ORVAL

BEER REVIEW: 316

BREWER: Brasserie D’Orval, Luxembourg, Belgium

STYLE: Trappist Ale

ABV: 6.2%

VESSEL: 0.33L brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 28th October 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Trappist beers are renowned world over.  An obvious statement, I know.  But a relevant one because Orval is a Trappist beer.  Another point that’s well known, but worth emphasising is that there are many worldy Trappist beers available.

But let’s rewind to the beginning of my interaction with Orval…

The packaging is not at all to my taste.  It doesn’t tick a traditionalist box neither does it make the grade with a modern vibe.  We are left somewhere in between. And it simply doesn’t work.  Its bulbous bottle and its poor label are uninspiring to say the least.

On the nose, Orval does not do much.  Sure there are hints of herbal botanic notes but it need much more of a punch.  It needs something to elevate the potential that is clearly there.

And this theme follows through into the drinking.  While Orval is by no stretch of the imagination awful, it’s so lacking in body and flavour that drinking it is almost a non-event.  It’s not bad, but it just ain’t great.

To the original point, Orval is a Trappist.  If it were a league of beers, Orval would be somewhere in the depths of the semi-pro leagues of Trappist beers, let alone being nowhere near a world league of all comers.

Sammy’s Rating: 52%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Oh no, we may have a problem here. Only a slight one but a problem nonetheless.

There has been the odd occasion over the years where a beer has either not lived up to expectation or fallen short of possibly where it should have been due to it being a bad batch or maybe stored badly (prior to reaching the MOB cupboard or fridge may I add).

The first example of this was way back in November 2017 with Wolf Rock by Sharps. Personally, going into the review I thought we were going to be onto a winner. I had had a couple of these in the months before the review and had enjoyed without really thinking about it. However once concentrating and really analysing the brew when under review it fell a bit short and only ended up with MOB rating of 71%. Not bad but way less than I was expecting.

Another example was an English IPA by Three Legs Brewery. The beer wasn’t great by any means. But after some feedback on Twitter we concluded that something had probably gone on with the brew on it’s journey from brewery to MOBHQ, or just a bad batch, who knows.

The trouble is Sammy and I can only go on what we have in front of us and then of course comes personal taste too.

This said, before coming into today’s test of Orval I knew it was a great beer. Don’t get me wrong, it has still scored well but I’m telling you now, something was up with my bottle here.

Alarms instantly started going off in my noggin when the head on the initial pour was massive and just kept. ON. GROWING! This has never happened to me before with a bottle of Orval.

The nose however was fine, great in fact. Lovely notes of a rich sweet caramel.

But the alarm did once again sound once the first sip was taken onboard. The super head carbonation carried over into the mouth resulting in some crazy  frothy fizzy mouthfeel. Really strange and again not something that I had experienced from the beer before.

All said this beer still tasted decent enough with a good punch of flavour. Bitter orange leads the way but a welcome caramel sweetness soon follows to counter the bitterness before moving to a bittersweet end.

I may have over scored it today because of previous mega enjoyment, I’m not sure.

It’s good. But usually, it’s way better than that.

Jymi’s Rating: 78%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 65%

MOB review next weekend: QUANTUM LEVEL by CRAFTY BREWING

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

DIRECTORS

BEER REVIEW: 315

BREWER: Courage (Carlsberg Marston’s), Bedfordshire, England

STYLE: Superior Ale

ABV: 4.8%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 22nd October 2023 

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Directors: superior ale.

It just simply is not a superior ale. It’s very much an inferior ale. But I guess that doesn’t really work as a tag line. 

Directors: brewed to the directors’ standard. 

On the face of it, this is a good tag line. Brewing to a high standard, approved by those at the top could be signs of a good thing. But look into it a little deeper and we are told that this is basically only a beer for the directors. Some might say this has a slightly classist edge. As in, are we to assume this beer is not meant for the average folk?  

The truth of the matter is, directors at Courage must have a terrible threshold for their standards because this is a damn awful beer. Think dirty dishwater and you won’t even be getting close to just how bad this beer is. 

