BEER REVIEW: 314

BREWER: Cotswold Brew Co., Oxfordshire, England

STYLE: Lager

ABV: 4.8%

VESSEL: 330ml brown bottle 

DATE OF POST: 14th October 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

The brew we have on our hands today I believe was featured on a TV show in the UK named Clarkson’s Farm. How it’s featured or what it’s all about I’m not entirely sure as I’ve not seen the programme myself. The reason being is that the man that the show is named after is Jeremy Clarkson. Don’t get me wrong, if I’m in the right mood I can find this guy mildly entertaining but on the whole I absolutely despise the man. I’ve heard the series is actually very good and it has been recommended to me by quite a few different folk. But frankly, if I’m being honest… I just can’t be arsed with it.

Moving to the beer itself and leaving all the showbiz song n dance behind, what we have this week is a Premium Cotswold Lager at the enticing ABV of 4.8%. Anywhere between 4.6% and 5.2% is optimum for me when it comes to a lager. Most other styles can get away with either end of the strength spectrum but generally for me a lager has to fall into this percentage bracket to taste any good (of course there are exceptions, Small Beer Co being a very obvious one).

Smart looking bottle popped it was time to find out what this brew was all about.

It’s good, it’s really good actually! There is a great Lime and Lemon character to this beer. It’s not overwhelming nor too prominent, it’s just there helping this lager be very refreshing and very crushable! The mouthfeel is sublime, which you would expect, what with the purest Cotswold water being used.

Well dressed and well executed, this is a very good showing from the Cotswold Brew Co. I have to say.

Jymi’s Rating: 77%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Hawkstone Lager is a very good drop indeed. 

Smart packaging: modern and unfussy but impactful. 

Smart name: named after a local Neolithic rock. 

It’s a crisp drinking sensation backed by hoppy notes. The salty lemon backdrop is enhanced by a fantastic mouthfeel. 

If I’m honest, there won’t be too many straight bat lagers out there that are better than Hawkstone. 

Put simply, I’d be happy chugging one of these on any occasion. 

I’m already looking forward to my next one. 

Sammy’s Rating: 81%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 79%

MOB review next weekend: DIRECTORS by COURAGE

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M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 313

BREWER: Van Steenberge, East Flanders, Belgium

STYLE: Belgian Red Ale

ABV: 10.5%

VESSEL: 33CL brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 6th October 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Can anyone remember a drink named cherryade (generic, not brand specific)?  For me, it’s synonymous with childhood.  A pretty awful drink that turns the inside of your mouth red, making you resemble a distant relative of Count Dracula.  Well, it still exists.

Here’s the thing – Piraat has the hue of cherryade when it’s unleashed in the glass.  And to be fair, catch a passing whiff of Piraat, and you could be further tricked into thinking it’s our long lost friend, cherryade.

But there, thankfully, ends any resemblance between the two.

Piraat, took me by surprise.  I was not expecting the summer fruity taste sensation that it delivers both through the old hooter and when tipping it down my throat.  It is so well balanced and has tremendous presence in the mouth.  Yes, it’s a great drinking experience.

Here’s the kicker:  Piraat comes in at 10.5% abv.  Believe me, that makes it a dangerous drink.  It’s so easy to polish one of these off, that before you know it, you’ll be on your back with the world spinning around you.

I was genuinely surprised at how good a drop Piraat is.  It’s a wonderful beer and I look forward to the next time I meet this swashbuckler.  

Sammy’s Rating: 86%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Wow! What a beer this is!

Of recent times, most, if not all of the high ABV brews I’ve had (whether on a MOB test or just personal consump) have been of the craft variety and have hidden the super strength VERY well! As I’ve mentioned in previous musings the techniques and wizardry of the modern craft brewer are evolving at an amazing rate. It only seems like yesterday that most DIPA’s, TIPA’s and the like tasted strrrrrrong, still lovely, but STRRRRONG and pretty boozy too, as you would expect. But nowadays most of these big boys taste like they’re more like 5.5/6%! It’s mental!

However, this large lad tastes VERY STRONG INDEED, but (and this is where the genius comes in I believe), not particularly boozy. As in, there is no alcohol burn whatsoever.

