BEER REVIEW: 59

BREWER: Brakspear, Oxfordshire, England

STYLE: Golden Ale

ABV: 4.6%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 24th November 2018

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

With Oxford Gold, you know what to expect before you even enter in the realms of the inner bottle.  The outer bottle screams of good old British beer tradition.  Brakspear, as a brewer, has heritage.  Everything suggests that what we have on our hands here is a hairs on the chest, beard growing English ale.  

Note to all – this is best handled in a glass with a handle.  

Oxford Gold has the colour you’d expect from an English bitter.  And as you raise the aforementioned jug to your lips, you very soon realise that the aroma is everything you’d expect from a bitter. It’s malty and very pleasantly earthy and that’s incredibly reassuring.

In the drinking, Oxford Gold is most definitely a bitter.  It has the comfort and warmth of malt, which is balanced very skilfully on the palate.  But it does pack some surprises alongside that with its zest and lightness. Overall, this is a master-class in balanced brewing.

Oxford Gold lives up to its name; it’s a great English bitter. It would be a warm welcome at home or out and about on either an autumnal or a winter’s day.  It fights the corner for bitters with aplomb and it stands tall in the world of beer.  

Get ready to whet your whistle because if you do it with Oxford Gold, you’ll be very pleased that you did.

Sammy’s Rating: 81%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

The Brakspear Brewery in Henley on Thames has been part of my life for a long, long time. The fact it’s not there anymore (even though the signs are, as well as the memories (cue floods of nostalgic tears)) I’m just going to ignore. I know this is unprofessional and factually untrue but as far as I’m concerned the brewery lives on and that’s just the way it is.

I mean, Sammy went out with a girl who lived in Henley when we kids so we spent a stack of time in the town. Once we had finished school we took up residence at Henley College. Once the College bit was over I knew I was going to be a professional beer blogger so didn’t bother with Uni and got a job in Oxford, so drove through Henley everyday smelling that yeast fermenting morning and night. After a bit of a break from this quintessentially English Thames town, until recently, I ended up starting most of my working days there too, driving past the brewery on every single one of them. It’s fair to say Brakes is in my heart and when I stare at this Oxford Gold in front of me I trust it to deliver. I mean, it looks great and for me, reliable. I have only ever had OG from cask so was very intrigued to see if it delivered via a bottle too. I’m just praying it does, don’t go braking my heart…  

Wow!! What an absolute winner!!

Ok, Ok, Ok… trying not to sound too pretentious, this is a journey of a beer tasting experience. It really is. And the journey is a stonker!

OG starts off super smooth in ones mouth with sumptuous bursts of citrus accompanied by an elegant floral back drop. As Oxford Gold goes down ones pipe it leaves behind a sensational almost honey like coating on the inner cheek of the drinker. Most divine. As the aforementioned drinker is sitting rejoicing the honey coating, a gentle bitter after taste creeps in and finishes off the whole drinking experience perfectly.

Then it’s time for another sip!!! And then another…

Honestly Oxford Gold is a brilliant beer and will quickly become a resident in Jymi’s beer fridge.

Jymi’s Rating: 85%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 83% 

MOB review next weekend: LONDON PRIDE by FULLERS

 

MUSE ON BOOZE 

BEER REVIEW: 58

BREWER: Brouwerij Kompaan, South Holland, Netherlands

STYLE: Double IPA

ABV: 8.2%

VESSEL: 33cl brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 17th November 2018

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Hand Langer is a lively one.  She fizzes up very quickly once she’s let loose from the bottle.  And behind all the fizz, there’s a very nice citrus fruit aroma, which is ably supported by a faint backdrop of caramel.  

In the drinking, it’s the burnt caramel that wins out.  While Hand Langer is not altogether unpleasant, there is something a little forced about it.  It doesn’t quite align its flavours.  As I drink it, I’m not sure that it knows where it belongs.  The lack of clarity leads to it languishing in, dare I say it, being incredibly unmemorable.  

Hand Langer is a beer that I will easily forget.  Funnily enough, I don’t necessarily mean that it’s a bad beer, because it’s not. I just mean that there are so many other beers out there that out strip it.  It doesn’t have a USP.  It will drift into the background.

