BEER REVIEW: 245

BREWER: Alfa, Egaleo, Greece

STYLE: Weiss Beer 

ABV: 5%

VESSEL: 0.5l tin

DATE OF POST: 19th June 2022

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Confusion was running riot in Jymi’s noodle the second Sammy handed me this beer to put under our MOB reviewing noses.

The first thing that set the brain scramble in motion was the fact the tin is upside down. What? Now, there is a nice little intertwined arrow image on the tin art that suggests that this is not just a canning error. It is intentional. The fact all our tin facts are in Greek also clearly added to the confusion but that is my own fault. What really hit me hard in the ‘brain compartment’ was which way up to store this crafty little pup. Even once researched and Sammy confirming how to store, I still had a double take every time I saw Alpha stashed in the beer fridge…

Is it supposed to be upside down? Should I call Sam AGAIN to make sure? What the f is going on? were the daily thoughts and I have to be honest I’m not even sure now. But we are where we are.

Anyway, can cracked and I’m sure you’ll be able to see from the pic, this beer looks AWESOME in the glass!! Plus, the instant almost spicy apricot nose that hit’s you is just a joy.

Swig wise the flavours are great, it slips down very easily and I don’t think this brew would become too much or too heavy so many points awarded here.

HOWEVER: The body ends up being thin very quickly and the aftertaste is so light it is practically non existent if I’m being honest.

There were plenty of marks handed out here but ultimately Alpha has been let down from the severe lack of body. With a few tweaks just to liven it up I honestly think this beer could be a worldy. However, sadly it’s not, it’s good but just lacking pizazz.

Jymi’s Rating: 65%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

I’m going to call this beer A for the simple reason I do not have a Greek keyboard to type its actual name. 

So, for starters, the can is printed upside down. Now, not only do I not have a Greek keyboard, I don’t speak Greek either. However, from what I can infer, I think this is a deliberate move so that once turned upside down, or the right way up, depending on how you look at it, some magic happens inside the can to liven up the beer. 

A has the nose you’d expect from a Weiss beer: wheaty.  And whilst it’s not striking in any form, it’s not terrible either. 

Again, in the glass A looks like a wheat beer: golden hazy. 

Now, unsurprisingly, A tastes like a wheat beer.  You may or may not remember that they’re not my favourite brew.  BUT, as wheat beers go A is quite nice. It’s well brew and balanced nicely, not lingering too long on the palate, which in my view can be the downfall of many a wheat beer. 

Very often, I wouldn’t revisit a Weiss beer once tested. It’s a testament to A, then, that I would happily have another one of these if I somehow stumbled across it. I accept it’s unlikely that this will happen. 

Sammy’s Rating: 73%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 69%

MOB review next weekend: SMALL BEER LAGER by SMALL BEER BREW CO.

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

 

M O B 2022

BEER REVIEW: 244

BREWER: Hedgedog Brewing, Surrey, England

STYLE: Pale Ale

ABV: 4.8%

VESSEL: 440ml tin

DATE OF POST: 12th June 2022

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

 

JYMI SAY’S…

I’ve always been a riverman. My wife and daughters can testify to that. I mean, they have never seen me actually be a man of the river but they have heard endless tales of how I was ‘born by the bank’.

The whole thing is actually a load of shit but please, don’t tell them, it’s gone too far now… the fact is I flippin hate water but if I had to choose between being a man of the river or sea, I would 100% choose the prior. See, I’m a riverman.

However, if I was a seafarer (and to be fair the way my beard is going of late this could be on the cards you know) I would want a better looking Lighthouse than is portrayed here to guide me to safety. But luckily this is just beer tin art, and what great beer tin art it is! I can’t get over the fact that it looks like a face (intentional?) but either or, the tin looks DECENT! Proper crackers. Love it.