Directors might have been a standard bearer back in the day. Now, it’s barely to any standard whatsoever. 

Sammy’s Rating: 21%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

The Daily Mail

Yep

Arguably the best newspaper in the world

Oooooooh yeah

‘Nice Lexus’

Yes, I love Lexi

Yeah, I always have a thing I say about Lexus, it’s like the…

JAPANESE MERCEDES

Yeah, well I hate Mercs. The people who drive them are just sa-a-aaaaad

Are you wearing Lynx?

Well smelt, Voodoo

Java

Alan Partridge

Dan Mooney

Nice to meet you 

‘I wear Tommy Hillfinger’

It’s Hilfiger

‘No, it say’s Hillfinger on the bottle’

Did you buy it down the market?

‘Aye’

Ah, that explains it.

It’s amazing this Lexus connection, next you’ll be telling me you drink Directors Bitter

I’ve got it coming out of my taps!!

Have you?!

I’m joking!

Great!

It’s amazing. We both like the Daily Mail, we both drive Lexi…

Plural

Plural 

And we both drink Directors Bitter… it’s like the X Files… but a pleasant X-Files

The LEX Files

God that’s good… Can I shake your hand again?

Take a card

Oh, you’ve combined the card with the handshake. I used to do that but kept getting it wrong. I gave a paper cut to a man from Nestle. 

You own Kitchen Planet on the A416??! 

The very same

It’s massive!!

10,000 square feet of sheer kitchens! And I know who you are… Norfolk Nights?

The very same, and of course, Skirmish. Military based general knowledge quiz show on digital cable channel UK conquest, that has the largest audience share for a digital channel, at that time of day, in the Norfolk area.

‘Hey, you should deal him a cheap kitchen! He want’s a kitchen!’

Michael, Michael, I wouldn’t insult this man by asking for a 25% discount on a kitchen

If you’re looking for a kitchen I can get you a kitchen, let’s talk

Fancy a flav?

Flavia, good call!

King of coffees!

In off the red!!

How do you take it?

Unleaded

Mines Diesel 

What does that mean??

I dunno??!   You know we’ve got a lot in common, we should go for a proper drink. I mean, you provide quality kitchens and I provide…

Quality radio

‘And I work in a petrol station’

Yeah but it’s just me and Dan that’s going for the drink

‘Ah yeah fine, I’ll just get hammered on me own’

—————————————

This will mean a lot to a few and not a lot to many. Which for me, is the key to any great beer review 😉

And a great beer review this may be but I’m sad to report that this beer… is not.

To be fair to Directors, it’s rich and does have plenty of flavour, but it’s just not very nice! The body of the the beer also passes muster, but again, the beer just isn’t very nice. And coming back to the flavour, there are tones caramel, toffee and even a bit of orange, but it still doesn’t taste very nice!

When Courage officially brewed Directors back in the day it could well have been a fine brew. But as it is today, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, it’s not.

AND ANOTHER??!

No, thank you.

Jymi’s Rating: 35%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 28%

MOB review next weekend: ORVAL by BRASSERIE D’ORVAL

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

HAWKSTONE LAGER

BEER REVIEW: 314

BREWER: Cotswold Brew Co., Oxfordshire, England

STYLE: Lager

ABV: 4.8%

VESSEL: 330ml brown bottle 

DATE OF POST: 14th October 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

The brew we have on our hands today I believe was featured on a TV show in the UK named Clarkson’s Farm. How it’s featured or what it’s all about I’m not entirely sure as I’ve not seen the programme myself. The reason being is that the man that the show is named after is Jeremy Clarkson. Don’t get me wrong, if I’m in the right mood I can find this guy mildly entertaining but on the whole I absolutely despise the man. I’ve heard the series is actually very good and it has been recommended to me by quite a few different folk. But frankly, if I’m being honest… I just can’t be arsed with it.