A little like a day at work, I can say with a degree of certainty that I will very quickly forget Hand Langer.  It will fade into nothingness and I cannot guarantee that come the future I will ever remember having had it.  Oh well.

Sammy’s Rating: 63%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Beware the HANDLANGER!!! And there are a of couple reasons for this… One comes from the Kompaan Brewery themselves and one from your personal beer adviser, Jymi.

Firstly the advice from Kompaan: WATCH YOUR BACK.. They call him bitter and merciless – we call him the HANDLANGER! 

So I get scared way easier than the usual person I have to admit. I honestly look at the bottom left corner of the TV sometimes if a jumpy moment looks likely to happen in Emmerdale.

The Kompaan description  of this beer  seems creepy to me, like the Handlanger may seek then find you at any moment. I’m sure this was not the brewery’s intention but either way, it scared me.

Now the advice from yours truly: OK, crazy creepy aside the first thing to note about this brew is it does not taste like it is 8.2%. Not even close. Unless you drank a certain amount of these you would have no idea you were drinking an 8.2% monster. Bizarrely it almost tastes weak!! DANGER DANGER…. HIGH VOLTAGE!

Kompaan’s Handlanger pours a beautiful colour with an almost soapy, lively head. There are notes of caramel throughout with the odd hint of banana. But is it the monster of a beer that it should be?

Quite simply, No

… this isn’t a monster of a beer. Far from it. I mean it’s nice enough but with the name HANDLANGER, a big ol’ ABV and the label of Double IPA I just wanted a bit more if I’m honest.

Jymi’s Rating: 73%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 68% 

MOB review next weekend: OXFORD GOLD by BRAKSPEAR 

MUSE ON BOOZE

BEER REVIIEW: 57

BREWER: The Three Legs Brewing Company, East Sussex, England

STYLE: IPA 

ABV: 5.5%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle 

DATE POSTED: 10th November 2018

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Some products deliver on the exact level that you’d expect them to deliver on.  A beer branded as English IPA should be unwaveringly bold in both its Englishness and it’s IPAness.  It should be all things expected from an English IPA.  I want to have clarity around this from the outset…on some levels English IPA does deliver…

Let us begin with the Englishness.  Firstly, on the nose you get a heavy foresty odor; a little like a walk through an English woodland on a wet autumnal day.  And that’s very English.  Secondly, the taste is like burnt compost with the aftertaste of tea that has been left to brew for ten minutes too long.   English people like to garden and build compost heaps and they like to follow this activity with a nice brew of good old Rosie.  So once again, English IPA gets a big tick for its Englishness.

So English IPA is definitely English.

Now let’s consider the IPAness.  I’m afraid it’s bad news.   The English woodland nose doesn’t make for a very pleasant olfactory experience.  And as for drinking one’s garden experience in a beer…well I think you can probably guess it’s not particularly pleasant. 

So English IPA is definitely not IPAish.

Given that the IPAness should heavily outweigh the Englishness, and that’s very obviously not the case, this beer is, rather sadly, a very big fail.  I’ll stick to my real compost heap and over brewed tea thank you very much.

Sammy’s Rating: 45%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

So there I was, sat sitting, a progressive beer swilling 9 year old listening to my history teacher go on and on about something in the past….. things are very different now but back when I was younger I just did not see the point in learning about stuff that had been and gone (great attitude I know). I was all up for looking forward and pressing on. Now Mr D, the aforementioned history teacher, could always sense my disinterest of the subject so used to hit me up with random questions to make sure I was awake. I distinctly remember one day a certain question came my way…. James, how long did the Hundred Years War last for? I sniggered (great attitude I know). I thought, who is this guy? What kind of ridiculous question is that? So I answered with aplomb, 100 years sir. The rest of the class sniggered.

So I approach the next part of this review with caution as clearly history didn’t work out too well for me whilst at school…

The Three Legs Brewing Company is based in Brede in East Sussex which is close to Battle which is close to Hastings (geography did work out at school). So I am concluding that we have Norman Longboats on the packaging of English IPA. Though this could be wildly inaccurate!! Huge apologies to everyone involved if this is the case.

