The Kernel Dry Stout Taiheke Wakatu

This is a lively bottle conditioned dry stout from London brewery, The Kernel.  It's a beautiful dark brown ale with a frothy, surprisingly robust dark cream coloured head.

It has a strangely floral aroma and a hint of citrus.  It's very alluring but a little strange for a stout as it smells quite heavily perfumed.  The taste is definitely dry!  It doesn't have any particular flavour competing for my attention; it's just dry.  There is a malty hint to it though so it's very drinkable.  It has a medium body and is well carbonated with perfectly balanced bubbles.  

It's a very unusual stout and I love the dryness of it.  I would have liked a bit more malt to boost the flavour but it is what it says on the bottle and I can't fault that.  It's well worth trying but I wouldn't go out of my way to have it again, so Ale not Be Seeing You.

Brewed by The Kernel Brewery, London
4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at The Kernel Brewery

Loch Lomond Bravehop

 

This is a hazy, golden orange-hued IPA with a tight, frothy, cream coloured head that lasts and laces.  There's an amazing smell of marmalade and pine as soon as you open the can as well as citrus notes of lemon, orange and grapefruit.

The flavour is really unusual (in a good way); it tastes of citrus and honey at first but then apricot and caramel flavours develop.  The floral, fruitiness of the apricot is lovely and it adds a nice sweetness to the bitter citrus flavour.  It has a medium body and is well carbonated with fizzy, tingly bubbles.

It's a different take on an IPA with pine and apricot taking the edge off the bitterness of the citrus flavour.  It's fruity, sweet and bitter and I really liked it.  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Loch Lomond Brewery, Dumbarton, Scotland
6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Loch Lomond Brewery

Siren Lumina

Lumina is a vegan, gluten free session IPA from Siren Craft Brew and for once I have the actual branded glass to match the beer.

It pours a slightly hazy golden yellow colour with a small, loose cream coloured head that disperses to leave a thin layer and even laces a little.  It is very lightly fragranced so I had to have a good sniff to pick up notes of citrus and tropical fruit.

The flavour is also quite weak, although it is stronger than the aroma.  The citrus and tropical fruit flavour is nice and easy to drink, although it reminded me of diluted fruit squash.  The body is thin but it is well carbonated.

It's a very refreshing and delicate session IPA, it's not overly bitter and it almost tastes like a watered down IPA so it would be a good one to try for someone new to craft beer.  It's all a little too weak for me so Ale not Be Seeing You again.  

Brewed by Siren Craft Brew, Wokingham
4.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3/5

Find out more at Siren Craft Brew

Brass Castle Bad Kitty

  

Bad Kitty is a vanilla porter that is so dark and velvety when it's poured that you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a stout.  It has a very impressive huge, frothy and tight tan head that lasts and laces.

It has a very light aroma of chocolate and vanilla and it smells a bit like a glass of cola.  The flavour is also quite light, it reminded me of a very milky chocolate milkshake.  I think all of the vanilla has sapped all of the flavour out of the porter.

It's quite softly carbonated with a medium body so it has a lovely smooth mouthfeel and it's very easy to drink.  It's just a bit too weak on flavour for me.  It's very vanilla all round and there's nothing bad about this kitty.  Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Brass Castle Brewery, Malton, North Yorkshire
5.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.25/5

Find out more at Brass Castle Brewery

Seven Bro7hers Watermelon Wheat Beer

As you would expect from a wheat beer, this Watermelon wheat beer from Seven Bro7hers is very lively on opening so it took a few pours to get it all out of the can.  It's a lovely hazy golden yellow beer with a frothy off-white head that is quite loose but it lasts and laces.

Seven Bro7hers claim that this beer is summer in a can and it does indeed smell very summery with an aroma of juicy watermelon and a hint of sun-ripened strawberries.  It's quite a light aroma but you can definitely identify watermelon.

The flavour is disappointingly weak.  It tastes like weak, watery beer with a slice of watermelon thrown in to dilute it even further.  It doesn't have a lot of taste, but neither does watermelon really so I guess it is what it says on the can.  It's surprisingly softly carbonated for a wheat beer and the body is thin as expected.

It's a very refreshing beer but it definitely needs more flavour.  Watermelon doesn't have much taste but I expected some sweetness from strawberries and pineapple like it says on the can, but I didn't get any hint of that at all.  Not one I'd have again so unfortunately Ale not Be Seeing You!

Brewed by Seven Bro7hers Brewing Co, Manchester
4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.25/5

Find out more at Seven Bro7hers Brewing Co

Hatherwood Twisted Knots

Twisted Knots is an American IPA that has been brewed exclusively for Lidl supermarket.  Priced at only 99p at the time of purchase, it really would have been rude not to try it.

It pours a beautiful amber colour with a small, reasonably robust cream coloured head.  The head disappears slowly but leaves a patchy layer behind.  It smells very hoppy, which is no surprise as it's jam packed with seven varieties of hops (Herkules, Columbus, Chinook, Cascade, Citra, Centennial and Amarillo), and it also has a slight metallic bitter hint.

The first sip really tingled my taste buds as flavours of malt, hops and spicy rye combined to give a surprisingly flavoursome ale.  It has a lovely bitter finish which is more metallic than citrus.  It's thin bodied with relatively low carbonation but the bubbles are quite tingly.

It's actually very nice for a budget beer.  With the bitterness being more metallic than citrus and the lovely spiciness of the rye, it's my kind of IPA.  Although it didn't score highly, I really can't complain for under £1 for a 330ml can, so Ale Be Seeing You again.

  

Brewed by Hatherwood Brewery for Lidl UK
5.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.25/5

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.