BEER REVIEW: 47

BREWER: Beavertown Brewery, North London, England

STYLE: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.4%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE POSTED: 31st August 2018

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Ok, firstly can we all just take a moment to absorb and enjoy one of the greatest looking tins of beer possibly ever produced…

 

 

 

 

Seriously, take a moment…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow. Simply Wow!! I tried to award 33 out of 10 for packaging but it was vetoed by the Muse on Booze Scoring Analysis Centre (MOBSAC), so I had to settle for a frankly insulting 10/10. Man I hate those guys.

Trying to leave the packaging behind and have some sort of objective view of how this beer actually was I cracked that beautifully barmy can open…

Damn, instant disappointment. Where is the nose? WHERE? There is a whiff of something, and that something is actually very pleasant but…. Weak, weak as you like.

Now, taste wise things began to get very much back on track. This is a great tasting brew, and you would expect nothing less from this North London brewery that have made quite the name for themselves over the last 6 years and even more of a name for themselves in the last few months, rightly or wrongly.

So I was sat enjoying my Gamma Ray, thinking to myself, “this is Beavertown I’m dealing with, what could possibly go wrong”?

But something did go wrong and it left me all panicky…

Now let me state something first, I love Grapefruit. It is, in fact, in my Top 3 fruits of all time*. Juice, fruit itself, tinned or a beer that has a Grapefruit foundation, doesn’t matter… I’m all in.  But then came Gamma Ray. It’s a great beer but… It is TOOOOOOO Grapefruity when it comes to the aftertaste! And that is coming from a Grapefruit head! It’s not just hints of, or notes, or subtle smacks fading in and out… IT IS GRAPEFRUIT when the aftertaste kicks in.

All in all we have a good beer here and you would expect nothing less from these dudes. But that aftertaste, for me anyhither, is just too much.

Jymi’s Rating: 77%

 

*just in case the super curious out there wanted to know…. my Top 3 Fruits are…

Pear, Grapefruit, Raspberry (in no particular order) 🙂

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

If you like beer, and you have a leaning towards radiation, then Gamma Ray should be the beer for you.  Well, I can hear you all saying, that makes sense.  After all, this American pale ale has a strong identity and it screams drink me (well it is from Beavertown Brewery, and we all know how formidable their marketing/design department is).  But there is a hidden dimension, which isn’t obviously apparent from the beginning…

This ale is meant to be tropical in nature.  And in many respects it is.  But the thing is, from the first smell to the last long after taste, one fruit rules supreme: grapefruit.  It’s so overbearing, in fact, that a two-word review (a nod to you Tap fans) would simply be Abundant Grapefruit. 

Now, grapefruit is a wonderful thing.  It’s a great taste and works sublimely well with tropical American pales.  Gamma Ray is a good beer.  It has its place amongst the elite and can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of them.

However, there is one question you’ll have to fully answer before you draw your own conclusion on this one: how much grapefruit can you handle?

Sammy’s Rating: 80%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 78.5% 

 

MOB review next weekend: STELLA 284 by STELLA ARTOIS 

MUSE ON BOOZE