I like this packaging… It’s very different without going down the vogue route of cartoon and wacky. I’m not sure it would stand out in a crowd as over all is quite dull in colour but that almost makes me like the look of this bottle more. Understated, subtle and classy.

As for the beer, one thing immediately struck me as I took down that first big gulp…. This IPA is one dimensional. What I mean by this is there is no real journey of taste. With most beers you get an upfront leading flavour accompanied by the nose followed by the taste after you have swallowed and then a finish. With English IPA there were no stages, just straight up beer. Kind of a, here you go, it is what it is vibe. Now I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing as the beer was pleasant enough without being great. It was almost refreshing to have a straight up non complex what you see is what you get ale coming my way for once.

English IPA, from packaging to taste, it’s not singing and it’s not dancing and that is not always a bad thing in this wonderfully wild world we live in.

Jymi’s Rating: 60%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 52.5% 

 

MOB review next weekend: KOMPAAN HANDLANGER by BROUWERIJ KOMPAAN

MUSE ON BOOZE 

BEER REVIEW: 56

BREWER: Brouwerij Oedipus, North Holland, Netherlands

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 7%

VESSEL: 30cl  brown bottle 

DATE POSTED: 2nd November 2018

 

JYMI SAY’S…

It’s 2018 and according to science the end of the world as we know it isn’t necessarily nigh but if we don’t change the way we as humans (supposedly the most intelligent species) currently do things it pretty much will be for the next generation to come and if not them certainly the one after that. Very recent reports on this have been in the media and they are the starkest we have ever had. We have a decade to sort this. Take a moment to absorb that. Ten years to save the world. “We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last one that can do anything about it”. What an utter and avoidable tragedy this is.

It’s 2018 and according to the President of the United States of America, and some other world leaders to be fair, climate change does not exist, fake news. Followed up (again very recently) by a budget here in the UK that failed to even mention, let alone address climate change. What a bunch of absolute clowns (The MOB swearing regulation team told me I wasn’t allowed to use a much more appropriate C word).

It’s 2018 and Jymi from Muse on Booze fame (shout out to my fans) is genuinely worried that his daughters and hopefully one day grandchildren won’t get to see the incredible planet that we live on in all its glory, if at all.

Will Gaia be able to tolerate this abuse and hold strong for much longer?

But other than a pretty stunning IPA from Amsterdam, what is Gaia?

Gaia is life. The Soul of the Earth. She is a goddess who inhabits the planet, offering life and nourishment to all her children. She is mother, nurturer and giver of life.

Whether a believer in such things or not the ancient history of our planet has a back catalogue of righting wrongs and who are we to say that the wrong that is currently very much underway will not be righted soon?

And should that day ever materialise while I’m still kicking about, as long as I had my family, friends and a bottle of Gaia by my side, I’d be alright you know.

Jymi’s Rating: 80%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Gaia comes in an average bottle, which is dressed with a purple label.  Whilst it may not haute couture when compared with some of the forward thinking designs out there, it most certainly is keeping up with high street fashion.  

However, the aroma of Gaia is simply stunning.  It has to be said that it is very sweet with the standard citrus punch that we all expect with pale ales but it really is sublime.  The drinking is very spiky.  What I mean by that is acidic citrus flavours roll around at the back of your tongue and there is almost a warming spice in play too. There is a very short bitter caramel note that makes a guest appearance and disappears very quickly.  It’s a great cameo though because you wouldn’t want it hanging around too long.

For me, Gaia is a very good beer.  I would happily enjoy one of these on many (or any!) an occasion.

Sammy’s Rating: 82%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 81% 

 

MOB review next weekend: ENGLISH IPA by THREE LEGS BREWING COMPANY

MUSE ON BOOZE 

BEER REVIEW: 55

BREWER: Skinner’s Brewery, Cornwall, England

STYLE: Bitter

ABV: 4%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 26th October 2018

 

JYMI SAY’S…

There has been just a sprinkling of times in my beer drinking life where everyone in the same ale house has reached a drinking equilibrium. The loudest are no longer the loudest and the life and soul are still doing their thing but are no longer the sole life and soul. The quiet are no longer quiet and the witty remain witty of course. The drunk dudes are not too drunk and the I’ll just have a few crew have a daring look in their eye. Yes, drinking equilibrium. That moment that everyone, whether in your group or not, becomes one. It very rarely comes along but when it does it really is something to savour. If not just to capture that moment where no one has lost it, but no one really has it either!