Beer wise we have a real goodun on our hands here. Though very fizzy in the glass the first thing that struck me with Lighthouse was it’s lovely thick texture, it is sooooo full in the mouth. The next thing that struck me (which doesn’t necessarily corroborate with the texture statement just made) is how refreshing this brew is. Thick AND refreshing?? Not sure how that’s possible but Hedgedog have pulled it off. Lighthouse is an uncomplex beer but potentially all the better for it. Pine and grassy notes support a delicate spice which makes the drinking a no nonsense yet lovely affair. In a massively crowded market this Pale Ale has a subtle point of difference and I applaud this Surrey brewer for that.

If you can find one, buy one.

It won’t blow your mind but it will make you think, man that is a decent ass brew.

Jymi’s Rating: 80%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 79.5%

MOB review next weekend: ALPHA by ALPHA BREWERY

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

 

M O B 2022

BEER REVIEW: 243

BREWER: Phantom Brewing Co., Berkshire, England

STYLE: Sour

ABV: 8.7%

VESSEL: 440ml tin

DATE OF POST: 5th June 2022

 

JYMI SAY’S…

What the F is a Mermaid Sour?

Time to hit the google machine…

Ah of course, Mermaid is a cocktail that includes pineapple and coconut in it’s line up of ingredients. Our Mermaid Sour, Coral, also contains pineapple and coconut. However it is actually the blue raspberries used that takes centre stage in our beer here. Pineapple is present for sure but playing more of a supporting role. And as for the coconut, well the flavour didn’t come through for me unless I pursed my lips, which was quite odd but in some way quite cool too as gave a little added extra as you moved through the drink. However it’s the texture of the brew that is helped out from the coconut.  Because of the coconut Coral is so creamy and smooth as you drink it down.

For me when it comes to the world of sours I prefer them to be SOUR, like eye twitching sour, but that is just personal taste. Coral is not eye twitchingly sour but that certainly does not make it a bad brew…

It’s complex as hell, comes in a frankly awesome tin and errrr, pours a striking green!!!

Jymi’s Rating: 70%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Coral, the beer, that is, is a mermaid sour. What the hecky decky is a mermaid sour? I hear you ask. The truth is, I have no bleedin’ idea. 

Of note, is the colour of Coral. It’s almost fluorescent green. And yes, I agree, something that’s described as fluorescent of any colour does not sound in the slightest bit appealing, especially when it comes to a beer. 

With Coral, don’t let the colour put you off. This beer is different. And in a good way. There’s sweet raspberry upfront, which is quickly followed by a brief, not overpowering, sour finish. While it’s by no means the sourest of beers, there’s enough there to class it as one.

I concede that Coral will not tick everyone’s beer drinking box. But what the team at Phantom have done is create something that is most definitely unique. You go on a journey as you drink and arguably, that’s what you want when trying out their beer. 

Whatever a mermaid sour is, I would have another one thank you very much. 

Mystical. 

Sammy’s Rating: 71%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 70.5%

MOB review next weekend: LIGHTHOUSE by HEDGEDOG BREWING

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

 

M O B 2022

BEER REVIEW: 242

BREWER: Heineken, Midlothian, Scotland

STYLE: Lager

ABV: 5.9%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE OF POST: 29th May 2022

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

A desperado, as many of you well know, can be described as a desperate person who is usually associated with criminality. And to add that definition, desperados are most widely associated with the Wild West of America. 

Now, Desperados the beer, clearly has a USP – it has tequila in it. And I assume that the beer is named so as tequila is from Mexico, which is also associated with the Wild West and desperados. 

Bit of a gimmicky approach if you ask me. And the only time I have had a Desperados before is at a BBQ having previously consumed some much more prestigious beers.  So, this is my first venture into drinking it cold (as in I have not consumed a beer before testing, as is always the case). 

I don’t mind telling you, I was anxious before trying. Anxious because the very thought of Desperados churns my beer tummy. And churning a beer tummy, as we know, is not a good idea…

As a side note, I am listening to Desperado by the Eagles while I test, just to add to the atmosphere. Hopefully this will help. 