Piraat Red really is a hit you between the eyes but sit down and savour kinda brew. The whole savour thing begins before you have even had a sip. It pours so well, looks incredible in the glass and smells great. I found myself just looking at it for at least a minute or so. Once I broke out of the trance and actually got PR underway two things immediately struck me. CHERRY and PILLOW SOFT MOUTHFEEL. We’re onto a winner here Jym lad I whispered to myself.

The theme very much stays along the cherry line but slight notes of vanilla develop the more you move through the drink, which is delightful. Now, I’m going to finish with something that I’m not sure I’m going to be able to convey properly. The late aftertaste has a subtle red wine vinegar tone to it. Absolutely not in a bad way (you’re just gonna have to trust me here) but in a way that complements and enhances like vinegar does with food when used correctly. Don’t get me wrong, its not vinegary, there is just a touch of acidity at the end that without doubt boosts an already cracking experience.

Great drop indeed.

Jymi’s Rating: 89%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 87.5%

MOB review next weekend: HAWKSTONE LAGER by COTSWOLD BREW CO.

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M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 312

BREWER: Harviestoun Brewery, Clackmannanshire, Scotland

STYLE: Pale Ale

ABV: 5%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 29th September 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

A ridge is a long narrow hilltop, or even a mountain range.  These natural phenomena can be very exciting.  They can conjure up a sense of excitement and adventure and can be an allure for many a brave explorer, or indeed any outdoor type.  

I like the outdoors.  And I like ridges.  Generally, I like nature.

So, a beer named The Ridge could be quite promising.  It could be full of adventure.  There is hope it might take you on a metaphorical journey to some unknown (beer) world, linking the ordinary with the extraordinary.  

Except it does none of those things.  

While The Ridge might be inoffensive, with a light lemon nose, it doesn’t come close to lighting up my senses.  It’s a decent enough pale ale but it just doesn’t do much. It’s very much a straight narrow edge, a little like a ridge.

For those of you seeking thrills from a ridge, stick to the natural one, not this brewed up averageness.

Sammy’s Rating: 44%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

I tend not to take too much notice of a brew until it is it’s turn to be reviewed. You obviously get the very instant thoughts on first visual but then it’s off to the MOB fridge/cupboard until it’s time for it to hopefully shine.

Now unfortunately for The Ridge that very brief first visual left me underwhelmed – brown bottle, green label… YAWN!!! It meant that I wasn’t particularly excited to test this one. But seriously, after so many reviews now, you would think I would have learnt to not judge a book by it’s cover. Honestly Jymi, come on man?!!

When it came to test day things turned around BIG TIME!

See, on closer inspection the packaging is quite cool. It’s not great (the green label and brown bottle thing still didn’t sit well with me), but the introduction of the seafaring Mr Mouse, I’m assuming sitting above THE RIDGE, with his nautical telescope is nothing short of fantastic! He makes an appearance on the bottle top too! Now THE RIDGE that I speak of, as our bottle tells us, is the Mid-Atlantic ridge, where America meets Scotland (slightly tenuous, I mean it could be geographically correct but I’ve no time to check, and fear it’s not). The reason this is relevant is that Harviestoun Brewery have used ingredients from both America and Scotland in this brew. Clever idea, great concept and you know what, they’ve only gone and nailed it! This is a great beer.

A crisp zesty nose leads the way followed by a first sip that is stacked with a bitter hop bite, slightly more akin to an IPA rather than a Pale but… whatever. The mouthfeel is also instantly loveable. It’s bright and it’s clean. As you move through the brew the hop bite mellows but then returns deep into the aftertaste. Further into the drinking a very subtle melon tone begins to develop. It’s so subtle that there is no way you would pick it up if you were just sipping this beer at your leisure down the Dog n Dickhead chatting with your chums. But under a strict MOB testing regime that subtle melon sneaks in. Combine this with the bitter hopping of this beer and you cannot go wrong.

Our bottle states with much confidence on the front label that The Ridge is HOPPY. REFINED. BALANCED. And let me tell you now, it most certainly is.

Jymi’s Rating: 84%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 64%

MOB review next weekend: PIRAAT by VAN STEENBERGE

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M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 311

BREWER: Banks’s Brewery, West Midlands, England

STYLE: Strong Ale

ABV: 7.4%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE OF POST: 22nd September 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Right, first thing that struck me when viewing this offering that Sammy brought to the testing table was, blimey, this reminds me of the Gold Label tin.