Now, after that, it may surprise you that I’m going to start with the beer itself rather than the packaging. Betty Stogs was made for moments like this. A session bitter like no other that I have tasted…

Betty pours thin, has no head and has the consistency of water. Does not sound great does it?? But it is great. It is. The taste is such a pleasant surprise with subtle tones of caramel kicking around and a satisfying bitter finish. There is literally no body to this bitter but that is almost it’s genius. It slips down so well it’s untrue and the subtle yet wonderful taste I’m sure would never get dull.

I actually wish I’d blind tested this as I truly believe that I would have written the same thing about this beer already regardless of the packaging… and what brilliant packaging it is!….. Even if it does look a bit s*”t.

It’s not necessarily depicting my drinking equilibrium scene as most folk on the label seem as done as the flippin’ dinner, but it is without doubt showcasing a good ol’ session in a proper ol’ Cornish boozer!

Skinner’s…. a job well done I must say.

Jymi’s Rating: 75%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Betty Stogs is a great concept of a beer; it is rooted in its Cornish origins.  It has a cracking name, which is well explained on the label. It is, however, very much let down by its packaging, which is indescribably bad.  Luckily for me I don’t need to describe it – you can look at it for yourself.

From the nose, you get fruity maltiness in the foreground with a background hint of floral notes, which when combined are very refreshing and very light.  Not what I expected from such a traditional beer. But it really does work.  The nose is backed up by a light taste as well.  Betty Stogs is a very thin beer, but in this case it is a very good thing. It has subtle bitter notes that are in no way overpowering.  There are acidic hints which are carried through by warming earthiness of the malt. It truly is a very refreshing bitter and I feel all the better for drinking it.

Skinner’s describe this beer as Brazen Cornish Bitter.  It most certainly is an English bitter.  But it is by no means dragged from the depths of the earth and I don’t want anyone to think that you need to enjoy this in the undergrowth of a hedge because it’s just not that type of beer.  It’s much more subtle and interesting that the first meeting might suggest.  That having been said  Betty Stogs will get one’s beard wet and it would be well enjoyed by a roaring fire. It would be very easy to slip a few of these down whilst recounting tales of old.  

Sammy’s Rating: 75%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 75% 

 

MOB review next weekend: GAIA by BROUWERIJ OEDIPUS 

MUSE ON BOOZE

BEER REVIEW: 54

BREWER: Faversham Steam Brewery (Shepherd Neame), Kent, England

STYLE: Pale Ale

ABV: 4%

VESSEL: 500ml clear bottle

DATE POSTED: 19th October 2018

 

JYMI SAY’S…

This is a readily available Pale Ale that the majority of beer drinkers in the UK will have seen knocking about in their local supermarket. Though I have consumed WBPA before after being handed a few over the years probably whilst visiting friends, I have never purchased myself. I’m putting this down to never really being a fan of the packaging…. But now I have it in front of me I’m trying to work out just what it is that I don’t like?

The dumpy set bottle is a break from the norm when it comes to a supermarket ready 500ml ale and I like it. The colours themselves and how they sit together are good also and the lovely little sketch of the boat on the flat as glass water is incredible! So what is it that I don’t like…?….

!!WARNING!!

YOU SHOULD PROBABLY STOP READING NOW AND NEVER BOTHER WITH MUSE ON BOOZE AGAIN AS THIS IS HOW RIDICULOUS MY BRAIN IS AND I PROBABLY SHOULDN’T BE IN CHARGE OF REVIEWING BEERS.

…the label is too small. Yes, that’s it. The packaging is great but the label is too small and wrecks the whole appearance in my bizarre opinion. If the label went the whole way round the bottle it would help it along no end. Right, I’m going to shut up and see what she tastes like under professional beer tasting conditions.

