BEER REVIEW: 304

BREWER: Birra Peroni, Lazio, Italy

STYLE: Lager 

ABV: 5%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE OF POST: 4th August 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Tin of Peroni eh?

I’ve only ever had this on tap or from a bottle before and have thoughts on both…

For a macro lager a pint of Peroni ain’t bad you know. In fact, to be fair, it’s good. But things need to be done right. Firstly, the pipes that bring the beer to our glass need to be clean and in good order. Secondly, it must be served in a (preferably chilled) Peroni glass. Follow this and a crisp, refreshing and enjoyable beer you will have.

From a bottle it’s a different story though. It ain’t great to be honest. Look, if it’s super chilled and you’re in company at a BBQ or whatever then it’s totally fine, passable. But honestly, it’s not a very good beer.

So, to the can we go. Will it match the quality of a pint? Will it be pretty rubbish like the bottle? Or will it be somewhere in between? Let’s find out.

Ok, what you can pick up from the nose is pleasant but virtually non-existent. Sip in mouth is tasty enough, refreshing and crisp. However once you reach the stages of swallow and then aftertaste this beer falls apart fairly spectacularly. There is simply no flavour to talk of. Nothing.

Similar to the bottle, if this was passed to you at a BBQ then fine, whatever. But this is not a beer you should be drinking out of choice.

Jymi’s Rating: 35%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Peroni.

Oh Peroni.

Formally known as Nastro Azzurro on these shores.  That was, before it became a very popular sight in many a UK boozer.  I think I preferred its previous name…

However, the launch of Peroni, with its marketing campaign (including glasses), was unarguably a success.  And when it’s pulled on draft, with pipes that are looked after, into a proper Peroni glass, it’s a very enjoyable, crisp, refreshing (albeit macro produced) lager.

But we are not here to review the draught drinking experience.

Neither are we here to review the bottle experience, which in my opinion, is a long way below the aforementioned draught experience.  

We are here to test the can.  Let’s be honest, it looks more like a pre-made spirit mixer drink that it does a beer.  Given the effort gone into marketing Peroni, this is very surprising and disappointing.

Peroni from the can is all a little bit meh.  It’s not bad.  It’s not good.  Way too soft, it has no bite that lagers should have.  It’s indescribable.  

The mere fact that there’s more to say about the marketing of the product that the product itself says it all.

I’d still have one on draft though.  Just keep those awful white cans away from me.

Sammy’s Rating: 40%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 37.5%

MOB review next weekend: LEVON by OMNIPOLLO

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 303

BREWER: Amazon Beer, Pará, Brazil

STYLE: Pilsner

ABV: 4.1%

VESSEL: 330ml brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 31st July 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

You could be forgiven for thinking that you may be sitting in a European Square in the sun when supping on Forest. I mean, it tastes exactly like a classic European biere. But does it taste like a Pilsner? Quite simply, no. There is no subtle spice and the hop level is not even close to being high enough. In saying that, Forest is drinkable and refreshing but unfortunately not great. It’s probably the nothingness of the back end of this brew that really is it’s downfall. I mean, it falls off a cliff, leaving the drinker wondering if they had even had a sip at all?

The region of Pará does have serious historical links to Europe so it’s actually quite cool that Forest tastes so continental. But all in all this is not the best offering I’m afraid to say.

Jymi’s Rating: 48%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Forest Fruit Bacuri is a pilsner from Brazil.  Apparently, it’s brewed using a local fruit known as Bacuri fruit.  I like this fact.

Bacuri fruit is supposed to be a combination of sweet and sour.  I also like that.

I was hoping for a slightly fruity slightly sour beverage from Forest.

The thing is, you can’t really get either of those from drinking the beer.  Ok, the nose does have a slight hint of lemon about it, but that’s all.  

The drink itself is ok.  It’s really not bad.  Before you know it, you’ll be at the bottom of the bottle – it’s that easy to drink.  It’s quite crisp and very light.

But to be balanced in view, Forest is not that good either.  It just doesn’t do much.  It’s straight brewed.  Incredibly uncomplicated to drink and very light.  There is hardly any fruit flavour to speak of.  You’d have to look very deep to find it.  There’s certainly no sourness, as the Bacuri fruit should be.

