BEER REVIEW: 382

BREWER: Vocation, West Yorkshire, England

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 6.5%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE OF POST: 31st January 2025

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

I really do like Life And Death.  As a readily available, mass produced ‘craft’ beer, it does better than many of it competitors.  It achieves something unique where they fail.

This brew strikes an excellent balance between sweetness and bitterness, with a solid bitter start and finish. Notes of grapefruit and lime pop throughout, adding a bright, zesty character that keeps things interesting from the first sip to the last.

While it might not break new ground, Life After Death nails the fundamentals of a quality IPA. Exceptionally easy to drink, this beer flows smoothly and leaves you reaching for another without hesitation. Its approachable flavour profile makes it dangerously sippable.

All of this is enhanced by strong, eye-catching packaging that aligns well with the beer’s bold but balanced character.

Life After Death is a great go-to beer for any occasion. It’s versatile, satisfying, and dangerously easy to drink, making it ideal as a fridge staple. Whether you’re enjoying it solo or sharing with friends, this IPA delivers reliable quality in every sip. Just keep an eye on how many you’ve had—its easy-drinking nature, paired with a relatively high ABV, can catch you off guard if you’re not careful.

Sammy’s Rating: 81%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

I’m going to open with a statement folks. And it’s a rather large one.

In my opinion, this is the best value for money brew in the UK right now.

Is it the best? No

Is it the cheapest? No

But it is very very good indeed and is not at all expensive. In fact the tin I supped on for today’s review cost me just £1.63. Life & Death also weighs in at a fairly hefty 6.5% so you are getting some serious bang for your buck here. It’s almost the ultimate fridge filler but to label it as such almost detracts from how good this beer actually is.

Before even taking a sip you know you’re almost certainly onto a winner. The packaging is strong, the look in glass is great and the nose is SUBLIME. Putting out a tropical air for one’s hooter to hoover.

Upon sip the tropical delight continues with a fantastic explosion of stone fruit juiciness. This then develops into a medium bitter pine aftertaste and then onto a lovely almost slightly dry finish.

Some craft beer can be outrageously expensive. I fully understand why that is. But when you’re sometimes not getting much change out of £20 for 3 cans it really can be a wallet breaker.

So, when a beer of this quality comes along at such an affordable price you have to buy it… ALL.

Jymi’s Rating: 84%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 82.5 %

MOB review next weekend: URGE TO MERGE by QUEER BREWING

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Bluesky: @museonbooze.bsky.social

museonbooze.com

 

BEER REVIEW: 381

BREWER: The Innovative Brewing Co., West London, England

STYLE: Session IPA

ABV: 4.2%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE OF POST: 24th January 2025

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Good gawd… whatta shocker!

Look, I see what The Innovative Brewing Co have tried to do here. Basically, brew a tasty IPA but containing far fewer calories and carbs than your regular beverage. I get it, I do, but it’s hardly innovative now is it?!

The trouble is when attempting such a feat, you kinda need to make sure the beer you produce is at least half decent. I understand that it would be incredibly tough to brew a showstopper when producing a beer of this ilk, but come on, half decent is all I ask.

But this brew falls well short of half decent I’m afraid. It’s really poor. From the seaweed nose to the seaweed aftertaste and the total lack of anything body wise in between, it really was a struggle to get this down. There was a glimmer of hoppy flavour in the sip but it didn’t amount to much nor was it particularly pleasant.

The can art and content were also not really doing anything for me, other than cause mild irritation once I realised how bad the beer was. So many statements, that end up kinda meaningless are thrown at us via the little green vessel…

IPA BUT BETTER

BEER BUT BETTER

FOR THOSE WHO DEMAND MORE

FULL FLAVOUR, FULL BODY BEER, WITHOUT THE GUILT

FOLLOW US & BECOME A #PRIMEMATE

BREWED TO THE HIGHEST BRITISH BREWING STANDARDS

I’m sure this isn’t the case but it almost seems like more time went into attempted catchy slogans and statements rather than producing a quality drinkable product.

If the Innovative slogan team got hold of concluding my review it would be a whole lot longer but luckily it’s me in charge of the keys and I can conclude in just one word…

AVOID.

Jymi’s Rating: 12%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

“Prime Time” is a misnomer—this beer doesn’t live up to its name. Let’s be clear, it’s far from prime drinking material.  It misses the mark, leaving behind an underwhelming impression in almost every department.

The aroma starts with a faint whiff of dank citrus, a fleeting promise of the IPA character you’d hope for. Unfortunately, it feels muddled and lacks the vibrant hop-forward punch typical of the style. There’s something slightly off, leaving the nose feeling incomplete.

While there’s a whisper of hops at the start of the drinking, the flavour quickly fizzles into an unremarkable blandness. The bitterness is muted, the malt profile is barely present, and the finish is flat. It lacks the complexity or body to make any lasting impact, making each sip more forgettable than the last.

Prime Time IPA is, at best, a placeholder on the shelf. It offers little to entice or engage the drinker, with a flat flavour profile and pretty average execution. There are too many great IPAs on the market to waste time on this one. Best left as a forgettable footnote in the IPA world.

Sammy’s Rating: 38%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 25%

MOB review next weekend: LIFE & DEATH by VOCATION

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Bluesky: @museonbooze.bsky.social

Instagram: muse.on.booze

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BEER REVIEW: 380

BREWER: Brazenor’s Brews, Buckinghamshire, England

STYLE: Black IPA

ABV: 5.8%

VESSEL: 440ml tin

DATE OF POST: 17th January 2024

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

While not a showstopper, this Black IPA delivers a decent and enjoyable drinking experience. With a bit more refinement in its flavour profile, it could rise above its current rank. If you’re a fan of bold, bitter brews with a hint of stout character, this beer is defo worth a try.