Turns out, listening to a song with the same name (minus one ‘s’) really doesn’t work.

Desperados is poor. Trying to mask a beer with tequila might be a novelty that works for some but not for me.  It’s nasty to drink and, while it has a USP, it’s not one to add the BBQ shopping list. 

One thing is right – the name. It’s definitely a desperate beer. As for those in the Wild West – best stick to drinking whiskey. 

Sammy’s Rating: 32%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Ok, I’ll be honest, I’ve taken Desperados on board a few times but not many. When it has happened it’s always been under similar circumstances… either a house party or an outside house party (AKA, a BBQ). Desperados has never been my brew of choice and I’ve certainly never bought nor brought for or to a do. So, when consuming I’ve always already had a few beers and have never really considered what Despo is actually like as beer, the only thing that has really crossed my mind is the fact it is a lager with a tickle of Tequila in it…

However, consider it now I will, but not until after this short interlude…

When I was about 16 my then girlfriend went on holiday to Australia for a month with her folks. Four weeks feels like four decades in a teenaged relationship land so it felt right for me and my buddy (Sammy btw) to hit the boozer to wash away my sorrow. Now, at this time we had just discovered that a pint of Guinness with a shot of Tia Maria in it was utterly divine (it genuinely is)! Sammy ordered up one of those but this was a hot summers evening and I wanted a lager. Not wishing to miss out however I ordered a LARGE TEQULIA to go in my beer. Utterly divine it was not. Blimey.

Anyway, Desperados, a lager that is 99.4% beer and 0.6% tequila. I think that is probably a better ratio than mine all those years ago but even so, beer and tequila in the same glass? What?? However, even though the tequila element doesn’t taste of tequila it does sweeten the drink and almost makes it taste like a shandy. Which, at 5.9% is a VERY dangerous thing!!

All in all this is just bad beer but actually quite drinkable to be fair to it. I would never purchase but if handed one nowadays I would still accept and not turn my now very snobby beer nose up at it.

 Jymi’s Rating: 41%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 36.5%

MOB review next weekend: CORAL by PHANTOM BREWING COMPANY

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

 

M O B 2022

BEER REVIEW: 241

BREWER: Valmiermuiza, Valmiera Parish, Latvia

STYLE: Lager

ABV: 5.2%

VESSEL: 0.5l brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 22nd May 2022

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

So, I’m gonna come clean. I struggled to write this review. You see this Amber Lager has no point of difference. There’s nothing that stands out about it to make it great or ghastly. It’s just an average Joe. A Steady Eddie. 

Would I have one again? Sure I would. Would I rush out to buy another one? I sure wouldn’t. 

Amber Lager – it does exactly what it says. And there’s not much else to say about it…

Sammy’s Rating: 61%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Well, the first thing that needs to be mentioned here is the absolutely stunning packaging!!! So grand, yet kinda simple. LOVE IT.

Beer wise, look, this tastes like a classic European lager, main reason is, it is one. Is there a point of difference? Well yeah probably, but you would have to be a beer sommelier to find it and am I one? No, I am not.

I can only comment on what is in front of me and what is in front of me is good, not great, but defo good.

Val’s offering here is soft and delicate in flavour and as smooth as it gets for a lager. The brewer has certainly worked some magic here too as it does not taste close to 5.2%.

I have a feeling that right place, right time, right amount of sun on your back and this brew could actually be situationally incredible.

However, when I tested Val’s Amber Lager it was a snowy British spring day… make of that what you will.