I’d like to have more to say about Forest.  Brewed in Brazil, from Amazon Beer, things could have been so different.  But, I just don’t have much else to add.

Having said that, I would be up for trying another beer from Amazon Beer.  Watch this space!

Sammy’s Rating: 57%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 52.5%

MOB review next weekend: PERONI by BIRRA PERONI

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023 

BEER REVIEW: 302

BREWER: Timothy Taylor’s, West Yorkshire, England

STYLE: Pale Ale

ABV: 4%

VESSEL: 440ml tin

DATE OF POST: 21st July 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Hopical Storm is a beer I was rooting for before even drinking. I like the fact it’s from an independent, traditional brewer. It’s Timothy Taylor’s foray into the craft world. I love the packing – clearly a lot of thought has gone into it. 

So, my hopes were high before drinking. 

And then, I drank it. 

I need to be transparent – Hopical Storm is not bad. It’s very drinkable. It’s perfectly pleasant. Unfortunately, it will slip off my beer radar. There’s nothing about it to make it stand out.  The flavours, which are as you’d expect for such a beer, are not punchy enough. The drinking experience is all too meh. 

I can see what Timothy Taylor’s are trying to achieve. I get the angle. For me, the execution is not good enough. It’s a classic example of pandering to the masses and falling short for those who really would cherish such a beer. 

I’ve no doubt Tropical Storm will have a good sales rate, certainly to begin with; it’s been heavily marketed. But I question whether it’ll stand the test of time. That’s not what’s important, though. It’s about the beer. 

It’s pretty average. 

Light hoppy nose

Thin on taste, thin in the mouth. 

Sammy’s Rating: 63%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

A name for a beer so good, they trade marked it! Haha!

It is a blinder of a name to be fair and a step away from the more traditional tones that we’re used to from Timothy Taylor’s. The brewer of the incredible English Pale, Landlord (the first brew we reviewed back in 2017).

The name isn’t the only step away from trad for TT. The packaging and style too are also veering heavily towards the more modern world of craft beer. This is a step that I didn’t see TT wanting nor needing to take, though I’m not against it in any way.

I want to take time at this point to mention the plethora of info that our brewer gives us about some of the brewing process, mainly the hops used and at what stage they were added.

A cyclone of flavour and aromatics tamed by expert brewers in three stages of hopping at our independent brewery in Yorkshire.

Cascade and Whitbread Goldings in the copper, Cascade and Chinook at the hop back stage, then dry hopping with Jester and Ernest.

 Sounds flippin’ amazing to be fair!

Anyway, intrigued and a little apprehensive I cracked the can.

The nose coming off of Hopical Storm was a huge disappointment – kinda dusty n musty, really odd!

Anyway, like a brave little soldier in a cyclone, I pressed on into the brew.

First impressions were, though it was a little thin in mouthfeel there was a nice hoppy bite kicking around which certainly got the seal of approval. Moving further into the beer there was definitely the presence on mandarin in the flavour as was promised on our tin. Though I was not picking any mango or passion fruit, that was also promised, which was a little disappointing.

All in all this is a decent enough beer without being great.

On a side note I just want to mention the TT wheatsheaf logo going over in the cyclonic wind…

Normally, for their traditional brews it’s standing up straight, but in a Hopical Storm? No sir!

Absolute masterstroke from the creatives at Timothy Taylor’s.

Jymi’s Rating: 67%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 65%

MOB review next weekend: FOREST by AMAZON BEER

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 301

BREWER: Mort Subite, Flemish Brabent, Belgium

STYLE: Gueuze Lambic

ABV: 4.5%

VESSEL: 25cl brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 14th July 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

First up I’m gonna mention the packaging here. It’s not amazing but I do really like it. The lower label has a few dice knocking around on it that then bleeds to some info on our beer on the upper label, that is put over in the form of dice faces. Assuming the upper amount is based on 6, we have one dice saying 3 for sour, another saying 3 for fruit and the last saying 1 for bitter. Leaving aside that this is really confusing and ultimately wrong, it’s a pretty cool idea.

