BEER REVIEW: 126

BREWER: Verhaeghe Vichte, West Flanders, Belgium

STYLE: Red Ale 

ABV: 6.2%

VESSEL: 33cl brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 6th March 2020

JYMI SAY’S…

When people look at me I know what they see…

They see a guy that is clearly an ultra elite beer reviewer.

When people read my words I know what they feel…

They feel the beer soul they never knew they had busting out from inside of them.

So people listen hard and listen now…. the label of this beer scares the s*”t out of me. To the point of I’ve had to leave a light on at night for a whole week. It’s just the face on the bottle, it’s so damn eerie. And the expression on the bird she is holding suggests our avian friend is expecting her to do an Ozzie bat trick at any moment (you may need to zoom in on the picture to fully appreciate this).

ANYWAY, what comes our way with the all important contents of this Flemish vessel is utterly astonishing and had my head shaking and hand scratching the shaking head throughout the 33cl experience.

Let me try and explain…

Ok, for starters the nose of this brew totally caught me off guard. It was like nothing I had ever whiffed from a beer before. And after a lot of deep sniffing and thinking I concluded that I absolutely HATED the smell. So much so I declared to my wife there and then that if this beer tasted like it smelt then I was going to award zero points. She looked up from something way less important than a beer review and said… huh? I moved on.

So I delved in with a certain amount of trepidation not really knowing what to expect.

HOLY F~*KIN S**T!!! I said out loud.

My wife glanced up from the unimportant stuff once more wondering what was going on and why I was talking to myself. I moved on.

The beer DID taste like it smelt but I absolutely LOVED IT!!. The dark look of the brew takes you down a path where one would expect certain flavours. But oh no no no, Duchesse De Bourgogne brings you a sour, acidic, fruity, cherry but sweet master class. It is absolutely stunning.

This Belgian Red is so individual, so brain scrambling, but oh so good.

Jymi’s Rating: 85%

SAMMY SAY’S…

Well-known for their brewing, the Belgians create a wide-range of beers. Some good, some bad. But, hey, that’s always a matter of taste. We all know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Now, Duchesse De Bourgogne is an interesting beer. It’s packed full of acidic notes.
And the thing is, this is an absolute belter of a beer. It’s outstanding. Mesmeric.

DDB has the power to turn a non-beer drinker into a beer lover. It’s different. It’s honey meets lemon texture is smashing. I love its point of difference: it looks dark and you expect a dark beer. You just don’t get one. You get something crisp, light, with different points of interest.

Belgians most certainly can brew beers. And if you ever needed proof, then here it is. DDB takes the rule book, rips it up, then stamps all over it’s ashes. And the beer world is all the better for it.

Sammy’s Rating: 91%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 88% 

MOB review next weekend: NEWCASTLE BROWN ALE by HEINEKEN

M O B 2020

BEER REVIEW: 125

BREWER: Marstons, Staffordshire (for Sainsburys), England

STYLE: AIPA 

ABV: 5.6%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE POSTED: 28th February 2020

SAMMY SAY’S…

American Pale Ales are a friend of mine. I tend to like them. That’s not a surprise, seeing as I like a citrusy hoppy beer.

And therein lies the problem for me. Hyde and Wilde lacks being able to pack punch. It’s like a fighter with a glass jaw, a shark with no teeth. It’s not terrible, it’s just not good. Which, I guess, makes it terrible.

The promised land of citrus hoppiness never comes to fruition with H&W. To be more accurate, it’s like venturing to the world of wateriness. And it’s not a flavoursome one. It’s brewed badly. Imagine a used teabag being run through a mug of luke warm water in an attempt to make a smashing cup of tea. H & W is the equivalent in the beer world.

Really, there’s not much else to say about it. Except, perhaps, skip over it whenever you see it on the shelf.

Sammy’s Rating: 48%

JYMI SAY’S…

So some bright spark at Sainsburys plc thought, hmmm, why don’t we brew our own craft beer range as folk nowadays seem to be liking this stuff.

Then an even brighter spark came along and brought to the table that Sainburys were not brewers and they should probably just get an actual brewer to do it. Clever.

