BEER REVIEW: 72

BREWER: Davo Bieren, Overijssel, Netherlands

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 7.5%

VESSEL: 33cl brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 23rd February 2019

SAMMY SAY’S…

Davo – ridiculous name for a beer.

Davo – appalling packaging, into which no thought has been put.   Poor colour scheme that is very outdated.

Davo – pulls on the salvia glands and sucks the life out of them so that the mouth is left incredibly dry.

Davo – Sharp taste when drinking, which is like paint stripper for the tongue.

Davo – not too much going for it.

Davo – it’s not the beer for Samo!

Sammy’s Rating: 44%

JYMI SAY’S…

It’s hard to get excited about a beer that externally looks like it has been discarded at an inner city bus stop by a drunken old goat. But here we have it, the IPA from Davo Beiren staring at me, and I was definitely not excited to be on the brink of testing it, I can tell ye. The fact that this ale was 7.5%, along with the look of the bottle only added to my dread and took my thoughts back to the soppy goat that chucked his beer at the bus stop. I was not feeling this at all I have to say.

But, after a fair amount of staring back at Davo IPA from afar it was time to pull myself together and get on with the task in hand.

On closer inspection of the bottle the finer detail of the label was actually quite cool, bringing an almost North West African vibe to the table. But there was still no getting away from it, the packaging was shockingly unappealing. Look, there are plenty of beers out there with poor packaging that taste great and conversely there are some incredibly dressed up beers out there that just fail to deliver. But there is still no getting away from it, if the bottle looks bad the appeal to the drinker to drink it has to dip.

When at last pouring my D’IPA from its murky brown bottle into my freshly dishwashed then hand polished glass things began to look up and my excitement began to grow. The nose coming off from this brew was lovely. A real malty but citrus whiff made its way to me and suddenly dread was replaced with intrigue. The look of this beer in the glass was also a delight which helped morale even further.

Now the drinking of this ale was actually very pleasant, a citrus yet malty taste as you would expect from an IPA. There was also bags of carbonation but somehow Davo remained smooth enough when chugging down. So I’ll state now that I enjoyed the taste of this IPA, the only trouble is THIS IS NOT AN IPA. Where did the hops go? There is literally no hop tone to this beer at all.

Pleasant. Disappointing. Fraudulent.

Jymi’s Rating: 60%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 52% 

MOB review next weekend: KAPER by BROUWERIJ HOOP

MUSE ON BOOZE

BEER REVIEW: 71

BREWER: Cocksure Brewing Company, Bristol, England

STYLE: IPA

ABV: 5.2%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 16th February 2019

JYMI SAY’S…

To say the testing of this IPA has been eventful is an understatement…

It all began back on the thirteenth day of December last year when my infinitely better half returned from Bath Christmas market with a couple of Bear Cubs in tow for Sammy and I to review. What a lovely thing thought I (my wife, the gesture and the look of the beer in equal measure). Little was I to know at the time the events that would unfold when it came to testing this bear of a beer.

Fast forward to last week and I received a message from Sammy..

“Have you tested Bear Cub yet”?

“No man, got it locked in to do in a couple of days, why’s that”?

“Just be careful when opening her, shes lively”!

“Thanks for the warning son, what you up to this weekend”? ….hang on , you don’t need know the whole convo do you.

So, a couple of days later after evacuating the kitchen of family and pets, I donned my snorkel, chest mounted vertical umbrella and marigolds and went to crack open the bottle…

Nothing, not even a pssst, let alone the amber tsunami I was warned of . Curious I thought, most curious.
I then noticed that there was quite a lot of sludgy peat inside the bottle cap. Most, most curious.

Unperturbed, I poured my Bear Cub IPA into a glass and went about my testing business. Now, this is where things began to get difficult, I ABSOLUTELY HATED IT. My thoughts then turned to whether this was a bad bottle. I continued with the test and it didn’t necessarily taste like it had gone bad, just a taste that was not for me. But one thing was for sure, I ABSOLUTELY HATED IT, and scored it accordingly.

The next day the ol’ brain started spluttering into action like starting a diesel engine in subzero temperatures. I thought to myself, “what if it was a wrongun, what if this is actually a genuinely good IPA that I’m about to crucify because it had gone bad for whatever reason”?

I had to give this Bear Cub a second chance.