The aroma immediately evokes stout-like qualities, with rich notes of chocolate and coffee complemented by a faint undertone of burnt oats. It’s a warm and inviting nose, delivering a pleasant first impression.

The bitterness dominates the palate, but as it develops, subtle coffee and chocolate notes emerge, adding some welcome complexity. Unfortunately, the finish leans too acrid, overshadowing the beer’s initial subtleties. A touch more balance—perhaps a creamier or less aggressive hop profile—could elevate its flavour to the next level.  But this is the price paid for being a black IPA as opposed to a porter or stout.

Good but not great.  I would definitely revisit but it’s not top of my list.

Sammy’s Rating: 70%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Ah, the ol’ Black IPA, for me, probably the most curious of beer styles. A stout like IPA. Again, for me, stout and  IPA are not really styles that sit particularly close to one another nor ones you would really want to put together. So it’s amazing really that black IPA as a style even made it to the ideas table, let alone the tank and then the gullet. But it did, and although it’s not the most common type of beer out there, it is making somewhat of a resurgence. Why? Well, because if done well a black IPA can be nothing short of spectacular.

Over the years of sampling some, though not that many, with BIPAs I’ve come to realise that I prefer them if they are slightly leaning more towards the stout side of life. Braz’s BIPA sits bang in the middle of the two however. Stoutlike upfront with a more hoppy bitter IPA hit nearer the end. Now as a beer reviewer this is good, as this Bucks brewer has absolutely nailed the style! But just as Jymi the consumer (in both meanings of the word) it is just a bit too bitter and IPA like at the end detracting from the chocolate notes that lead.

As mentioned, the style has been nailed here and this is without doubt a good beer with early meandering tones of chocolate and coffee developing into a hoppy finish with a slight bitter coffee note in the aftertaste.

Putting personal preference aside I think this brew probably would have chalked up a few more marks.

But either way, it’s still a good beer.

Jymi’s Rating: 73%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 71.5%

MOB review next weekend: PRIME TIME SESSION IPA by THE INNOVATIVE BREWING CO.

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Bluesky: @museonbooze.bsky.social

Instagram: muse.on.booze

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M O B 2025

MOBPACKS TWO ARE COMING!!

 

Yes, the second wave of Muse on Booze recommended beers are currently being weighed up by Sammy & Jymi and will be leaving the depot on 1st July!

 

The beer budget must be over flowing by now due to lockdown eh? 😉 

 

TO RECEIVE 1st JULY MOBPACK, SHIPPED TO WITHIN 30 MILES OF ASCOT – £20 (more than 30 miles £30)

 

You can find us on PayPal should you wish to follow our advice on some seriously good beer. museonbooze@gmail.com. 

NO ACCESS TO PAYPAL? NO PROBLEM. JUST SEND US AN EMAIL AND WE CAN WORK OUT WHAT TO DO NEXT. 

PLUS ALL 1st JULY PACKS WILL CONTAIN A FREE BOTTLE OF BLUE MOON READY FOR MOB SQUAD REVIEW TWO WEEKS LATER  

 

HOW MOBPACKS WERE BORN…

10th April 2020

So there I was, sitting in sunny isolation letting one’s mind drift… thoughts of how nice it would be for beer lovers to be able to sample some of the splendid beers that Sammy and I have reviewed over the years. Some are very easy to come by, others not so much. But in isolation most are a flippin nightmare to come by, let’s be honest. But drift on did go my mind and it’s next stop was, “What if I got hold of a selection of some cracking brews that we have reviewed for the Muse on Booze readers”? What a great way that would be to pass the time, some decent beers to sit back and ponder on.

So I did get hold of a selection of cracking brews!!

The rest, is history…

 

TWITTER: @museonbooze

INSTAGRAM: muse.on.booze

BEER IS BETTER TOGETHER PEOPLE – LET’S DO THIS

The MOB SQUAD say...

 

Yum Yum Scrum: FRUITY, SMOOTH, DELICIOUS, LIGHT, LIVELY – 92%

Mr. Reebo: EASY, SMOOTH, LIGHT, GENERIC, DRINKABLE – 60%

Lava: FAINT, SILKY, QUENCHING, MOREISH, FINE – 85%

Capone: REFRESHING, LINGERING, SMOOTH, TERRIFIC, WINNER – 89%

Skeletor: CRISP, GRAPEFRUIT, PALE, SESSIONABLE, EPIC – 89%

Doc: LIGHT, FRUITY, REFRESHING, BITTER-ISH, AWESOME – 88%

PanthBrew: LIVELY, DISTINGUISHED, REFRESHING, NONCHALANT, ZESTY – 87%

Mrs. Reebo: NICE, LIGHT, WATERY, FRUITY, MEMORABLE – 79%

VK: CRUSHABLE, GENIUS, SILK, ZESTY, ART – 95%

Tulane: LIGHT, CRISP, DULL, GRAPEFRUIT, YAWN – 66%

cWobble: CLEVER, FRESH, JUICY, MOREISH, GONE – 82%

 

MOB SQUAD RATING: 83.09%

 

Thanks goes to the MOB SQUAD from  Sammy & Jymi for taking the time to share those thoughts. Though, let’s be fair, there are harder things to be doing eh?!

WANT TO BE A MEMBER OF THE MOB SQUAD? IF SO THEN DROP US A MESSAGE AND WE WILL LET YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. 

You can contact us via:-

E-MAIL – museonbooze@gmail.com

TWITTER – @museonbooze (direct message) 

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MOB SQUAD’S NEXT OUTING IS ON JANUARY 10th 2020 AND WILL BE JAIPUR by THORNBRIDGE

GET INVOLVED!!

BEER IS BETTER TOGETHER