Now for those of you not familiar with Gold Label, it’s the brew that the BIG drinkers used to neck back in the 90’s and may well still do so to this day. GL was a 10% Barley Wine. I have never touched it so cannot really comment on whether it’s any good or not but as far as I’m concerned if the pissheads were buying it because it was cheap and strong, it probably wasn’t amounting to much.

However, our beer today, I was slightly relieved to find out, is just a Strong Ale weighing in at a mere 7.4%!

Even though this is still punchy as, it’s not stratospheric in ABV. But this brews instant downfall is the fact it tastes WAY TOO BOOZY!!! Crazy statement you would think but only a year or so ago we reviewed an 11.1% Triple IPA that only tasted like it was 5 maybe 6%. In today’s world of brewing, just because a beer is 7.4% does not mean that it will definitely taste strong! Not that there is anything wrong with strong but mega BOOZY, no, not for me anyway.

And it’s a bit of a shame because there is some promise in this brew. There is tonnes of flavour, though good luck picking out individual notes. And once into the beer it does drink OK to be fair. There is a very bitter middle which helps BG along nicely, and is very much needed.

Did I enjoy Barley Gold? Not really no.

Would I have another? Probably not.

Is it somehow close to being actually quite good? Yeah, it kinda is.

More care and a few tweaks needed, but as it stands, not great.

Jymi’s Rating: 44%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 38.5%

MOB review next weekend: THE RIDGE by HARVIESTOUN BREWERY

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M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 310

BREWER: Anthony Martin, Walloon Brabant, Belgium 

STYLE: Lambic

ABV: 8%

VESSEL: 33cl brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 15th September 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Waterloo – an 8% Red Cherry Lambic beer from our beautiful brewing buddy’s over in Belgium.

8% you say?! Must be pretty full on??!! Well it’s not. At all. Booze wise anyway. See, of course this tastes like a lambic beer which is obviously alcoholic, but you cannot taste the booze AT ALL!!! Which, seeing how drinkable this brew is, is nothing short of flippin’ lethal!!

Honestly, if some cowboy host wanted to feed you this at a BBQ you would be more cooked than the burnt sausages let me tell you. Soooo drinkable… Soooo strong!!!

But, how does it actually taste? Well, in one word, bloomin’ lovely! Which worryingly backs up the sausage metaphor.

Waterloo is all the cherries, all of them. There is an absolute tonne of flavour jammed into this brew. The cherry tornado is complimented by a soft red apple hint that then leads to a faint sourness.

This is a superb beer but please, if you’re going to take it on, heed my warning and put a survival plan in place before you do.

Jymi’s Rating: 89%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Waterloo is an awesome beer.  It’s just wonderful.  It’s so good, I could be convinced that this is what Abba named their now famous song after… well, maybe not.

While it will come as no surprise that cherry dominates both the nose and the taste, there are plenty of other surprises when drinking Waterloo.

Surprise 1 – there’s a strong pinch of almond on the nose, making it not dissimilar to the aroma of a bakery cooking up a batch of Bakewell Tarts.

Surprise 2 – apple notes play a wonderful companion to the cherry star.  And they are wonderful beer friends.

Surprise 3 – despite the boat load of cherriness, Waterloo is perfectly balanced between sweetness and a great bitter flick at the end.

Surprise 4 – you will not believe that it’s 8% abv.  You just cannot notice it.

Surprise 5 – Waterloo has good body in the mouth.

There’s only one way to sum up Waterloo: Cherry-o-baby.

Awesome beer.

Sammy’s Rating: 93%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 91%

MOB review next weekend: BARLEY GOLD by BANKS’S

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M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 309

BREWER: Williams Bros. Brewing Co., Clackmannanshire, Scotland

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 5.1%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle 

DATE OF POST: 8th September 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Let’s get the elephant out of the room.  Well, on this occasion, let’s get the giraffe out of the room.  Naming a beer with the number seven in it because it’s been brewed with seven malted barleys, best mean you can notice that this is prevalent in the brew. The fact of the matter is, it makes no difference at all that Seven Giraffes has been brewed with seven malted barleys.