Moving to the inside of the tiny wee bottle, this beer is too sweet and seriously lacking it’s sour side to balance it out. Also, even though the bitterness of the brew is only at level 1 out of 6 from our dice guide, our beer here is also seriously lacking some bitterness, again to balance out the sweetness from the fruit.

Look, if you can get over the large pineapple sweet nature of this brew then it would be drinkable enough if super chilled and being consumed on a scorcher of a day.

But ultimately GL is too sweet, especially for my tart loving tongue, so really is a bit of a fail.

Jymi’s Rating: 38%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 46.5%

MOB review next weekend: HOPICAL STORM™ by TIMOTHY TAYLOR’S

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 300

BREWER: Siren Craft Brew, Berkshire, England

STYLE: Barley Wine

ABV: 11.3%

VESSEL: 375ml brown bottle 

DATE OF POST: 7th July 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

It was early 2017 when Sammy & I started talking about doing some sort of review blog on beers. Early names slung around were Draft Punk (taken on Twitter already, hats off) Brew Review (we can do better than that, come on) and The Hop Diaries (that’s just shit).

Of course we ended up settling on Muse on Booze thinking that maybe we wouldn’t just have to stick to beer necessarily. And although we ventured into midweek Gins for 3 summers Muse on Booze did however just keep on rolling with the weekly beer reviews.

300 weeks later here we are with our 300th beer. Of course we selected a big boy to celebrate the milestone but that didn’t mean it was defo gonna be a good one…

And it’s not a good one. It is an out of this world off the charts brew that left us debating whether we could actually give it 100% overall! The main argument for giving the top score possible was where is it losing marks? And I’m still not totally sure where, why or how I have docked marks, albeit only two.

Look, this baby has sat in many different barrels and also had wine and whisky experts subbed in on it’s way to being bottled in early 2018 and then opened by us mugs just a few days ago.

But let me tell you now, this is THE beer. My good gawd, it is INCREDIBLE!!!

It’s sooooo complex I’m now going to let it down in my writings but cherry, almonds and a very prominent (without being close to overbearing) sherry vibe leads the way. I have to say on first swallow it actually seemed a touch thin. However, it’s the first sip that without you realising at the time is in fact cloying and setting the beer up for what it’s about to bring you. Now Maiden has now lined your mouth things really begin to happen as the foundation has been laid for myriad notes and tonnes to work with and bounce off. The cherry moved to caramel without totally disappearing. The almond grew more into the sherry tone but remained present. It was at this stage I lost all focus of what was happening and just sat back and enjoyed this absolute masterclass of beer and brewing.

Should I have Grandchildren one day, I will without doubt tell them the tale of the day I drank Siren Craft Brew’s 2017 Maiden.

Seriously. Lost for words (though you wouldn’t know it for that blurb).

Jymi’s Rating: 98%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Barley wine. Yes. You’re reading right. It’s a barley wine, not a grape wine so Maiden happily sits in our beer testing category. And it’s a cracker for beer 300.

This brew from Siren is an absolute delight.  It’s unbelievably good.

While trying to reach a conclusion for the overall score, I found it difficult to not justify giving full marks.  That’s how good it is.  And why didn’t it get the full 100%: I can’t really say other than can anything truly be at that level.  Debatable, I know. 

The nose is bursting with hints of cherries and almonds, but has a delightful base note of medium dry sherry.  Unlike many beers, this heady olfactory sensation does not dissipate as you merrily drink your way down the glass.  It’s so incredibly intense, that it keeps on adding to the overall experience of Maiden.

Now, to describe the flavour is nigh on impossible.  I’d argue that any one drinker would experience Maiden differently such is the complexity and expertise of the brew.  To begin with, you get earthy flavours and cherries with a hint of almond.  As you move down the glass, these give way to softer caramel notes.  All the way through there’s the ever present medium dry sherry.  

The full bodied, lightly carbonated mouthfeel is ably supported by the way that Maiden clings to the mouth and lingers delightfully in the mouth long after drinking.