Then the brightest of all the sparks conjured up the idea of creating the illusion of a craft brewery called Hyde & Wilde that was exclusive to Sainsburys.

QUICK DISCLAIMER AS I DON’T WANT TO TAKE ON THE MIGHT OF SAINSBURYS PLC – I DON’T KNOW IF THE EVENTS THAT I HAVE JUST DEPICTED ARE ACTUALLY TRUE. IN FACT THEY ARE PROBABLY NOT BUT THOSE THOUGHT PROCESSES MUST HAVE HAPPENED AT SOME POINT I’M SURE.

So what we have ended with is a beer brewed by Marstons exclusively for Sainsburys. Pretty good idea if you ask me and business wise it must make sense as this range has been perching on those shelves for a while now.

Even though the tin is a bit of a mess I’m enjoying the colour concept and that bear… is awesome!!

Unfortunately taste wise, I was thoroughly underwhelmed by this American style IPA (is this the same as an American Pale Ale?? Blimey, all these styles, honestly).

The texture is thin and the flavour is basic. I can’t say I was particularly surprised but if you’re parading as an AIPA then I’m sorry the beer has to smack you round the chops with a big hoppy, dry citrus fist… and this beer does not.

It’s not horrible. It’s not good. It’s average. It’s the lower end of average. And that is that.

Jymi’s Rating: 51%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 49.5%

MOB review next weekend: DUCHESSE DE BOURGOGNE by VERHAEGHE VICHTE

m o b 2020

BEER REVIEW: 124

BREWER: Garage Beer Co. (collaboration with Deya), Catalonia, Spain

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 6%

VESSEL: 440ml tin 

DATE POSTED: 21st February 2020

JYMI SAY’S…

I normally award a few points here and there based on the name of a beer. To generate whether I think I like it or not I imagine walking in to a local, semi rural pub where I’m met by our old pal, Ralph the landlord. I then imagine how the name of the beer would roll off the tongue…

Pint of Pride please Ralph… tick

Glass of Leveller please Ralph… tick

Pint of False Coloured Eyes please Ralph… hmmm

To be fair, if it’s more of a crafty beer that I’m testing, I won’t judge the name quite as much this way, but it still crosses my mind. If I’m dealing with a craft name I try and think of what the name means and if it bears any relevance to the beer itself. There are some mighty odd (yet amazing) names out there but if it has absolutely nothing to do with the beer then what’s the point really?

False Coloured Eyes is a pretty cool name but it literally ends there. It has absolutely nothing to do with the beer OR beer at all really and you would sound like a bit of an ass when answering a question like… ‘What you drinking there pal’?

Anyway, to the look of the tin…

Blimey, I must be grumpy today. As a piece of art I really like it. As a beer can design however I’m not too sure. It’s pretty flippin’ sinister! Let’s just leave it there.

Ok, now beer wise we have a major issue (even the taste buds are grumpy it would seem)!!

This IPA is all over the shop. After the tangerine nose which gave FCE some promise, the initial taste kept spirits high. But it collapsed from there on in. There is a huge orange/tangerine hit after the swallow. Now, if you’re into that kind of thing then we don’t have a problem here. However, when those flavours portray themselves as dank then Barcelona we do have a problem. I spent every single sip trying to talk myself into thinking this beer was ok but just not for me but nope, sorry, the dank super citrus angle is simply not a good one full stop.

Adiós.

Jymi’s Rating: 54%

SAMMY SAY’S…

False Coloured Eyes is scary. Only a little bit. I mean, I’m not really really scared of it. Not enough to give me nightmares or anything. But, still, it is just a little bit scary. On the outside that is.

Luckily, the inside is an altogether different story. You see, once you strip back False Coloured Eyes you’re left with a very decent beer. It smells very pleasant and drinks really well.

What False Coloured Eyes really does prove, is that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. We’ve all known that for a long time. But what we have here is proof that the old cliche works for beers too.

So not only do we have a good beer on our hands, we have proof, actual real life proof, that you can’t judge a beer by its can!

If you get the chance, try one.

