BREWER: Little Creatures, Western Australia, Australia

STYLE: Pale Ale

ABV: 5.2%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

TWITTER: @ltcreatures_uk

INSTAGRAM: littlecreatures_uk

DATE OF POST: 25th September 2020

 

JYMI SAY’S…

I first ran into this beer, only as a visual not to try, about a year ago. I was perusing the beer aisle of Mark & Spencer whilst my wife was deciding between burnt orange, orange, sunset or subtle orange for a pair of flip flops she was oh so close to buying.

I remember this because I read on the tin that this was an Australian brew and I thought to myself that we really ought to review a beer from this great land.

Now since then I’ve seen Little Creatures Pale Ale kicking about at a few bottle shops and supermarkets but it’s taken until now for whatever reason to review it. Maybe it’s the not bad but certainly uninspiring packaging accompanied with some clunky wording that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense?

As I got beyond the aforementioned clunky wording and to the rest of the info being put forward it dawned on me that Australia was not mentioned at all? Had I got this wrong? Was this not even the beer I was thinking that I had seen in M&S? I hit the GoogleWeb with much vigour…

Ok, the history of what has gone on with LC and their now parent company is a little confusing. But their offerings for the UK market are brewed in the UK. The one thing that did grab me was that the head brewer in Aussie relocated to London to oversee everything was being done correctly with the British offering of this Pale Ale. Which is actually quite cool and you would like to think would result in a very similar brew.

Tin popped instantly I was worried. Honey sweetness and a floral aroma came flooding from the metal vessel. A powerful nose indeed but not really to my liking. The honey theme then unfortunately continued into the drinking and also moved through to the aftertaste. It think this is more than just not being to my liking. I just doesn’t feel like a settled brew. The balance seems off and for a pale ale it just comes across too sweet. LCPA is an easy drinker and the texture and mouth feel are good but once the sip is done the smoothness is somehow replaced by gacky aftertaste.

Those with a sweeter tooth will like this more than I but overall it’s not the best of beers.

Jymi’s Rating: 59%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Honey, the wonderful sweet liquid so often associated with summer, can conjure up memories of holidays abroad, flowers in bloom and sweeping sun-swept landscapes.  It’s aroma and taste brings that undeniable link to the land in which the bees collect their nectar.  And honey is a wonderful thing.  Loved and cherished, you can buy honey in many different styles, and many with price-tags to suit many different budgets.  And it’s even fair to say that a honey inspired beer could be a good thing.

Little Creatures does not profess to be honey inspired.  But there’s no escaping the fact that both in the nose and in the taste honey is there.  And I’m sorry to say it doesn’t do all those things that honey can do.  There are no conjured memories of wonderful summers when you drink Little Creatures.

The problem is, there’s just too much honeyness in this beer.  It’s overbearing and bordering on unpleasant.  That’s not to say it’s a terrible beer because it’s not.  It’s just overshadowed by it’s prominent flavour, which could be an unintentional side-effect of its brewing.

Whatever the reason, Little Creature is too heavy on the honey.  It’s a bit like having the toast lost because of the topping.  And so the beeriness of Little Creatures shrinks into the background, playing second fiddle to the honey.  

For me, it just ain’t great.

Sammy’s Rating: 61%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 60% 

MOB review next weekend: WASTELAND by UPRISING

museonbooze.com