Moving to the beer itself and leaving all the showbiz song n dance behind, what we have this week is a Premium Cotswold Lager at the enticing ABV of 4.8%. Anywhere between 4.6% and 5.2% is optimum for me when it comes to a lager. Most other styles can get away with either end of the strength spectrum but generally for me a lager has to fall into this percentage bracket to taste any good (of course there are exceptions, Small Beer Co being a very obvious one).

Smart looking bottle popped it was time to find out what this brew was all about.

It’s good, it’s really good actually! There is a great Lime and Lemon character to this beer. It’s not overwhelming nor too prominent, it’s just there helping this lager be very refreshing and very crushable! The mouthfeel is sublime, which you would expect, what with the purest Cotswold water being used.

Well dressed and well executed, this is a very good showing from the Cotswold Brew Co. I have to say.

Jymi’s Rating: 77%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Hawkstone Lager is a very good drop indeed. 

Smart packaging: modern and unfussy but impactful. 

Smart name: named after a local Neolithic rock. 

It’s a crisp drinking sensation backed by hoppy notes. The salty lemon backdrop is enhanced by a fantastic mouthfeel. 

If I’m honest, there won’t be too many straight bat lagers out there that are better than Hawkstone. 

Put simply, I’d be happy chugging one of these on any occasion. 

I’m already looking forward to my next one. 

Sammy’s Rating: 81%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 79%

MOB review next weekend: DIRECTORS by COURAGE

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

PIRAAT RED

BEER REVIEW: 313

BREWER: Van Steenberge, East Flanders, Belgium

STYLE: Belgian Red Ale

ABV: 10.5%

VESSEL: 33CL brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 6th October 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Can anyone remember a drink named cherryade (generic, not brand specific)?  For me, it’s synonymous with childhood.  A pretty awful drink that turns the inside of your mouth red, making you resemble a distant relative of Count Dracula.  Well, it still exists.

Here’s the thing – Piraat has the hue of cherryade when it’s unleashed in the glass.  And to be fair, catch a passing whiff of Piraat, and you could be further tricked into thinking it’s our long lost friend, cherryade.

But there, thankfully, ends any resemblance between the two.

Piraat, took me by surprise.  I was not expecting the summer fruity taste sensation that it delivers both through the old hooter and when tipping it down my throat.  It is so well balanced and has tremendous presence in the mouth.  Yes, it’s a great drinking experience.

Here’s the kicker:  Piraat comes in at 10.5% abv.  Believe me, that makes it a dangerous drink.  It’s so easy to polish one of these off, that before you know it, you’ll be on your back with the world spinning around you.

I was genuinely surprised at how good a drop Piraat is.  It’s a wonderful beer and I look forward to the next time I meet this swashbuckler.  

Sammy’s Rating: 86%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Wow! What a beer this is!

Of recent times, most, if not all of the high ABV brews I’ve had (whether on a MOB test or just personal consump) have been of the craft variety and have hidden the super strength VERY well! As I’ve mentioned in previous musings the techniques and wizardry of the modern craft brewer are evolving at an amazing rate. It only seems like yesterday that most DIPA’s, TIPA’s and the like tasted strrrrrrong, still lovely, but STRRRRONG and pretty boozy too, as you would expect. But nowadays most of these big boys taste like they’re more like 5.5/6%! It’s mental!

However, this large lad tastes VERY STRONG INDEED, but (and this is where the genius comes in I believe), not particularly boozy. As in, there is no alcohol burn whatsoever.

Piraat Red really is a hit you between the eyes but sit down and savour kinda brew. The whole savour thing begins before you have even had a sip. It pours so well, looks incredible in the glass and smells great. I found myself just looking at it for at least a minute or so. Once I broke out of the trance and actually got PR underway two things immediately struck me. CHERRY and PILLOW SOFT MOUTHFEEL. We’re onto a winner here Jym lad I whispered to myself.

The theme very much stays along the cherry line but slight notes of vanilla develop the more you move through the drink, which is delightful. Now, I’m going to finish with something that I’m not sure I’m going to be able to convey properly. The late aftertaste has a subtle red wine vinegar tone to it. Absolutely not in a bad way (you’re just gonna have to trust me here) but in a way that complements and enhances like vinegar does with food when used correctly. Don’t get me wrong, its not vinegary, there is just a touch of acidity at the end that without doubt boosts an already cracking experience.