Jymi’s Rating: 67%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 64%

MOB review next weekend: DESPERADOS by HEINEKEN

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

 

M O B 2022

BEER REVIEW: 240

BREWER: Grolsche Bierbrouwerj, Gelderland, Netherlands

STYLE: Pilsner

ABV: 4%

VESSEL: 450ml green bottle 

DATE OF POST: 15th May 2022

 

JYMI SAY’S…

I used to quite enjoy Grolsch as a lad, it tasted pretty good and that bottle, more importantly, that lid was just soooooooo flippin cool. I didn’t go as far as putting the lid on my shoes like the Goss Bros. but certainly had the odd one hanging off a rucksack or two. The lid is just so iconic, never challenged, never rivalled.

However, other than the top of the bot, everything else seems to have changed, only slightly but enough to make a fairly large difference.

Let’s start with the bottle as a whole, still decent but seems smaller and the current label seems cheap. The old sticker absolutely let the lid and bottle do the talking but this current iteration seems, well as I said, cheap. Oh and I’ve just checked the back of the label and it’s 450ml, so no wonder it looks smaller! Grolsch has also dropped to a fairly worrying 4% abv. If this percentage drop was from a smaller hands on brewery I wouldn’t be too worried but a mass produced lager going from 5 to 4% cannot possibly work out well…

But to be fair, the taste is still the same. Look, it’s not great but is perfectly drinkable. However, the percentage drop has definitely affected the body of the beer. It is now very thin and only just held together by an ok flavour.

Drinkable – yes.

Iconic – other than the lid, no, not anymore.

Buy again – I wouldn’t bother actually. Grolsch has lost whatever magic it once possessed.

Jymi’s Rating: 49%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Picture yourself in Amsterdam. It’s a hot day. The bartender is serving you a Grolsch. And in that serving, he or she scapes off the excess froth with a beer scraper. Sounds great. And in that scenario, Grolsch would be great. There’s no doubt. It would be in its element. But take away that romanticism and your faced with drinking Grolsch for what it is.  Sadly, it’s not a great beer. 

On the plus side, the sample we are testing here has the iconic beer top. Much better than having a Grolsch with your standard bottle top. Infinitely better in fact. The bottle itself is also clean and crisp. 

But, in the drinking Grolsch is watery. It’s a long way from being a good pilsner. You’d be hard pushed to identify it as one in a blind test. And then there’s the ever reducing alcohol content. Yes folks, Grolsch is now a sobering 4%. And while the percentage itself doesn’t matter, the diminishing flavour over time does. 

This is an unremarkable beer. 

Sammy’s Rating: 49%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 49%

MOB review next weekend: VALMIERMUIZA AMBER LAGER by VALMIERMUIZA

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

 

M O B 2022

BEER REVIEW: 239

BREWER: Arundel Brewery, West Sussex, England

STYLE: Sour Ale

ABV: 7.1%

VESSEL: 440ml tin

DATE OF POST: 8th May 2022

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Sorry Dave mate, if I can call you mate, it is not fine. It’s actually nowhere near fine, it’s flippin’ awful buddy, if I can call you buddy…

The tin art is decent, the nose from the pour was nice, the look and colour in the glass of this brew is gooood. Texture and mouthfeel is also good, actually REALLY GOOD. However the taste I’m sorry to say is all over the card.

Dave says it will be fine feels like a hit and hope to me and to be fair almost sounds like it was for our brewery here too…

I quote from the tin…

This Sour Ale is a bit of an experiment

However the can notes say that Blueberries, Pecan, Marshmallow, Cinnamon and Vanilla are involved which for me, although a little funky, if balanced should work well together.

But whatever has happened in this experiment has not worked out. This brew is way too sweet and just when you think you will be saved by the sour, it barely rocks up.

I have never gone down the road of value for money et cetera et cetera in almost 5 years of doing this but at nearly 6 snerks a tin I’m not sure I want a brewery experimenting and not really knowing what they have put out.

Total fail.