Sammy’s Rating: 80%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 67% 

MOB review next weekend: HYDE & WILDE AMERICAN STYLE IPA by MARSTONS for SAINSBURYS

M O B 2020

BEER REVIEW: 123

BREWER: Fourpure Brewing Co., South East London, England

STYLE: Pale Ale 

ABV: 2.9%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE POSTED: 14th February 2020

JYMI SAY’S…

This evening’s early talking points:

One – The strength of this beer.

Two – The state of how it looks in the glass once poured.

C – The 0 at the top of the tin logo.

One…

Ok, I’m instantly panicking about the ABV here.  2.9% is too low for a beer to taste good? This is a little ridiculous for me to say I suppose as Tamarind and Lime Leaf Sour by Brick was only 3% and Sammy and I both loved it and our top rated beer out of the 122 we have done so far is only 3.6% but still… 2.9%, you are having a laugh Fourpure no? #worried

Two…

I’m sorry, when your beer comes out looking like a lemonade / beer cross (someone really should give that a name), spirits dip. Don’t get me wrong a decent shandy at the perfect moment can be heavenly but when embarking on a review of a pale ale, it’s not something you expect to enter your phyche.  #rightworried

C…

The part of the tin artwork above the sun and below the word Flavourly for me looks like a 0. Which makes me think 0%. Which makes me think alcohol free. Now I know it’s a low boy but this 0 as well as the very neutral and soft colours used in design just honestly take me down the no alcohol beer road. Design wise for me this is a pretty huge error.  #LIKEREALLYWORRIEDPAL

Right, early talking points over… time to taste this ruddy gargoyle.

Hang on, what… this beer tastes fantastic?!

I mean after sip one I’m thinking it’s lacking a little bitterness at the end but other than that it really does have a great great great taste to it!

It took me until the end of sip three to start actually picking up a decent level of bitterness at the end, so I suppose that’s the only negative dealt with.

My oh my, what do we have here, honestly!?!

2.9% ABV and tasting incredible frankly. Lovely citrus nose and taste upfront that develops into a passion fruit middle and slowly grows to a light yet great bitter finish. This pale has blown my mind apart and I suppose that the genius here is that it actually wouldn’t, even if you had a truck load of them.

HANDCLAP… and another HANDCLAP

Jymi’s Rating: 88%

SAMMY SAY’S…

Boy oh boy is Simcoe Small Pale an absolute winner of a beer.

It’s so light you could mistake it for being shandy when it’s in the glass. But for such a light beer it really does pack one heck of a flavour punch. Owie!

I’m going to cut straight to the chase. This is possibly one of the biggest surprises of a beer that I’ve ever consumed.

It’s flavoursome.

It’s refreshing.

It’s got great character.

It’s less than 3%. I frickin know. It’s less than 3%.

H

A

P

P

Y

D

A

Y

S

!

!

!

Sammy’s Rating: 93%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 90.5%

 MOB review next weekend: FALSE COLOURED EYES by GARAGE BEER CO.

m o b 2020 

BEER REVIEW: 122

BREWER: Elusive Brewing, Berkshire, England

STYLE: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.5%

VESSEL: 330ml brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 7th February 2020

JYMI SAY’S…

So many beers serve a different purpose in our lives. You get the all rounders, you get the super sessioners, you get the boys of summer and you get the wonderful winter warmers. Also coming our way are the long sup pups and the ones that seem to take about 5 seconds to drink.

Well as far as brackets go, I’m pretty sure Overdrive falls into the ‘2-3 quick fire, pick me up, quick natter then fly home for tea’ bracket.

You see, it’s delicious, not out of this world, but it is delicious. It is also very dry, very hoppy and very zingy. Now these three things will result in a few things. Firstly, this will perk the beer consumer up no end, a real eye opener and mouth mover. Secondly it will excite said beer consumer and result in them drinking this beer pretty quickly as it is also very refreshing. Thirdly, because of its very upfront and dry nature, after the initial over excited approach by the beer consumer things will very quickly slow down and it’s then time to head home for tea.