Great drop indeed.

Jymi’s Rating: 89%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 87.5%

MOB review next weekend: HAWKSTONE LAGER by COTSWOLD BREW CO.

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

THE RIDGE

BEER REVIEW: 312

BREWER: Harviestoun Brewery, Clackmannanshire, Scotland

STYLE: Pale Ale

ABV: 5%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 29th September 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

A ridge is a long narrow hilltop, or even a mountain range.  These natural phenomena can be very exciting.  They can conjure up a sense of excitement and adventure and can be an allure for many a brave explorer, or indeed any outdoor type.  

I like the outdoors.  And I like ridges.  Generally, I like nature.

So, a beer named The Ridge could be quite promising.  It could be full of adventure.  There is hope it might take you on a metaphorical journey to some unknown (beer) world, linking the ordinary with the extraordinary.  

Except it does none of those things.  

While The Ridge might be inoffensive, with a light lemon nose, it doesn’t come close to lighting up my senses.  It’s a decent enough pale ale but it just doesn’t do much. It’s very much a straight narrow edge, a little like a ridge.

For those of you seeking thrills from a ridge, stick to the natural one, not this brewed up averageness.

Sammy’s Rating: 44%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

I tend not to take too much notice of a brew until it is it’s turn to be reviewed. You obviously get the very instant thoughts on first visual but then it’s off to the MOB fridge/cupboard until it’s time for it to hopefully shine.

Now unfortunately for The Ridge that very brief first visual left me underwhelmed – brown bottle, green label… YAWN!!! It meant that I wasn’t particularly excited to test this one. But seriously, after so many reviews now, you would think I would have learnt to not judge a book by it’s cover. Honestly Jymi, come on man?!!

When it came to test day things turned around BIG TIME!

See, on closer inspection the packaging is quite cool. It’s not great (the green label and brown bottle thing still didn’t sit well with me), but the introduction of the seafaring Mr Mouse, I’m assuming sitting above THE RIDGE, with his nautical telescope is nothing short of fantastic! He makes an appearance on the bottle top too! Now THE RIDGE that I speak of, as our bottle tells us, is the Mid-Atlantic ridge, where America meets Scotland (slightly tenuous, I mean it could be geographically correct but I’ve no time to check, and fear it’s not). The reason this is relevant is that Harviestoun Brewery have used ingredients from both America and Scotland in this brew. Clever idea, great concept and you know what, they’ve only gone and nailed it! This is a great beer.

A crisp zesty nose leads the way followed by a first sip that is stacked with a bitter hop bite, slightly more akin to an IPA rather than a Pale but… whatever. The mouthfeel is also instantly loveable. It’s bright and it’s clean. As you move through the brew the hop bite mellows but then returns deep into the aftertaste. Further into the drinking a very subtle melon tone begins to develop. It’s so subtle that there is no way you would pick it up if you were just sipping this beer at your leisure down the Dog n Dickhead chatting with your chums. But under a strict MOB testing regime that subtle melon sneaks in. Combine this with the bitter hopping of this beer and you cannot go wrong.

Our bottle states with much confidence on the front label that The Ridge is HOPPY. REFINED. BALANCED. And let me tell you now, it most certainly is.

Jymi’s Rating: 84%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 64%

MOB review next weekend: PIRAAT by VAN STEENBERGE

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

BARLEY GOLD

BEER REVIEW: 311

BREWER: Banks’s Brewery, West Midlands, England

STYLE: Strong Ale

ABV: 7.4%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE OF POST: 22nd September 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

I’m going to be upfront with you: Barley Gold filled me with fear before drinking.  

Why?

It’s can looks bloomin’ awful and it’s packing quite the abv for such a brew.  This conjures up the impression that I’m about to embark on a drinking experience that many a down and out has before me.  And their reason for drinking isn’t to test the beer; it’s to escape reality.

