BEER REVIEW: 396

BREWER: Flower Pots Brewery, Hampshire, England

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 6%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 9th May 2025

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

A Gardener’s Disappointed Pour: A Review of Flower Pots IPA

As a keen gardener and a lover of beer, I approached Flower Pots IPA with the kind of optimism reserved for the first shoots of spring—ready to embrace freshness, complexity, and that crisp bite of something truly rewarding. Instead, this beer felt more like a wilted bloom—full of promise but ultimately lacking vigour.

At first glance, I appreciated the floral theme and the elephant nod, suggesting a brew rooted in tradition and earthiness. But beyond the packaging, things began to stray. The nose—pine, metallic, and grassy—felt less like a welcoming breeze through a thriving garden and more like the remnants of an overly fertilised patch struggling under an unexpected frost.

The red-amber hue in the glass carried promise, like the rich tones of autumn soil, but the taste let it all down. There was a meadow-like sweetness, a touch of citrus, and the familiar pine elements that should have lifted it, yet the flavours seemed hesitant, never fully blossoming into anything remarkable. Instead of a satisfying evolution, the finish was anticlimactic—a whisper rather than a flourish.

Perhaps the creeping chocolate notes could have grounded it, offering depth, but instead, the upfront sweetness lacked balance, leaving me longing for a sharper bitterness to prune the excess. Instead of a sturdy, thriving IPA bursting with life, I found myself sipping through something that, while passable, failed to cultivate excitement.

Some might enjoy this—those who prefer their beers leaning toward gentle meadows rather than robust hedgerows—but for me, this one left my taste buds like an overwatered plant: unimpressed and hoping for something fresher next time.

More compost than craftsmanship.

Sammy’s Rating: 44%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

I love gardening, I truly do. I wouldn’t say I have green fingers, nor that I’m a hortif**kinculturist, as I have next to no real knowledge on the subject. However, a bit of pruning, edging, cutting, hoeing, mowing, potting, and pottering around the outdoor space on a sunny summer’s day… I love.

And what better reward after a hard day’s toil than to retire to the shed, fetch your crappy old ’70s deckchair, roll up a roll-up, and pop open a brew?

The name and artwork on today’s bottle absolutely evoke this scene—hard yet enjoyable labour in the garden, followed by a well-earned moment of relaxation with a cig and a beer.

The trouble is, if the beer you’d selected for such a moment was Flower Pots IPA, it would only end in disappointment. And that’s a shame because it starts off so well…

Yes, the artwork and name bring to mind a laidback garden potter, and I really love both. The quirky shaped label, with an Indian elephant nestled atop a flower pot, is nothing short of brilliant. The nose from FPIPA is also fantastic, with huge notes of blackcurrant making their way up your nostrils. The initial sip is great too, packed with oodles of orange, berry, and spice.

Unfortunately, this is where the brew kinda falls apart—much like that crappy old ’70s deckchair. Once your sip is swallowed, two things are missing—both vital to an IPA and essential to balancing those upfront flavours: body and bitterness. And in Flower Pots IPA, they’re seriously lacking.

It’s a shame because there was so much early promise. But without at least a bitter, hoppy middle and finish, this was never going to work as a beer. In fact, without it, it’s hard to call this an IPA at all.

Jymi’s Rating: 51%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 47.5%

MOB review next weekend: TRANSIENT by NORTHERN MONK

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Bluesky: @museonbooze.bsky.social

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2025