I cannot praise this drink highly enough.  Maiden is a delight from start to finish.  

If you’re in any doubt – go get your hands on one.  Treat yourself to a thrill of a drinking experience.

Sammy’s Rating: 99%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 98.5%

MOB review next weekend: GUEUZE LAMBIC by MORT SUBITE

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023 

BEER REVIEW: 299

BREWER: Vault City, Lothian, Scotland

STYLE: Sour

ABV: 6.2%

VESSEL: 440ml tin

DATE OF POST: 30th June 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

At first glance, many a beer drinker may be surprised to stumble across a beer that has its name aligned with a well-known dessert: Raspberry Rocky Road.  Let’s be honest, beers and desserts are not usually a pairing that jumps to mind.

So, it wouldn’t be in the slightest bit surprising that many a well-tuned beer guzzler would swerve this offering, or if not avoiding altogether, would approach it with a large degree of caution.

Not me.

You see, RRR is a sour.  More specifically, it’s a dessert sour.  Strange as it may be, the combination of beer and dessert works incredibly well (on this occasion at least).  To lay it out as it is, RRR tastes of a sour but it does not shy away from its claimed rocky road status either.  There are softened raspberry sours upfront, with chocolate and marshmallow back notes.  Yes, it’s true, those well known flavours are here and very present in this sour.  But one of the biggest links to the pudding theme, is the fluffiness of the mouthfeel.  You are reading correctly, readers: RRR has a FLUFFY presence in the mouth.

Look, RRR will not be too everyone’s taste.  I know that.  And it has the hint of novelty about it.  However, there is no case for denying that the beer delivers on every front promised.  It is exactly as described, it’s well balanced and it’s well brewed.  

Not one for the traditionalist, RRR is definitely a brew that any intrepid beer drinker should get their mits on!

Sammy’s Rating: 84%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

I cannot quite believe that we haven’t actually reviewed a Vault City brew up until now. I mean, they’re a flipping amazing brewery and let me tell you, this is an amazing brew.

No messing about from me with daft stories this week as this is serious bloomin’ business.

Raspberry Rocky Road is a superb beer, it really really is.

First up on the cracking of the can there is the most incredible room filling aroma coming from RRR. Next is the first sip, and my oh my what a delight. Huge sweet and sour flavours fill your mouth, raspberry for sure but with the faintest of chocolate backdrops.

On swallow, though there is still a slight sweetness, sourness certainly takes over. Not eye twitching by any means but defo sour. At this stage you realise that the mouthfeel of this brew is OUT OF THIS WORLD and that you’re dealing with a major player. I dreamt that I ate a huge marshmallow last night, woke up and my pillow was gone. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

It’s then that RRR turns on the raspberry only jets for a sec before moving to a long long long sweet and ever so slightly sour after taste.

On a personal level it’s a touch sweet at the end for me but that’s my fault and nothing to do with the beer.

Fantastic brew.

Jymi’s Rating: 88%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 86%

 

NEXT REVIEW IS BEER 300!!! 

MOB review next weekend: 2017 MAIDEN by SIREN CRAFT BREW

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 298

BREWER: Ottakringer Brauerei, Vienna, Austria

STYLE: Lager

ABV: 5.3%

VESSEL: 0.5l tin

DATE OF POST: 25th June 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Our first beer from Austria, and I have to say despite the shaky colours used on our tin of lager I was quite looking forward to it.

Something was telling me that Austria must be up there as an amazing beer destination and brewing country. I didn’t actually know if this was the case and was definitely influenced by the fact that it borders Germany. But I went with it anyway… Pretty ignorant display from me I’m afraid.

However, I should not have gone with it anyway, this is a f**kin shocker!

Look I’m not saying Austria can’t brew, I have literally no idea whether they’re good or not at this or if a rich history is there. I can only judge this brew on how it tastes and as mentioned, it is not good!

The nose is full and actually not bad to be fair but this does not transfer to the taste. It’s thin in body and woody in taste. I really thought the slightly weighty 5.3% would help this along a little, but it does not, whatsoever.

Enough said, as you’ve probably guessed, don’t bother with this brew.