Anyway, with my reality fully in check here’s what I think of Barley Gold:

It’s not as bad as I feared.  But let’s be clear, that doesn’t make it good, because it isn’t.

There’s not much going on in the drinking, as in, there’s not many notes or high points.  It’s very much like a strong lager with some sweetness and maltiness.  There’s a lingering gacky aftertaste.  I guess this is not at all surprising.  

Apparently Barley Gold is an award winning beer.  What award? Who knows… When?  Anyone’s guess.

This is not my type of beer.  It’s passable and that’s the best I can say for it.  While it might not have me pulling on my saliva glands like I originally thought, it’s not setting anything alight either.

Sammy’s Rating: 33%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Right, first thing that struck me when viewing this offering that Sammy brought to the testing table was, blimey, this reminds me of the Gold Label tin.

Now for those of you not familiar with Gold Label, it’s the brew that the BIG drinkers used to neck back in the 90’s and may well still do so to this day. GL was a 10% Barley Wine. I have never touched it so cannot really comment on whether it’s any good or not but as far as I’m concerned if the pissheads were buying it because it was cheap and strong, it probably wasn’t amounting to much.

However, our beer today, I was slightly relieved to find out, is just a Strong Ale weighing in at a mere 7.4%!

Even though this is still punchy as, it’s not stratospheric in ABV. But this brews instant downfall is the fact it tastes WAY TOO BOOZY!!! Crazy statement you would think but only a year or so ago we reviewed an 11.1% Triple IPA that only tasted like it was 5 maybe 6%. In today’s world of brewing, just because a beer is 7.4% does not mean that it will definitely taste strong! Not that there is anything wrong with strong but mega BOOZY, no, not for me anyway.

And it’s a bit of a shame because there is some promise in this brew. There is tonnes of flavour, though good luck picking out individual notes. And once into the beer it does drink OK to be fair. There is a very bitter middle which helps BG along nicely, and is very much needed.

Did I enjoy Barley Gold? Not really no.

Would I have another? Probably not.

Is it somehow close to being actually quite good? Yeah, it kinda is.

More care and a few tweaks needed, but as it stands, not great.

Jymi’s Rating: 44%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 38.5%

MOB review next weekend: THE RIDGE by HARVIESTOUN BREWERY

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

WATERLOO RED CHERRY

BEER REVIEW: 310

BREWER: Anthony Martin, Walloon Brabant, Belgium 

STYLE: Lambic

ABV: 8%

VESSEL: 33cl brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 15th September 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Waterloo – an 8% Red Cherry Lambic beer from our beautiful brewing buddy’s over in Belgium.

8% you say?! Must be pretty full on??!! Well it’s not. At all. Booze wise anyway. See, of course this tastes like a lambic beer which is obviously alcoholic, but you cannot taste the booze AT ALL!!! Which, seeing how drinkable this brew is, is nothing short of flippin’ lethal!!

Honestly, if some cowboy host wanted to feed you this at a BBQ you would be more cooked than the burnt sausages let me tell you. Soooo drinkable… Soooo strong!!!

But, how does it actually taste? Well, in one word, bloomin’ lovely! Which worryingly backs up the sausage metaphor.

Waterloo is all the cherries, all of them. There is an absolute tonne of flavour jammed into this brew. The cherry tornado is complimented by a soft red apple hint that then leads to a faint sourness.

This is a superb beer but please, if you’re going to take it on, heed my warning and put a survival plan in place before you do.

Jymi’s Rating: 89%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Waterloo is an awesome beer.  It’s just wonderful.  It’s so good, I could be convinced that this is what Abba named their now famous song after… well, maybe not.

While it will come as no surprise that cherry dominates both the nose and the taste, there are plenty of other surprises when drinking Waterloo.

Surprise 1 – there’s a strong pinch of almond on the nose, making it not dissimilar to the aroma of a bakery cooking up a batch of Bakewell Tarts.

Surprise 2 – apple notes play a wonderful companion to the cherry star.  And they are wonderful beer friends.