As a beer, it’s pretty wishy washy.  To try and pull it off as an IPA, it just ain’t hoppy enough.  Seven Giraffes is insipid.  The slight hint of hops needs a massive whoosh to elevate the drinking experience.

But while Seven Giraffes is not packing much of anything, it’s actually quite easy to drink.  It’s not offensive.  But not being offensive, is not close to a definition of being good.

Although unlikely to offend, Seven Giraffes is definitely not one to seek out.

Sammy’s Rating: 45%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

So, the first question is this…

What is the link between Giraffes and Malted Barley?

Odd question I know, but it is one that needs to be asked.

Why?

Well our beer today is named Seven Giraffes and we’re told that it is brewed using 7 varieties of Malted Barley. So there has to be a link, there just has to be.

So I took myself off to the British Library on Euston Road in London. Nothing.

Next stop was my local library about 5 min walk from my house (probably should have tried there first), but again, nothing.

Next stop was a mobile library that rolls up a few miles from me every month. Nothing.

It was then that Nigel in the Muse On Booze IT department (MOBITD) told be about something called INTERNET?

So on to that I went (this thing could be a game changer), using something called the google I typed in…

Giraffe Malted Barley. Nothing.

Malted Barley Giraffe. Nothing.

What’s the link between Giraffes and Malted Barley? Nothing.

I then found a thing called Spotify and got side tracked for 7 hours.

But returning to my task, I concluded that there was no link between Giraffes and Malted Barley.

So, even though Seven Giraffes is quite a cool name for a brew, it’s also a bit odd all things considered.

Second question…

Why label your beer with the tag, EXTRAORDINARY IPA?

You’re kinda setting yourself up for a fall and the drinker up for disappointment with moves like this, unless the IPA you have produced is extraordinary of course. Which this brew I’m afraid to say, is not.

However, it is alright, but alright is a fair few rungs down from extraordinary which equals… Disappointment.

Look, SG as mentioned isn’t too bad. The mouthfeel is fantastic to be fair (think we probably have our 7 giraffes, sorry, malted barleys to thank for this). It’s very drinkable and certainly moreish. There are tones of pine, grass and lemon but those tones are lacking a bit of intensity. There also needs to be more of a hop bite bitter smack to help this brew along. It’s supposed to be an IPA for crying out loud!

I think with a bigger bitter finale SG could have maybe at least approached the greatness we were promised.

But it does not reach such a crescendo. Which frankly, is a shame.

Jymi’s Rating: 56%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 50.5%

MOB review next weekend: WATERLOO by ANTHONY MARTIN

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M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 308

BREWER: Thornbridge, Derbyshire, England

STYLE: Hazy IPA 

ABV: 5.5%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE OF POST: 1st September 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

First impressions / reactions were… Errrrrr

Ah, it’s a Thornbridge brew and…

Oh it’s a collab with Brew By Numbers…

NICE!!!

Bit of a shit looking tin though…

Now. Let’s actually start with what we’re dealing with here.

Thornbridge of Derbyshire and Brew By Numbers daaaaaan in Bermondsey are both SERIOUS players in the UK craft beer scene. So it was fair to say I was expecting great things. But from the off the tin was putting me, off.

Until, like a true pro I actually started to concentrate.

This beer’s name comes from the year England was founded, 927. That is more than pretty cool. What’s more is once I got my newly prescribed binocular glasses a’top me nose I realised that the can art is actually a map of London. First class play on packaging I must say, once I got there!

Now the brew itself, I have to say, I was a little disappointed by. It’s not that this is a bad beer. I was was just expecting more.

The taste in sip is that of citrus, predominantly lemon. This taste and body once swallowed then completely vanish. Which I have to admit was both surprising and worrying. Especially as Nine Two Seven is coming in at a more than respectable 5.5% abv.

However, after what seems like an eternity, a bitterness arrives long into the aftertaste.  Which is good and I’ll be honest saved this beer.

The more I then stepped back and thought about it the more of what goes on with this brew actually seemed pretty cool…

Crisp and refreshing at first…

Drops out…

Wait

Wait

Wait…

In comes the bitterness, coupled with a dry finish.