The European Fosters? Austers? Oh just forget it.

I do want to research Austrian beer a little more though as this cannot be a fair representation. It just can’t be.

Jymi’s Rating: 18%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

If you like your beer with a woody damp nose,

That leads to you curling each of your toes,

If you like your beer tasting of composted waste,

With a quite shockingly awful aftertaste,

If you like your beer with a dusty mouthfeel,

That leaves you feeling almost surreal,

Then I have a recommendation that’s a true minger:

A brew from afar that goes by the name of Ottakringer. 

Sammy’s Rating: 20%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 19%

MOB review next weekend: RASPBERRY ROCKY ROAD by VAULT CITY

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 297

BREWER: Schneider’s, Bavaria, Germany

STYLE: Helles

ABV: 4.9%

VESSEL: 0.5l brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 18th June 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

From the heart of Bavaria, Schneider’s Bayrisch Hell holds much promise at the outset. The packaging, old school in style, gets an honourable mention from me. It feels like it gives SBH the feeling of a gateway into an old beer world.  That can only be a good thing. 

On the nose, the promising vain continues. There are some subtle floral and grassy notes alongside a slight metallic backdrop. It’s not too punchy but gives a good impression of SBH. 

In the drinking, you get what you might expect: a malty, slightly salty summer beer. The notes found in the aroma do translate into the drinking. 

This all sounds very good. 

The let down for SBH is that it’s all a bit short lived and a little too light. While well balanced, it’s too understated. 

All in all, a solid beer, no doubt, just not the best from Bavaria. 

Sammy’s Rating: 70%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Back in the day when I embarked on my beer journey, it started with lager. It was the 90s, what ya gonna do?!

The likes of Hofmeister, Kronenbourg, XXXX, Fosters Ice, Miller, Labatts Ice and Oranjeboom were the players along with Stella of course. I defo enjoyed all of these at the time but looking back only a couple can really hold their head up as being half decent nowadays, should they still exist.

Fast forward many years and the beer journey moved to more traditional / real ale and then more modern craft beer.

Now after these phases I realised that, although I’ve yet to find a beer style that I dislike, lager was nowhere near top of the pops.

Please, do not get me wrong, right time, right place, RIGHT SUNSHINE LEVEL, a lager, even the ok macro ones can be AMAZING! But as it goes, out of choice I don’t tend to drink lager that much anymore.

But from the instant Bayrisch Hell arrived at my testing table via Sammy (MOBs ever reliable delivery guy) I was excited.

The packaging is exceptional! Traditional to the hilt but subtle and easy to absorb.

And I have to say that I’m enjoying this beer a lot as well. There is plenty of character here for a lager and it is so clean and so crisp. The mouthfeel is just a wonder. There a faint hints of lime and general citrus running through BH that keeps the enjoyment ticking along nicely and makes you want to go back for more. To finish things off there is a good long aftertaste that isn’t lagery at all. It’s more hoppy, more beery.

Whether you’re a lager lover, hater or somewhere in between, I would highly recommend this brew to you.

Jymi’s Rating: 82%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 76%

MOB review next weekend: OTTAKRINGER WIENER by OTTAKRINGER BRAUEREI

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 296

BREWER: Firebrand Brewing Co., Cornwall, England

STYLE: Golden Ale

ABV: 5.6%

VESSEL: 440ml tin

DATE OF POST: 11th June 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

What is craft beer?

Well, according to the Google…

Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries (HAHA). They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis on enthusiasm, new flavours, and varied brewing techniques.

The microbrewery movement began in both the United States and United Kingdom in the 1970s, although traditional artisanal brewing existed in Europe for centuries and subsequently spread to other countries. As the movement grew, and some breweries expanded their production and distribution, the more encompassing concept of craft brewing emerged.

Yep, I suppose that is fairly accurate, blimey! However in my head anyway, I separate craft beer from traditional beer. Even though a tiny little traditional brewery chucking out just a couple of kegs and a few hundred bottles of very much craft beer, I’m not sure I would use that word to describe them. And on the flip side the horror outfit that is BrewDog is so far away from our definition of craft it’s ridiculous but I would still describe their beer as craft beer.