Surprise 3 – despite the boat load of cherriness, Waterloo is perfectly balanced between sweetness and a great bitter flick at the end.

Surprise 4 – you will not believe that it’s 8% abv.  You just cannot notice it.

Surprise 5 – Waterloo has good body in the mouth.

There’s only one way to sum up Waterloo: Cherry-o-baby.

Awesome beer.

Sammy’s Rating: 93%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 91%

MOB review next weekend: BARLEY GOLD by BANKS’S

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

SEVEN GIRAFFES

BEER REVIEW: 309

BREWER: Williams Bros. Brewing Co., Clackmannanshire, Scotland

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 5.1%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle 

DATE OF POST: 8th September 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Let’s get the elephant out of the room.  Well, on this occasion, let’s get the giraffe out of the room.  Naming a beer with the number seven in it because it’s been brewed with seven malted barleys, best mean you can notice that this is prevalent in the brew. The fact of the matter is, it makes no difference at all that Seven Giraffes has been brewed with seven malted barleys.

As a beer, it’s pretty wishy washy.  To try and pull it off as an IPA, it just ain’t hoppy enough.  Seven Giraffes is insipid.  The slight hint of hops needs a massive whoosh to elevate the drinking experience.

But while Seven Giraffes is not packing much of anything, it’s actually quite easy to drink.  It’s not offensive.  But not being offensive, is not close to a definition of being good.

Although unlikely to offend, Seven Giraffes is definitely not one to seek out.

Sammy’s Rating: 45%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

So, the first question is this…

What is the link between Giraffes and Malted Barley?

Odd question I know, but it is one that needs to be asked.

Why?

Well our beer today is named Seven Giraffes and we’re told that it is brewed using 7 varieties of Malted Barley. So there has to be a link, there just has to be.

So I took myself off to the British Library on Euston Road in London. Nothing.

Next stop was my local library about 5 min walk from my house (probably should have tried there first), but again, nothing.

Next stop was a mobile library that rolls up a few miles from me every month. Nothing.

It was then that Nigel in the Muse On Booze IT department (MOBITD) told be about something called INTERNET?

So on to that I went (this thing could be a game changer), using something called the google I typed in…

Giraffe Malted Barley. Nothing.

Malted Barley Giraffe. Nothing.

What’s the link between Giraffes and Malted Barley? Nothing.

I then found a thing called Spotify and got side tracked for 7 hours.

But returning to my task, I concluded that there was no link between Giraffes and Malted Barley.

So, even though Seven Giraffes is quite a cool name for a brew, it’s also a bit odd all things considered.

Second question…

Why label your beer with the tag, EXTRAORDINARY IPA?

You’re kinda setting yourself up for a fall and the drinker up for disappointment with moves like this, unless the IPA you have produced is extraordinary of course. Which this brew I’m afraid to say, is not.

However, it is alright, but alright is a fair few rungs down from extraordinary which equals… Disappointment.

Look, SG as mentioned isn’t too bad. The mouthfeel is fantastic to be fair (think we probably have our 7 giraffes, sorry, malted barleys to thank for this). It’s very drinkable and certainly moreish. There are tones of pine, grass and lemon but those tones are lacking a bit of intensity. There also needs to be more of a hop bite bitter smack to help this brew along. It’s supposed to be an IPA for crying out loud!

I think with a bigger bitter finale SG could have maybe at least approached the greatness we were promised.

But it does not reach such a crescendo. Which frankly, is a shame.

Jymi’s Rating: 56%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 50.5%

MOB review next weekend: WATERLOO by ANTHONY MARTIN

 Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

NINE TWO SEVEN

BEER REVIEW: 308

BREWER: Thornbridge, Derbyshire, England

STYLE: Hazy IPA 

ABV: 5.5%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE OF POST: 1st September 2023

 

JYMI SAY’S…

First impressions / reactions were… Errrrrr

Ah, it’s a Thornbridge brew and…

Oh it’s a collab with Brew By Numbers…

NICE!!!

Bit of a shit looking tin though…

Now. Let’s actually start with what we’re dealing with here.