Yeah, not bad, not bad at all.

Jymi’s Rating: 69%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

A collaboration is an exciting thing.  Not just in the beer world, of course.  When two well-known acts get together, there’s often a buzz around such an event.  We all know that on occasion, these coming togethers of well-known artists can bring great results. But, the flip side is also true.  The results can be disastrous.

Let’s be clear, both Thornbridge and Brew by Numbers know how to make beer.  Each brewery has an impressive back catalogue of very decent beers.  So, we should rightly be excited about this coming together.

Nine Two Seven is definitely not a disaster. Neither is it a flop.  And while it might not be greater than the sum of its parts, it is a decent drop.  Dominated by grapefruit, which could be a little more punchy, its main stand out feature is its refreshing quality.  

As a couple of side notes, I do rather like the London map that adorns the can.  And naming the beer after the year that England was established is quite a nice touch.  However, the overall theming of the beer doesn’t quite align all the way through.  

Still, I do reckon most folk would happily chug down a Nine Two Seven.

Sammy’s Rating: 77%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 73%

MOB review next weekend: SEVEN GIRAFFES by WILLIAMS BROS.

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M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 307

BREWER: Dreher, Central Hungary, Hungary

STYLE: Lager

ABV: 4.3%

VESSEL: o.5l tin

DATE OF POST: 26th August 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Many of you will have come across a game named snog, marry, avoid.  For those of you who have not, the basic principles are as follows:

Player A picks three people, who may or may not be linked, can be famous, or just known to the players of the game.

Player B has to categorise each one of the three people into snog (you’d  choose to snog that person over the other two and have no more to do with them), marry (you choose to marry that person over the others in the category) or avoid (you’d choose to avoid that person over the others selected by player A).  Player B can choose whatever rationale they wish for their choices, from the grounded in sound rationale to the obscure.

Now, if we applied a similar game to beer and called it one-off, session, avoid, the principles would be as follows:

Player A picks three beers, that may or may not be linked.

Player B must categorise each one of the beers into one-off (the beer you’d pick over the others to have on a one-off occasion), session (the beer you’d pick to have during a session) or avoid (the beer you’d select to avoid out of the others offered by player A).

In most interactions of one-off, session, avoid, it’s likely Kóbányai would be the beer you’d (as player B) select to avoid.  That’s how bad it is.

End of.

Sammy’s Rating: 13%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

These are the power notes in my tasting book.

Very early sip just ok but that’s it.

It’s nothing.

No nose.

Zero flavour.

I think from this you can probably guess where I am with this beer. And other than disclosing that somehow, I actually like the terrible packaging, I have nothing more to say here.

Jymi’s Rating: 15%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 14%

MOB review next weekend: NINE TWO SEVEN by THORNBRIDGE (with Brew By Numbers)

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M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 306

BREWER: Staggeringly Good Brewery, Hampshire, England

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 4%

VESSEL: 440ml tin

DATE OF POST: 19th August 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Good name, that is if you can ignore the link between staggering and drinking. Take it at face value and Staggersaurus is a good name for a beer.  It’s a little tongue in cheek and smacks of a beer not taking itself too seriously, which should be applauded in a world where too many things are often taken too seriously.

As a beer, Staggersaurus is all a little flat.  Except for the over carbonation on opening, that is.

While it might deliver the flavours you’d fully expect from a session IPA, it’s not in any way elevated.  However, yes, it’s true that it doesn’t do too much – it’s a fairly straight drinking beer -, it is a good session beer.  And that, if I am being fair, must be considered when trying to analyse the ups and downs of Staggersaurus.   

There’s nothing wrong with being a good session beer.  I can imagine supping on more than one of these and having no complaints whatsoever.  It’s easy drinking if a little underwhelming.

The true test, I guess, is would I have another one and enjoy it.  The answer is simple.  Yes – I definitely would.

Going more deeply, would I have a Staggersaurus if I came across it on draught.  Again, yes, I definitely would.

It’s never going to set the world on fire but it’s a very polite beer that maybe doesn’t quite tally with the big dino name. 

Sammy’s Rating: 70%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Oh no…

I hate it when this happens.

Look, I’m gonna start with some petty negatives. They’re on my mind and I need to get them off my, errr, chest.

