Co-op (Robinsons) Triple Hop

 

Oh what a beautiful colour!  I was expecting something considerably paler but this molten amber, deep golden colour is right up my street.  The small, loose and cream coloured head lets the side down a bit as it disappears disappointingly quickly.

The aroma of hops, toffee and sweet malts is mouthwatering and I was very excited to take my first sip.  It has a lovely malty taste with a dry and bitter finish but the mouthfeel is a bit weird. The beer itself is quite thin bodied but it's very harshly carbonated.  It's not unpleasant, it just doesn't seem to match the rich flavour.

It's not bad at all for £1.60 for a 330ml bottle from the Co-op and I'd probably have another one just to see if I was being a bit too critical.  So Ale possibly Be Seeing You again!

Brewed for Co-op by Robinsons Brewery, Manchester
5.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Robinsons Brewery

Goose Island IPA

This may look like a standard 330ml bottle but it actually contains 355ml of beer and more beer is always better.  It's certainly a beauty to behold when released from the bottle, being a deep golden beer with a reasonably tight, off-white head that lasts and laces.

It has a fruity, creamy and sweet caramel aroma and a crisp, dry and refreshing taste with a hint of citrus, sweet malts and some caramel.  The bitterness from the citrus lingers but it isn't pithy at all and the bitterness actually seems to increase in intensity as you drink it.  I'm not a huge fan of citrus so I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this.

Carbonation is quite fizzy and harsh but it goes well with the whole package.  It did make me quite burpy and I expressed quite a few goose honk noises but it didn't put me off and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Goose Island Beer Company, USA
5.9% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Goose Island Beer Company

Sainsbury's American Pale Ale

This is a beautiful looking beer; it's a rich, deep amber colour with a frothy and tight cream coloured head.  

It smells very hoppy with a hint of citrus and it tastes crisp and fruity with slightly sweet malts.  It doesn't have overly strong flavours but it sure did awaken my taste buds.  It has a medium body and decent carbonation that maintains the impressive head right to the very last drop.

It's an all round pleasant drink but nothing really out of the ordinary.  I'm glad I tried it but Ale not be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Tap Room Brewing Company, New York, USA 
5.3% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.25/5

York Guzzler

Guzzler from York Brewery is a crisp and refreshing golden ale and it certainly lives up to that description.  It's a beautiful golden ale with a small, loose off-white head that disappears quickly to leave a thin layer.

With an appealing aroma of hops, sweet caramel and zesty citrus fruit I couldn't wait to have a guzzle of Guzzler.  It seems quite lightly flavoured at first; it's a hoppy ale with a tang of bitter citrus and a hint of caramel but it becomes more malty as you drink it.  I really like the crisp bitterness, it's in between metallic and citrus but it isn't too overpowering as there's an added sweetness from hints of fruit and caramel that smooth out the bitter kinks.  With medium carbonation and a medium body, it feels quite smooth to drink and lives up to its name as it quickly disappears from the glass.

Light in flavour and ABV, Guzzler is a very refreshing and easy drinking golden ale.  I picked this up from Lidl and although I can't remember the exact price, it'll have been around £1.50 so it's an absolute steal.  Definitely one where I can say: Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by York Brewery, York
3.6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at York Brewery

The Great British Brewing Co/Hogs Back All 4 One

 

All 4 One is a 4 hop lager produced for Aldi by Surrey brewers Hogs Back, although unfortunately there's no mention on the label as to what hops they are.  I don't drink much lager as I find it too gassy but you can't beat a lager in the garden on the odd occasion when the sun is shining. 

This is a golden yellow beer with a loose off-white head and it does have a little more colour than most mass-produced lagers.  It has a lovely aroma of hops (no surprise there as it's got 4 varieties in it), citrus fruit, grassy earth and a dash of sweet honey.

The first thing I noticed with the flavour is how very dry it is.  It's has a grassy citrus bitter taste followed by some mellow caramel but it is drier than the Sahara.  It's not too fizzy though so if it wasn't so dry, I'd have definitely given it a higher score.

It's not bad at all for a budget craft lager but it's a little on the dry side for me so if this comes back into production, Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed for Aldi by Hogs Back Brewery, Surrey
4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.25/5

Find out more at Hogs Back Brewery

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

Birra del Borgo Maledetta

 

Maledetta is an amber coloured Belgian style ale in a cute funky shaped bottle.  Of course, it may look good on the outside but it's what's inside that counts.

It pours a deep amber with an orange hue and a slight haze as it's bottle conditioned.  I thought at first that I wasn't going to get any head at all but then all of a sudden it appeared with a vengeance and gave me a good layer of thick, tight and cream coloured bubbles.

The aroma of toffee and citrus is mouthwatering and the taste is even better.  With a slight hint of honey to start, it passes through flavours of caramel and malt to finish with a burst of slightly sour and tangy orange citrus.  It has a medium body and relatively soft carbonation that tickles across the tongue to really get your taste buds going.

I've been really impressed with the Birra del Borgo ales and Maledetta is another one where I can definitely say: 'Ale Be Seeing You again!'.

Brewed by Birra del Borgo, Italy 
6.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Birra del Borgo