None of this is a bad thing because as mentioned Overdrive is delicious. Refreshing upfront with a cut to grapefruit and dryness in the middle. This is then backed up by a long tart lemon aftertaste that just runs and runs.

And all coming out of a bottle I love… but actually looks bleedin’ awful!

Great beer Elusive.

Jymi’s Rating: 77%

SAMMY SAY’S…

Elusive Brewing have gone down the arcade route for branding their beers. This seems strange on the face of it, but it’s a concept that works when you visit their tap room.

Anyway, we are not here to review the concept, we are here to test the beer and what we are testing here is Overdrive. It’s an American pale ale and it has an unbelievably cracking nose. And in the glass, the darkish colour is incredibly tempting.

Then, when you drink Overdrive, you realise that Elusive are serious brewers. It has such a deep caramel taste backed with light bitterness that you know serious thought and testing has gone into the brewing. The combination of hops is strong and the mouthfeel, well, let’s just say it is very good indeed. And the results are quite simply staggering. This is a great beer and, in my view, stands out in an overcrowded market.

Elusive have landed and I am happy that they have. Overdrive works well. It works incredibly well in fact. This is a beer for all occasions.

Elusive, keep doing what you’re doing because it works!

Sammy’s Rating: 92%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 84.5%

MOB review next weekend: SIMCOE SMALL PALE by FOURPURE BREWING CO.

M O B 2020

BEER REVIEW: 121

BREWER: Castelain, Hauts-de-France, France

STYLE: Biere Blonde

ABV: 8.5%

VESSEL: 33cl black opaque bottle

DATE POSTED: 31st January 2020

SAMMY SAY’S…

First impressions, as they say are everything. And in the glass Grand Cru makes a positive impact; it looks so crisp and tempting. It looks good, sexy almost. But let’s see if this first impression is the right one…

Ok, so it may be a little bit claggy in the mouth. And it may not be the most sessionable of beers. But what Grand Cru most certainly is is tasty! It has a sweet overtone, which works well. It’s a little bit different from the rest of the pack.

However, the sweetness is good for maybe one or two, then after that you may be hankering after a change. Still, it’s a good starter beer for an evening. Or if you are after a beer for a quick sup, then this would be a contender.

So, the first impressions in this case were right to begin with. But it might be a short lived love affair before you’re looking for something else.

Sammy’s Rating: 77%

JYMI SAY’S…

From the day I bought this beer until the day I came to drink and review it, I hated the look of the bottle.  Let’s just get that straight.  I also hated the name as basically it drew me to Champagne et al so therefore left me thinking, eh??  And to be fair, for my simple eyes anyway, it kind of looked like a champagne bottle, maybe?  Actually it doesn’t at all, in fact I’m not sure what it looks like.

But wandering my mind did go and it turns out the term Grand Cru, unbeknown to me has been borrowed from the wine world by our beer world.  Well, well, well, now this put’s a different take on things all together!

Grand Cru essentially means the best of the best when it comes to wine making and apparently now beer making.  We’re talking finest ingredients, perfect temperatures and attention to detail beyond belief.  So suddenly we had a heap of pressure on this little French number and I have to say once I knew we were dealing with a beer portraying itself as a BEAUT the packaging took on a whole new complexion.  Didn’t love it, but suddenly kinda liked it.

Ok now, wow, this sucker is 8.5% !!!  Only just noticed that!!  It is also insanely smooth which backs up this Grand Cru attention to detail thing for sure.  And you know what… it is so smooth and so well put together that even at this strength you could happily sink a ton of these of an afternoon in the European sun.  I’m not saying you wouldn’t end up face down in a canal for several hours only to be fished out down stream by a local to take a selfie with you and then take you to the nearest brasserie as some sort of drinking pal trophy… but this beer is without doubt sessionable!  Just approach with extreme caution!

It’s also lovely.  Lemon, honey and hops dominate the flavour and that combined with the smoothness already mentioned makes this beer a cracker I assure you.

Definitely go find.  Definitely go drink.  Definitely be careful.