The information on the label told me that I would be getting a spicy citrus nose and that information was correct. The nose is without doubt lovely and refreshing and gets you nice and ready for what you think would be that first refreshing sip…. and that sip is indeed that, refreshing. The beer is smooth and crisp (which surprised me as is very carbonated in glass). You could no doubt settle into a few of these for sure, though possibly not of a freezing winter’s evening. So all in all very positive so far.…

BUT… BUT BUT BUT, there is a negative twist..

The body to Whitstable Bay Pale Ale is so thin that anything positive that was going for it gets diluted, which is a shame because as mentioned there are definitely positives.

Wait, what’s that? Oh no, here comes another negative!

There is a woody and earthy undertone too due to the malt. For me this clashes with the refreshing citrus and almost makes the whole thing confused.

And that is exactly where WBPA has left me… confused.

Jymi’s Rating: 67%

 

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Whitstable is coastal town in Kent, a county in England renowned for its hop growing. This beer is named after that town. I like the fact that this beer is named after such a town.  It’s a good solid name and it works for this beer. 

One might expect a beer named after such an English town to be very traditional in its appearance.  But it’s not. It’s in a very tempting clear glass bottle, which is neither too modern nor too traditional.  Just as I like the name of this beer, I like the way it looks inside and out of the bottle.  Good job to the people at The Faversham Steam Brewery!

Whitstable Pale Ale only has two major stumbling blocks.  The first is the nose.  The promise of citrus fruits and spice is there but it’s so mild one has to sniff so deep to get a hint of it.  It is far too mild on the nose.  The second is the initial taste.  It’s thin and almost non-existent.  However, the very good news is that this taste improves remarkably over the following sips.  It grows and once you’re into it, it’s good.  It’s light with hints of malt and citrus, which becomes very pleasant.

Just like the hops grow in Kent, this beer grows on the consumer, so don’t be too hastily put off.

Sammy’s Rating: 74%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 70.5% 

 

MOB review next weekend: BETTY STOGS by SKINNER’S BREWERY

MUSE ON BOOZE

 

Yes, we’re posting about a Beer named FRIDAY IPA, on a Saturday. Whatever next. The main and frankly only reason for this is simply that one of us two didn’t hand their homework in on time. Who that was however, you will never know… 

(It was Sam)

 

BEER REVIEW: 53

BREWER: And Union, Bavaria, Germany 

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 6.5%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE POSTED: 13th October 2018 

 

JYMI SAY’S…

It’s not often, well ever in fact, that I want for a busy, full on and arduous day at work. It’s not that I mind getting my head down and putting in the graft, I actually I have a very good work ethic, but to say I wake up of a morning and WANT an absolute full on taxing day would be wrong.
But today was different.
The reason being today was the day I was testing the incredibly named Friday IPA. Whether a wine, beer or spirit guzzler there is nothing quite like getting home from work on a Friday evening and grabbing a drink to unwind and relax with, especially if you have had a particularly hard week.
So with a tricky week already behind me I really wanted to earn this Friday beverage like never before with a tough ol’ day of graft… And I got one! HURRAY!!!
Now during this difficult day at work, other than the job obviously, I had a few things on my mind..

How much I was looking forward to cracking FRIDAY IPA open later on.
How much I loved the simplicity and fine detail on the tin that was currently housing my ale.
And also I was wondering what percentage it would be packing. With such a name proceeding it I really hoped that it wouldn’t be below 4.5% for some reason?! I honestly think it was only because of the name that I didn’t want it to be too weak as it doesn’t normally bother me as long as it tastes good.

So I returned home and approached the fridge. I came to the door, and I looked inside. I grabbed that great little red tin and …. Hallelujah…. 6.5%, BAM!!

Friday poured fairly dark amber and gave off a nose of obvious citrus, which was pleasant but nothing new nor special. Two things then struck me upon swig. Just how wonderfully creamy the head was and also how smooth FIPA was. Which is actually really pleasant because the citrus, malt and hoppy smacks really get those saliva ducts going but then it slips down the throat with an almost butter like texture. Friday tastes strong. I know I was asking for a high percentage but that was for the instant relax. However upon the taste you really can tell this is 6.5% which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Friday IPA, I like it. It’s different without being weird. Though I have to say although I got my instant Friday relax fix, it didn’t blow my socks off.