So I suppose for me the separation of craft and traditional isn’t one of batch size but style and taste.

I personally associate craft beer with the likes of sours and double IPA etc and trad with best bitter and golden ale. You then get the obvious cross over of pale ale and IPA, but with the craft versions of these being very different from the trad ones. Just to throw something else into the mix… I had a VERY good bitter the other day from the craftiest of craft breweries essentially throwing any theory I, or Google may have on this matter!

Long and short, An Howl, our beer this week is a golden ale (traditional), but comes across in tin and taste as very craft beer for me (what I mean by that I no longer know after that extended opening gambit!).

But all in all let’s just let the packaging and brew do the talking shall we and forget all this what it actually is malarky.

Tin art wise, I’m a fan, a big fan actually. I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight but when understanding that An Howl means The Sun (in Cornish) and then fully absorbing the retro surfer vibe of the can, I kinda did fall in love.

Beer wise we’re onto a good one here that does seem to have nods to a traditional golden ale but certainly presenting as crafty.

There are plenty of orange, probably burnt orange notes going on from our quite dark in appearance golden ale. An Howl is zesty with a slightly bitter malty finish. It’s one down fall is it’s middle. The taste in the sip is good, though it does lose a bit of momentum but comes back with that good though by no means intense bitter end.

Is it craft? Is it trad? I no longer give a flying fig. But as my Granddad used to say, If you see The Sun, pick it up. 

Jymi’s Rating: 77%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

First up, I like the name: An Howl. The sun. 

Second up, I like the can. It’s different. It’s original.  And it stands out. 

Third up, An Howl is a very good beer indeed. 

A golden ale is something to be admired. A golden ale done well is something to be cherished.  And so, we should cherish An Howl. 

It’s full of sweet melon and orange and finishes with a great citrus bitter after taste.  All of this lingers very pleasantly on the palate. And it’s supported by a fantastic rounded medium bodied presence in the mouth which gives you something to get hold of while you drink it. 

An Howl, rooted in Cornwall, is surely a beer for anywhere at anytime. 

Very well done, indeed. Cracking golden ale. 

Sammy’s Rating: 90%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 83.5 %

MOB review next weekend: BAYRISCH HELL by SCHNEIDER’S

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

BEER REVIEW: 295

BREWER: Attic Brew Co., West Midlands, England

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 5.6%

VESSEL: 440ml tin 

DATE OF POST: 5th June 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

If we had reviewed this brew 3 or 4 years ago I think that I for one would have scored it a bit higher. See, even though Sammy & I still haven’t really got a flippin’ clue what we’re on about, like it or not, our palates have evolved, dare I say making us better at this reviewing game. And I also think the British beer scene has evolved too.

So, lets say it’s the year 2019 and Jymi is supping on a cold glass of Signals. He’d be very much enjoying it, picking up on the subtle hints of orange, apricot, pineapple and lemon as he made his way through the brew. He would have noted the good hoppy bitter finish. He would have noticed and enjoyed the light body for a beer weighing in at 5.6%. Now, all of this is the same today. However 2019 Jymi would have got more excited and started firing out big number scores L, R and C. However 2023 Jymi knows that yes, this a really nice beer, but there are far better ones out there.

And less excitement means less points I’m afraid folks.

Jymi’s Rating: 70%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Signals could signal a good thing. Or it could be the complete opposite and lean towards predicting doom. 

I’m pleased to say that in the case of Signals the beer it’s the former. 

The bitter orange start to the beer is very refreshing. This is followed by a sweet orange finish. If you haven’t picked up on the main player here, it’s oranges. And these oranges are well balanced in Signals. There are hints of summer dappled throughout. 

One thing we have to forgive the beer for is its lack of body. We can of course forgive that. But I can’t help wondering that with a little more body this beer would be elevated to greatness. 

It is what it is. And as it happens, while not all in the lofty heights of greatness, Signals firmly has its feet in being a very good beer indeed.  

Sammy’s Rating: 79%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 74.5%

MOB review next weekend: AN HOWL by FIREBRAND BREWING CO.

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023