5 BEERS TO TRY...
I’M having fun with this week’s column. Committed readers will know I’m not your usual Thursday beer advocate, and I’m sorry that this is the final instalment, as David returns from his holidays and regular service is resumed. So this selection is of beers I had not got round to trying, but had a hankering to check out.
Redchurch Urban Farmhouse – On Skins: Chardonnay
£3.10 / 330ml/ 6.5% abv
Members of the ABC movement (Anything But Chardonnay – it’s an 80s wine thing…) need not worry, this couldn’t be further from those cheaply oaked, vanilla sweet wines that gave the grape such a bad rap back in the day. The nose is light, clean with a sour apple character. It tastes tart and is nicely rounded off with a fruity element that, whilst not obviously grapey, gives it a good balance without detracting from sharp sourness.
£4.90 / 330ml/ 7% abv
I’m wary of IPAs, particularly those with a higher abv. I find them too bitter, but was intrigued by the raspberry and lemon element here and am always a sucker for a brewery collab. “Fruity with an edge” sums this one up: the hops and lemon combining to create a lemongrass aroma with a hint of the raspberry. The palate was so juicy; tart but fruity with a grassy hop note underpinning it all. Not overly bitter, with a good body and smooth carbonation, I was really pleasantly surprised here.
6°North – Hop Harvest 2017
£3.00 / 330ml/ 6% abv
This seasonal release Belgian ale uses fresh-as-adaisy English Fuggles from Kent (the original home of the Fuggle, says the British Hop Association) in the brewing. The delicate grassy aromas are well reflected with a touch of floral and pine aromas too. Pine is more apparent on the palate which has a nice bitterness that rises gently from a fresh and hoppy beginning and develops into a long floral and fragrant finish.
Campervan Brewery – Wheat Revenge
£3.00 / 330ml/ 5% abv
They advertise this as a “punchy wheat beer” mainly due to the use of Sorachi Ace hops, which I find adds a slight coconut and spice note, and fresh pineapple. That’s what is going on here – there’s still a light ester aroma with banana scents and a touch of spice. It’s light bodied with the pineapple and coconut coming through subtly under the spiced flavours. The finish has a more obvious tropical character which, while not a typical wheat beer, works well here.
North Brewing – Full Fathom Five
£3.20 /330ml/ 6.5%abv
Sticking with the coconut theme, this coffee porter is a more traditional beer style in which to exhibit the humble coconut. An initial hit of espresso and dark, bitter cocoa mingle with slightly dried grassy aromas of coconut hemp. Full bodied, with bitter coffee and fresh coconut flavours this is dry and rich with coffee the more dominant flavour characteristic, but with the tropical note.