Jymi’s Rating: 84%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 80.5%

 MOB review next weekend: OVERDRIVE by ELUSIVE BREWING

m o b 2020

BEER REVIEW: 120

BREWER: St Austell, Cornwall, England

STYLE: Black IPA

ABV: 6%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 24th January 2020

JYMI SAY’S…

One thing I think we can all agree on in this life is that the greatest ever demonstration of magic we have ever seen is David Copperfield making the Statue of Liberty disappear. I mean, one second it is there and then… it’s not. Totally mind blowing and there isn’t a day that ticks by where I don’t look at the pic of David sat on top of my TV and give him a little nod of approval.

Now, St Austell have come along with this Black IPA for us and on the back of the bottle they are presenting it in a kind of magical way I think?

They say, “Controversial? A contradiction in terms? Black as stout, close your eyes and taste this beer is classic IPA. Powerful hops dominate the restrained chocolate and coffee notes from carefully selected roasted malt”.

I have to say, I don’t get it. If it just tastes like an IPA anyway then surely just brew an IPA? But if there are hints of coffee and stout don’t say it’s classic IPA in flavour? Oh whatever, time to fire into her.

Well after I poured this clearly very black looking beer into my glass I closed my eyes like I was told to and took a sip not really knowing what to expect…

Na, still don’t get it. I think I was told I was going to get a hop strong IPA with coffee and chocolate notes but it’s more than that. I’m going to say it has come out almost half IPA and half stout which is certainly not magic and not really doing it for me at all. If they had pulled off some Copperfield level magic here and somehow delivered a quality stout / IPA hybrid then fair play, but they haven’t so I just don’t see the point in this beer.

St Austell, I’m a long time fan of your brewing but I have to say it, you f**~*d this one right up.

Jymi’s Rating: 50%

SAMMY SAY’S…

Sammy’s Rating: 64%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 57%

MOB review next weekend: GRAND CRU by CASTELAIN

M O B 2020

BEER REVIEW: 119

BREWER: Brouwerij Huyghe, East Flanders, Belgium

STYLE: Dark Beer

ABV: 8.5%

VESSEL: 330ml ceramic bottle

DATE POSTED: 18th January 2020

SAMMY SAY’S…

I like to think that I am not one to judge a book by its cover but when my wife reached for Delirium Nocturnum (DN) to put on her salad (she thought it was an upmarket French dressing) it did rather emphasise the poor packaging on this Belgian.  It’s great to see breweries trying to do things a little differently but don’t fix something that’s not broke and traditional Belgian packaging, in my humble opinion, ain’t broke.

Right, rant over.  Onto the innards of the bottle: the beer.

DN is definitely dark in appearance and to be quite frank, we’d expect nothing else from our (soon to be ex in name) European cousins across the English Channel.  However, it does have quite the exquisite nose for such a beer.  It’s sweet and caramel based both at the same time and while this may sound a bit off, it most certainly isn’t.

In the drinking, DN is bittersweet with a pleasant after taste.  It’s a little disjointed in the mouth, which makes it a bit of a chewer; definitely not one for a session.  That having been said, it’s sharpness and full bouquet upfront make it a pleasant beer for a one off.  

DN is a good beer, but it’s not one of my favourite Belgians.  I can’t help thinking that it might taste better when being drunk in a square in Brussels, while watching the world go by…Jymi, a trip across the pond is calling!

Sammy’s Rating: 71%

JYMI SAY’S…

As soon as you start pouring your Delirium Nocturnum into the glass you know you are dealing with a major player. The smell of the brew instantly hits you as does the look of this beer in their obscenely cool glass. Even though the colours are not the same, the look of the bottle and beer in glass somehow mirror one another. The beer itself actually looks of the highest quality and the large 2 finger head just sat there at no point looking like it was going to quit!

As you sip this Belguin beauty the head remains the same with no effort whatsoever and the thick toffee fudge nose coming off the beer intensifies as you’re drinking. The actual first sip sat me back in my seat but once I’d composed myself the true exquisite nature of this strong dark beer really began to take hold. It truly is superb. The flavour is a very intense malty one upfront, with cherry and liquorice playing a heavy supporting roll. But in saying that it does not taste 8.5%. It does feel 8.5% once you’re through the glass though! Once the malty cherry taste dissipates after a couple of seconds the beer mellows right out into an endlessly delightful aftertaste. Then right at the end a sweetness creeps in to finish it all off.