Jymi’s Rating: 31%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 31.5%

MOB review next weekend: GROLSCH by GROLSCHE BIERBROUWERU

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

 

M O B 2022

BEER REVIEW: 238

BREWER: St Peter’s Brewery, Suffolk, England

STYLE: Golden Ale

ABV: 4.7%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 2nd May 2022

 

JYMI SAY’S…

So after last week’s ‘write about the packaging before you sip the brew’ angle I’ve decided to go again, for three reasons…

Firstly, once more I have some time on my hands to write but not to test at the same time.

Secondly, I quite enjoyed last week and the point still stands, the outside and inside of a beer should be judged separately but of course still influence each other. Or sometimes not.

Thirdly, I have seen St Peter’s  bottles lurking on beer shelves since Sammy and I started this nonsense back in 2017 and have had something to say about them in my mind ever since. Let’s see if I can I get my thoughts down accurately and eloquently after all these years…

THEY LOOK SHIT

THEY LOOK LIKE FU*KING BOTTLES OF MEDICINE

Yep, fairly happy with that.

 

Anyway, it’s a few days later and on to the actual beer itself. Well thank gawd it is not as bad as the housing that it has just been released from. However, this does not mean that this a good beer, because it’s not. After a smidgen of early promise in the taste as potential orange citrus and toffee try and do something, it all just fades very fast into a practically non-existent aftertaste.

Quaffable and smooth makes this brew drinkable yes, but I would still not put it into the good bracket. However, it’s not necessarily bad either. Which clearly leads us to the pretty obvious conclusion of… average at best.

Jymi’s Rating: 49%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

I love the style of the bottle on this golden ale (which is named Golden Ale (not the most inspirational of names, I know)). Anyway, the bottle is like an old-style medicine bottle. And at times, beer can have the effect of a medicine (please drink responsibly).   So, I’m digging the bottle, if not the name.

And in the glass Golden Ale is, well, golden. In fact, it’s as golden as they come. So that’s a tick. And there’s definitely caramel notes on the nose, if not too pungent.

However, in the drinking, there’s quite a bite upfront, which is followed by a metallic finish. Although this finish passes quickly, it’s there none the less. The more you drink GA the less you notice it. But it’s not the most accomplished of golden ales in the brew.  Having said that, it’s not terrible.

In colloquial terms, I’m on what’s known as the fence with this one.

Sammy’s Rating: 68%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 58.5%

MOB review next weekend: DAVE SAYS IT WILL BE FINE by ARUNDEL BREWERY

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

 

M O B 2022

BEER REVIEW: 237

BREWER: Lervig, Rogaland, Norway

STYLE: Pale Ale

ABV: 4.5%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE OF POST: 24th April 2022

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Now, who’d have thought about putting a fella in his underpants on a can of beer? Well, the team at Lervig did when they designed their can for Easy. And as it happens, I quite like him. He looks like an easy-going fella, which ties in nicely with the beer concept. It’s a little bit of a shame about the wishy-washy colour combination on the can, but it certainly doesn’t detract from the Easy fella.

I’ve given over a lot of words to the styling of the can. That’s because there’s not too much to say about the beer.

Easy is perfectly pleasant. You can tell its a dry hopped IPA. It’s hoppy and there’s a dryness to it.  It’s a little bit dusty.

That’s it.

Sammy’s Rating: 62%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

This week I’m going with the angle of expressing my thoughts on the tin art and info before poppin’ n pourin’ the beer. Though it’s not always possible I do quite like the idea of doing this as outside and inside should be judged separately as well as together. Of course this brings the adage to the table of not judging a book by its cover, but whichever way you look at it, the better the packaging the more you will look forward to a beer, particularly when reviewing it.

(Though the main reason for going down this road is, for once I have a bit of time on my hands and won’t be testing Easy until this evening.)

And I’m looking forward to testing Easy because I really, really like the tin art and colours. If Easy was called Sludge and was in a brown tin it is fair to say I would be looking forward to it less. It doesn’t affect how the brew tastes (maybe, that’s a discussion for another time) but the packaging is what pulls you in in the first place, it entices you, it excites you… and on the whole it stops a beer sitting on a shop shelf for too long.

