BEER REVIEW: 461

BREWER: Lyme Regis Brewery, Dorset, England

STYLE: Session IPA

ABV: 4.2%

VESSEL: 440ml tin

DATE OF POST: 7th August 2026

 

JYMI SAY’S…

With a sensational name like 104º you would be forgiven for thinking that this brew was inspired by roasting hot days sitting in the sun on Lyme Bay (though I am not sure the temperature in Lyme Regis has ever hit 40º c (I just checked, the record high is 35.9º c (96.6º f, which would be a terrible name for a beer))). Sorry, went off on a bit of a tangent there.

Talking of tangents, 104º is actually the bearing you would set your boat to when departing the bay by sea. Very cool.

Before we get onto the beer itself, I just want to mention the packaging. Though I love the design, it does come across a little cheap, and I have to say doesn’t really sell the beer.

In the drinking I wasn’t overly impressed by this Session IPA. Pouring with a very large head I can’t help but feel this instantly let 104º down. And from there on in there was a lack of body, carbonation and flavour. Had my tin taken a tumble on its way to MOB HQ? I don’t suppose we will ever truly know.

But the body of this brew was thin and the flavour, albeit one of citrus (mainly Lime) was lacking, quite possibly due to its massive lack of fizz. Now this is where things got even more odd. The aftertaste was sour. Not ideal at all.

To be fair to 104º this is a light and refreshing beer, but with the sour aftertaste I just could not get on board with this one really.

 

Side note – after seeing Sammy’s review and subsequent score there is a chance I just got a duffer or damaged can here but again… I don’t suppose we will ever truly know.

Jymi’s Rating: 40%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

104º is a beer that keeps breaking my arithmetic. Everything about it suggests a neat little sum: light yellow, hazy, refreshing nose, tropical leanings. You’d expect the parts to add up cleanly. But every time I run the calculation, two and two keeps landing on five.

In the glass it looks straightforward enough, a soft haze and a pale glow that should lead to predictable outcomes. The nose is a dominant mix of mango and pineapple, bright and refreshing, the kind of input that normally gives you a tidy answer. But the moment you start drinking, the numbers shift. The refreshment is exceptional,  genuinely the defining variable,  and the pineapple reappears in subtle form, never overstated. A little saltiness edges in, then sweetness returns, and the whole expression balances itself with the elegance of a proof that tidies up its own loose ends.

It’s subtle, but it isn’t slight. It offers something different, something that doesn’t quite fit the expected pattern. You keep checking your workings, wondering how a beer this light manages to deliver such a distinctive, refreshing profile without tipping into excess. The name, 104º, adds a pleasing directional nod,  the bearing you’d take setting sail from the Cobb in Lyme Regis,  and it suits a beer that feels like it’s guiding you somewhere just off the expected course.

The mouthfeel is crisp, the flavours are measured yet surprising, and the overall experience keeps breaking the arithmetic in the best possible way.

I really like it. There’s something different and special about 104º, something that keeps turning four into five no matter how carefully you check the maths.

Sammy’s Rating: 86%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 63%

MOB review next weekend: ALHAMBRA RESERVA by MAHOU-SAN MIGUEL

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

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M O B 2026