Let’s start with name. It’s great. But Stagger suggests a stumble. Which you may associate with a higher than 4% strength beer. Personally, I was shocked that with such a name it was a session IPA. Buuuuuut, Session? Stagger? Maybe it does make sense?!

F**k it, it’s a great name!!!

Next, the green back drop of the tin, I find it a little…

Do you know what, I’m boring and annoying myself already, so gawd knows what you poor souls reading it must be going through!

The name is great. The tin is great. And the beer is… pretty nice.

Let’s delve deeper.

There is a point of difference here. So many Session IPAs fall into the same tasty enough but kinda meh whirlpool, but Staggersaurus does not. The nose is of clean sweet grape. After a slightly thin start the texture is a little fuller than you would imagine for a session IPA and there are definitely notes of white wine knocking around. All this sets our reptilian friend apart from a generic session IPA for sure. However, I’m not sure these things totally lend themselves to the session this beer was brewed for. But it’s a better beer for it.

Defo worth a pop this one – and I can only apologise for the slightly random musings that lead the way at the start of this review.

Jymi’s Rating: 73%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 71.5%

MOB review next weekend: KÓBÁNYAI by DREHER

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M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 305

BREWER: Omnipollo, Stockholm County , Sweden

STYLE: Belgian-Style Pale Ale

ABV: 6.5%

VESSEL: 33cl brown bottle 

DATE OF POST: 11th August 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Levon is a little bit of an enigma.  Claimed to a Belgian style pale ale, it’s actually hard to put in one box. The reality is, it’s a cross over between the afore mentioned and a wheat beer. However you want to label it, Levon is a success. 

Whatever style you want to go with, one thing is apparent: Levon is a very good beer indeed.

Lots of floral notes perpetrate the nose, which do not carry through into the drinking.  However, wheat is ever present but not too dominant and there’s a good hint of honey and grass in Levon too.  It’s well balanced, with a medium bodied drinking experience.  This is well support by the abv, which carries through all the little high notes of this drink.

To sum up Levon in one word, I’d go for summer.

You could happily enjoy one, two or more of these on a hot summer’s day, or evening.  Who am I trying to kid?  You could enjoy Levon whenever you like.  

As an aside, I do Iove the key style label of Levon with the blue off the wall graphic. It leaves you wanting to know what the whole scene is. This will set your mind racing, no doubt.

Despite Levon not sitting clearly in one category of beer, it is not confused.  It’s solid.  It’s tasty.  It’s crisp.  It’s just plain old successful.

Well-conceived. Very well delivered. 

Sammy’s Rating: 83%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

And so we arrive at a brew from the Swedish powerhouse that is Omnipollo. A former gypsy brewer jumping from brewhouse to brewhouse and continent to continent working their magnificent chemistry to provide the intrigued with some splendid and much talked about beer.

Omnipollo has now set up shop / landed a beer mecca spaceship in Stockholm. I mean, I’ve not been, but if you haven’t heard just google it and be ready to be blown away, visually if nothing else.

Anyway, Levon is where we’re at today and let me tell you, it does not disappoint. In fact, it’s a mighty fine brew indeed.

Ok, it’s a Belgian-Style Pale ale and while if defo strikes the Belgian notes I’m not totally sure it comes anywhere near tasting like a Pale Ale. But frankly, I don’t care, it’s fantastic either way.

Levon leads the way with the most superb spicy, zesty and clearly Belgian yeast nose. All this drives straight into the taste but with an added dryness with bitter orange tones. It’s really dry actually with stacks of mainly citrus based complexity. Some won’t like this. And I get it, but I do. But as long as the flavours are good I adore a dry beer (Brut IPA got such a bad press!). And it’s because of this Levon turns into a real sit back and savour sipper. At only 330ml it took me flippin’ ages to finish this brew but I loved every single moment of it! Such a beautiful aftertaste it’s untrue.

Levon is a cracking brew. As mentioned, it’s so dry it will divide the crowd but if you’re ok with a trip to the Sahara, greatness awaits.

Jymi’s Rating: 89%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 86%

MOB review next weekend STAGGERSAURUS : by STAGGERINGLY GOOD BREWERY

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

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M O B 2023