Jymi’s Rating: 72%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

A strange concept of a beer, this one is.  An IPA from Bavaria, Germany…have you ever heard of such a thing?  Well, you have now because that’s exactly what Friday IPA is.  

Friday IPA…hmm…the jury is out on the name.  Not sure if I love it or if I hate it.  One good thing about it – it’s got me thinking.

The packaging, however, I really do like.  The red can, with 3D effect and a white top, works very well for me.  It’s unique and sets it aside from the rest of the market.  

So even before drinking, there’s a lot to talk about with Friday IPA.  But we all know its about amber lining the throat that’s the important thing.

On the nose, it’s exactly as you’d expect for a craft IPA.  There’s the unmistakable hoppy punch, which plays the main role here.  In support, we have the usual tropical and citrus cast.  All in all, well balanced and very pleasant. 

As much of a strange mix it may be (Bavarian IPA), it is a cracking beer.  There’s an unbelievable balance of bitter and sweetness on the palate, with hops and citrus notes working in perfect harmony. Neither one over balances the other and the length of the taste is fantastic.  

Friday IPA is a corker.  It has firmly staked its mark in the ground as being a stand out, special beer that is well balanced on all fronts.  I’ll be reaching for it again.

Sammy’s Rating: 81%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 76.5% 

 

MOB review next weekend: WHITSTABLE BAY PALE ALE by FAVERSHAM STEAM BREWERY 

MUSE ON BOOZE

So here we are…  One year on from reviewing Landlord , it’s our FIRST BIRTHDAY!!

 

BEER REVIEW: 52

BREWER: To Øl, Copenhagen, Denmark

STYLE: Imperial Mango IPA

ABV: 9.3%

VESSEL: 50cl tin

DATE POSTED: 5th October 2018 

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Dangerously Close To Stupid Amount Of Mango really is some name for a beer! My first thoughts were., that’s very descriptive and very different….My second thoughts were, that’s totally rubbish and trying way too hard to be different.

Trouble is this off the wall Danish brewer got the name wrong. It’s not dangerously close to stupid amount of mango. It is a stupid amount of mango! And that would indeed be a more accurate name.

Now we come to the packaging… I’m all for breaking the mould and something a wee bit different but I’m sorry, this stinks of trying just that wee bit too hard to be different once again. There have been some marks awarded in this department for sure as I quite like the piece but don’t think it sit’s brilliantly on a tin of beer if I’m honest. Though it certainly makes it intriguing as you have to go searching the tin to find out what on earth is going on.

As I’ve already alluded to, this beer has too much mango going through it. It is way too sweet for my liking and I have to say from first sip to last (though it did improve a little as it went along) I was not at all a fan.

However one thing very positive did stick out, DCTSAOM is super, super smooth and slips down very well which suggests it has been brewed with a lot of care and attention to a very high standard. It is just not for me.

As smooth as the Fonz and as sweet as Richie Cunningham but just not Happy Days for Jymi.

Jymi’s Rating: 45%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

To Øl brewery (a micro brewery from Denmark) have a range of Dangerously Close to ales.  All come tinned up with artistic designs on the can and I happen to be really drawn to them.  They are class and unique: first box ticked.  It is hard to search out the name, but that gets you looking at the can closely and I like that interplay with the product. This particular one is an imperial India pale ale mixing it up with mangoes.  

The nose is as you might expect from the name – tropical fruitiness with bags of…mango. It has to be said that the colour of the beer is incredible.  It’s a tempting light golden, which promises greatness…big expectations…

The taste has a light sweetness that is incredibly refreshing.  There’s so much going on when you drink this.  The sweetness gives way to a short bitter after taste.  All of this leads to a cracking beer.  It’s exciting, different and challenging.  To Øl have demonstrated their brewing credentials with Dangerously close to Stupid Amount of Mango.  

I have no doubt that there will be those of you out there that find this too sweet. But make no mistake…this is a good beer. 

Sammy’s Rating: 73%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 59% 

 

MOB review next weekend: FRIDAY IPA by AND UNION 

MUSE ON BOOZE 

Well, almost one year…

So, on Friday we will be reviewing our 52nd beer and after posting one review every weekend a young bright spark in the MOB back office spotted that that would make it our First Birthday. 