Thornbridge of Derbyshire and Brew By Numbers daaaaaan in Bermondsey are both SERIOUS players in the UK craft beer scene. So it was fair to say I was expecting great things. But from the off the tin was putting me, off.

Until, like a true pro I actually started to concentrate.

This beer’s name comes from the year England was founded, 927. That is more than pretty cool. What’s more is once I got my newly prescribed binocular glasses a’top me nose I realised that the can art is actually a map of London. First class play on packaging I must say, once I got there!

Now the brew itself, I have to say, I was a little disappointed by. It’s not that this is a bad beer. I was was just expecting more.

The taste in sip is that of citrus, predominantly lemon. This taste and body once swallowed then completely vanish. Which I have to admit was both surprising and worrying. Especially as Nine Two Seven is coming in at a more than respectable 5.5% abv.

However, after what seems like an eternity, a bitterness arrives long into the aftertaste.  Which is good and I’ll be honest saved this beer.

The more I then stepped back and thought about it the more of what goes on with this brew actually seemed pretty cool…

Crisp and refreshing at first…

Drops out…

Wait

Wait

Wait…

In comes the bitterness, coupled with a dry finish.

Yeah, not bad, not bad at all.

Jymi’s Rating: 69%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

A collaboration is an exciting thing.  Not just in the beer world, of course.  When two well-known acts get together, there’s often a buzz around such an event.  We all know that on occasion, these coming togethers of well-known artists can bring great results. But, the flip side is also true.  The results can be disastrous.

Let’s be clear, both Thornbridge and Brew by Numbers know how to make beer.  Each brewery has an impressive back catalogue of very decent beers.  So, we should rightly be excited about this coming together.

Nine Two Seven is definitely not a disaster. Neither is it a flop.  And while it might not be greater than the sum of its parts, it is a decent drop.  Dominated by grapefruit, which could be a little more punchy, its main stand out feature is its refreshing quality.  

As a couple of side notes, I do rather like the London map that adorns the can.  And naming the beer after the year that England was established is quite a nice touch.  However, the overall theming of the beer doesn’t quite align all the way through.  

Still, I do reckon most folk would happily chug down a Nine Two Seven.

Sammy’s Rating: 77%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 73%

MOB review next weekend: SEVEN GIRAFFES by WILLIAMS BROS.

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023

KOBANYAI

BEER REVIEW: 307

BREWER: Dreher, Central Hungary, Hungary

STYLE: Lager

ABV: 4.3%

VESSEL: o.5l tin

DATE OF POST: 26th August 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Many of you will have come across a game named snog, marry, avoid.  For those of you who have not, the basic principles are as follows:

Player A picks three people, who may or may not be linked, can be famous, or just known to the players of the game.

Player B has to categorise each one of the three people into snog (you’d  choose to snog that person over the other two and have no more to do with them), marry (you choose to marry that person over the others in the category) or avoid (you’d choose to avoid that person over the others selected by player A).  Player B can choose whatever rationale they wish for their choices, from the grounded in sound rationale to the obscure.

Now, if we applied a similar game to beer and called it one-off, session, avoid, the principles would be as follows:

Player A picks three beers, that may or may not be linked.

Player B must categorise each one of the beers into one-off (the beer you’d pick over the others to have on a one-off occasion), session (the beer you’d pick to have during a session) or avoid (the beer you’d select to avoid out of the others offered by player A).

In most interactions of one-off, session, avoid, it’s likely Kóbányai would be the beer you’d (as player B) select to avoid.  That’s how bad it is.

End of.

Sammy’s Rating: 13%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

These are the power notes in my tasting book.

Very early sip just ok but that’s it.

It’s nothing.

No nose.

Zero flavour.

I think from this you can probably guess where I am with this beer. And other than disclosing that somehow, I actually like the terrible packaging, I have nothing more to say here.

Jymi’s Rating: 15%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 14%

MOB review next weekend: NINE TWO SEVEN by THORNBRIDGE (with Brew By Numbers)

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2023