Anyway, as mentioned, I adore the tin art here as well as the name and there is enough info on the vessel to let you know what you are probably going to get.

Fast forward to this evening and I’m about to crack the can… here goes.

Well, ok, what we have instantly is a classic and straightforward CRAFT nose. It’s nothing different, it’s nothing new, it’s nothing to call Sammy at 3am and go on and on about, but that doesn’t mean it’s not lovely – it’s just not a breakaway from today’s very high standard of craft brewing smells that drift up the snoz before you take that first sip.

But when you take that first sip, even though there is no real point of difference and just tastes like a classic crafty pale, it soon becomes very apparent that this brew is flippin’ lovely.

Loads and loads of flavour hits you in the sip accompanied by plenty of orange on the nose as you take the brew onboard. Easy then sits you back and makes you wonder just quite how it is only 4.5 % as it is so flavoursome. Very moreish with bitterness a plenty keeps you coming back for more and I have to say I was a little disappointed that I only had 330ml of this beer to enjoy.

Nice work indeed Lervig, just get me a bigger tin next time please.

Jymi’s Rating: 80%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 71%

MOB review next weekend: ST PETER’S GOLDEN ALE by ST PETER’S BREWERY

 

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze since 2017

 

M O B 2020

BEER REVIEW: 236

BREWER: Williams Bros. Brewing Company, Clackmannanshire, Scotland

STYLE: Pilsner

ABV: 4.5%

VESSEL: 44oml tin

DATE OF POST: 17th April 2022

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Hey hey mama said the way you move, gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove…

El Perro Negro on one hand is a really cool name for a brew. However, on the other, if said brew is a Pilsner brewed in Scotland it comes undone a little. A dark lager or porter brewed in Spain then hey hey mama I get it!! But an amber coloured pilsner brewed in Alloa? Do me a favour.

BUT… this pilsner is brewed with Seville oranges, so ok ok ok I get the Spanish name. However the fact the word Negro is included seems ridiculous to me. Still in isolation, El Perro Negro is a cracking name for a beer so you’re getting the benefit of the doubt Williams Bros., JUST!

Now, I’m not too sure what I was expecting from this lager but once sipped quite a few things became clear…

It didn’t taste like a Pilsner.

There is hardly any taste of orange.

There wasn’t too much going on flavour wise.

BUT

It was amazingly smooth, very drinkable and actually rather enjoyable. Whether it be a roasting Sevillian summers day or a warm early afternoon in Alloa, El Perro Negro would go down well.

In conclusion this beer is sooooooooo far away from doing what is says on the tin but it is how much you enjoy drinking a brew that counts and somehow I enjoyed this one a fair bit.

Jymi’s Rating: 67%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

El Perro Negro might seem to be a strange name for a beer made in Scotland. But it’s simple to explain: it’s brewed with a ‘twist’ of Seville oranges. Ergo, it has a black dogged Spanish themed name. Makes sense. Except for the black dog part. But hey-ho, it’s still a solid name.

Enough rambling. Onto the drinking.

On the nose, there’s a slight hint of oranges. I can’t tell if they’re from Seville, but we will give the benefit of the doubt. Other than that, the nose is as you might expect from a pilsner, which don’t have the best reputation for stimulating the olfactory cells.

In the drinking, EPN definitely has an upfront sweet citrus taste. It’s very pleasant and refreshing. While it might not be the most inspiring pilsner out there, or indeed the most complex beer, it’s certainly got its place. Easy to drink, refreshing, with a little point of difference- I quite like EPN.

Unlike some other pilsners, EPN would definitely stand up well in session too. Its crispness would give welcome relief as you pushed through a session. It would keep many a customer happy on many an occasion.

Undoubtedly, EPN is a good solid beer.

Sammy’s Rating: 81%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 74%

MOB review next weekend: EASY by LERVIG

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze since 2017

M O B 2022