WHAT. A. BEER.

The end.

Jymi’s Rating: 91%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 81%

MOB review next weekend: PROPER BLACK by ST AUSTELL

M O B 2020

BEER REVIEW: 118

BREWER: Thornbridge, Derbyshire, England

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 5.9%

VESSEL: 330ml tin 

DATE POSTED: 10th January 2020

SAMMY SAY’S…

Sammy’s Rating: 65%

JYMI SAY’S…

It’s no secret that I have never been a fan of the packaging that Thornbridge have put forward. This was fairly evident in my review of Coco Cocoa a year ago. Even with the arrival of cans to the Thornbridge range my opinion remains the same… generally. But with the look of Jaipur’s striking orange dress my opinion for this one at least, is different. I really like the look of this can. It is clean and although complex, comes over as uncluttered and oozes class. Though I do think the designers have possibly missed a trick here. Jaipur is known as the Pink City due to the colour of the brickwork that dominates that magnificent place. A soft, almost purple pink tin instead of the orange here could have been a masterstroke and a lovely nod to the name of the beer but hey, it’s not happened so let’s move on. As it is the orange still looks fantastic.

Beer wise the first thing that struck me with Jaipur was the colour of this IPA.. it’s so light it looks like a flippin shandy!!! I should have been expecting it, as included in the abundance of info on the tin is the fact that this beer will appear straw like. I actually really like this appearance as it just makes it look so crisp and refreshing. Moving to the taste, I’m a fan, I’m a big fan in fact. Jaipur is wildly hoppy, very bitter with a cut of citrus right through the middle to break it all up. There is also a glimmer of honey knocking around. It’s not enough to bring a sweetness to the drink but just enough to balance it out. This brew does taste very strong, and probably should weighing in at 5.9%. For me though this just brings an extra dimension to this already cracking IPA.

Jymi’s Rating: 84%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 74.5%

MOB review next weekend: DELIRIUM NOCTURNUM by BROUWERIJ HUYGHE

M O B 202O

The MOB SQUAD say…

OJ: SMOOTH, GRAPEFRUIT, CITRUS, SESSION, DANGEROUS – 80%

Tom Norton: BITTER, ZINGY, FIZZ, FRESH, CONFUSING – 49%

theRealGazza: ZESTY, PINK GRAPEFRUIT, CRISP, STRONG, NICE – 82%

PanthBrew: ZINGY, PALATABLE, FRESH, ELEGANT, LASTING – 72%

Capone: PHEW, LINGERING, DANGEROUS, MOREISH, EXCELLENT – 90%

Lava: BITTER, BIG, STRAW, STRONG, PALE – 80%

VK: POWERFUL, PINE, STRONG, HOPPY, FANTASTIC – 83%

Yum Yum Scrum: TANGY, MOREISH, FRUITY, SURPRISING, ANOTHER? – 58%

LeeDub: CITRUSY, BITTER, TANGY, STRONG, HOPPY – 53%

Mrs Reebo: ZESTY, TANGY, FIZZY, BITTER, DISTINCT – 73%

Tulane: HOPPY, CLEAN, LEMON, BITTER, GOOD – 74%

cWobble: GOLDEN, CRISP, BITTER, INTENSE, TASTY – 80%

Mr Reebo: STRONG, INDIVIDUAL, MANGO, CRISP, LIGHT – 88%

Skeletor: HOPPY, PALE, ZESTY, CREAMY, POWERFUL – 63%

MOB SQUAD RATING: 73.22%

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT THE MOB SQUAD SAID ABOUT BIG WAVE by KONA BREWING

MOB SQUAD’S NEXT OUTING IS ON MARCH 13th AND WILL BE NEWCASTLE BROWN ALE by HEINEKEN

GET INVOLVED!!

BEER IS BETTER TOGETHER