven Bro7hers have found a unique way to upcycle less than perfect cereal - make beer with it!  What a brilliant idea!  Cornflakes rejected by Kellogg's have found its way into Throw Away IPA.  

Throw Away IPA is a hazy orange-hued golden ale with a loose, frothy off-white head that disappears to leave a patchy layer.  Although quite lightly fragranced, it smells of sweet, juicy fruit on an underlying base of hops.

Much like the aroma, the flavour is very very weak and there's not much taste to it at all.  It tasted like a very watery squash to me with a slight bitterness in the aftertaste.  A slight buttery corn flavour develops after a while but an overall weak flavour coupled with a thin, watery body completed the whole disappointing experience.

Although it's a great idea, there's just nothing much to it at all.  It's not a drain pour by any means, it's just like lightly flavoured sparkling water.  It's not for me so Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Seven Bro7hers Brewery, Manchester
5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 2.75/5

Find out more at Seven Bro7hers Brewery

BAD Co. Off-Tempo 0518

Off-Tempo is an experimental range from BAD Co. brewed to explore flavour and style and their milkshake IPA 0518 is a cracking result.

It's a deep golden, slightly hazy ale with a decent sized, loose but surprisingly robust off-white head.  I poured it slowly and carefully, leaving just a tiny bit of sediment in the can.

The aroma is a tropical fruit explosion.  It's so fruity with notes of pineapple, mango, lemon and grapefruit bursting out of the can the moment it is opened.  The overall flavour is juicy tropical fruits but the addition of lactose gives it a smooth, creamy taste and adds some sweetness to the initial bitterness.  It's thin bodied with relatively low carbonation but the bubbles are quite prickly and left my tongue pleasantly tingling.

It's a very refreshing and easy drinking IPA.  I much prefer a sweet rather than pithy IPA so this one was spot on for me.  Hopefully BAD Co. will deem the experiment a success and brew this milkshake IPA again in the future.  Ale Be Seeing You!

Brewed by Brewing & Distilling Company Ltd, North Yorkshire
5.8% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at BAD Co.

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