So we thought we would publish a Top 10 so far for you to see what is currently at the top of the tree, in our opinion at least. Go find them. Go drink them. They are all incredible.. 

 

One – YU LU by Siren Craft Brew, Berkshire – 93%

Two – NECK OIL by Beavertown Brewery, North London – 90%

Three – PURITAN by Two Cocks Brewery, Berkshire – 88%

Four – PUNK IPA by BrewDog, Aberdeenshire – 87%

Five – DEAD PONY CLUB by BrewDog, Aberdeenshire – 86.5%

Six – PRIDE & JOY by Vocation Brewery, West Yorkshire – 85.5%

= Seven – LEVELLER by Two Cocks Brewery, Berkshire – 84.5%

= Seven – GOOSE IPA by Goose Island Beer Company, Illinois – 84.5%

= Seven – WHITE TIPS by Siren Craft Brew, Berkshire – 84.5%

Ten – CAMDEN PALE ALE by Camden Town Brewery, North London -84%

 

See you back here in a year to see what other superstars have come our way!  

BEER REVIEW: 51

BREWER: Banks’s Brewery, West Midlands, England

STYLE: Bitter

ABV: 3.8%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 28th September 2018

 

JYMI SAY’S…

So I once knew a bloke called Ralph. Though we got on he wasn’t necessarily a friend as such. Now Ralph was well over 6ft tall and probably 7ft wide. He was covered tattoos (I can’t rule out one of them being a Lion wielding an axe), had military short hair and just looked like a right tough b*****d. But there was one thing in particular that really stuck with me about this man mountain. His handshake. I distinctly remember when I first met him and shook him by the mit. I remember almost bracing myself and thinking, “come on Jymi, you can handle this”. I hadn’t have worried. Because I had gone in the with strongest handshake I could muster and Ralph had the handshake of an empty marigold I pretty much crushed all the bones in his right hand to tiny little pieces. I have a feeling this is why we never made it to friends status.

This brings me seamlessly to Banks’s Amber Bitter. Great name by the way chaps, blimey!

The packaging, when it comes to the font, colours and artwork make’s this brew seem like a bit of a tough lad. So you might think what is going on inside the bottle may well follow suit. Well, you would be very wrong. The nose is weak and almost no existent, though not at all unpleasant if you do manage to pick up anything. The taste is thin, weak and a long way from exceptional but again not at all unpleasant. I genuinely think this would work well as a session beer due to the percentage and it actually tasting alright…

There isn’t much more to say really…. Bye!

Jymi’s Rating: 50%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

What we have here is a very average British bitter.  I’m stating that right from the outset.

Banks’ nose is malty with a very, very subtle hint of citrus.  It is neither offensive nor is it especially pleasant.  I suppose it is fair to say, like everything else with this beer, it is very run of the mill.

The drinking is incredibly middle of the road (what a surprise) with malt and dried leaves as the main fore-flavours.  Bitterness plays a secondary role here, leading to Banks falling slap bang into the middle of the session ale category.  It has a slightly off texture, which leaves one with the feeling of having had beer flavoured mouthwash once swallowed.

You can’t help but feel that Banks belongs somewhere in the late seventies.

In my opinion, there is no other way to write a review of this beer, than to fill it full of idioms and clichés.  To be fair, the best way to describe Banks Bitter is to imagine a cliché in beer form, well then you will be close to Banks. 

The slogan for this beer should be: Quite Quaffable!

Sammy’s Rating: 55%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 52.5% 

MOB review next weekend: DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO STUPID AMOUNT OF MANGO by TO ØL

WOULD YOU ADAM n EVE IT, IT’S MOB’S FIRST BIRTHDAY NEXT FRIDAY!!

YES INDEED, IT WAS ONE YEAR AGO THAT WE TOLD YOU OUR OPINION ON LANDLORD BY TIMOTHY TAYLOR’S. AND 52 REVIEWS ON, WE’RE TASTING THAT CRAZY THING ABOVE! ↑↑↑

MUSE ON BOOZE