Now, with this not being a beer that you can just grab off a supermarket shelf it meant I had to do some work to get my hands on another bottle. My first stop was to contact New Bristol Brewery. I was informed by them that they no longer brewed this beer and had in fact sold the recipe to Cocksure Brewing Company. Curious I thought, most curious. Next stop was a call to Cocksure to request a bottle. I was informed by them that they currently had none in stock and that all the bottles they had had gone off to Palmer Street Bottle whom the beer had been exclusively brewed for in the first place. So, the next stop was to contact PSB via the frankly neolithic form of TEXT. After some toing and froing eventually a fresh bottle of Bear Cub was on it’s way to MOBHQ.

And once I had returned from work in the early hours of this morning, I again donned my snorkel, umbrella and gloves and got ready to open BCIPA once more.

PLEASE , AFTER ALL THIS, BE GOOD, thought I…

Well… was it?

Yes, yes it was! As soon as I lifted the lid on this second attempt I instantly knew things were different. Though there wasn’t the explosion I was expecting (leaving me feeling slightly foolish in my get up) there was certainly action from the beer. The nose was sublime, full of spicy floral waves with a good hoppy undertone. And the taste was crazy refreshing with spicy yet floral notes up front (as promised by the bottle) and a light hoppy citrus finish. Good. GOOOOD.

I’m so glad I went back for a second try at this IPA. The beer nose knew something was up with bottle one and I knew to trust that hooter. Thanks has to go out to Palmer Street Bottle for getting the replacement bottle to me in good time as well.

Here endeth the tale of Jymi and the Bear Cub.

Jymi’s Rating: 76%

SAMMY SAY’S…

Sammy’s Rating: 83%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 79.5% 

MOB review next weekend: DAVO IPA by DAVO BIEREN

MUSE ON BOOZE

BEER REVIEW: 70

BREWER: Badger Brewery (Hall & Woodhouse), Dorset, England

STYLE: Golden Ale

ABV: 5%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 9th February 2019

JYMI SAY’S…

So, at work yesterday lunchtime two thoughts crossed my mind. First thought was that I was glad it was Friday and was looking forward to getting home and cracking open a Tangle Foot to review. My second thought was how belly up my day was going making the first thought more and more unlikely to happen as the clock was ticking. By the time 10pm had been and gone I said to myself that if I was home before midnight I’d still test as had the day off today. But if it was gone 00:00 then it would be straight to bed. As I pulled off the motorway (which is 15 mins from my house) at 23:45 some sort of panic rush set in. There was no way I wasn’t testing tonight I said to myself but if I got in after the midnight hour I wouldn’t be able to as… zee rules are zee rules. 

After a couple of cruel red lights and getting my lower left limb caught up in the hosepipe that had been left out in the driveway I hate to say… I got in at 00:02 and went straight to bed.

Ok, I’m sorry, that story was a lie. A real porky pie. And the reason I’ve taking you down this murky road of non-truth is the reason Tangle Foot was supposedly named Tangle Foot. Because apparently, whatever Woodhouse was in charge of naming this beer at the time, got his foot tangled in his dogs lead as he arrived home to name the beer. Sorry, not having it, that is a lie*. Stinks of it..

While we’re talking of stink, how was the nose on TF… not great to be honest, pretty average.

Taste? Errr, yeah fine, not bad, middle of the road, pretty average really.

Packaging? Errr, yeah it’s alright for what… HOLD UP.

We’ve been here before haven’t we?

This is a Badger Beer we’re dealing with isn’t it?

Not bad. Not great. Average. Simple as that.

*please H&W, if this is in fact true can you not sue us for libel. The mortgage on the house in the Hollywood Hills is already crippling us. Thanks.

Jymi’s Rating: 60%

SAMMY SAY’S…

Let me start by saying that I really like the name Tangle Foot.  I mean, I don’t like it enough to name one of my children after, but I certainly like it enough to name some sort of dancing superhero after*.

However long I could muse on the great name, I need to get down to the crux of the matter – Tangle Foot the beer from Badger Brewery.

To start with, it has great colour and it looks appealing in the bottle.  Badger are great at adding some points of interest to their labels, both in terms of design as well as little nuggets of information.  Tangle Foot is no disappointment in this regard.

The promised nose of fruity with cereal notes is nearly an accurate description (from the bottle itself).  There are definite citrus hints but the earthy undertone detract a little from the promised potential.  Then we have the drinking…it is very shallow in flavour.  And although the flavour is pleasant enough, there’s just very little kick to it.  For some that works, but it doesn’t cut the mustard for us Musers on Booze and the spicy overtones (again as described on the bottle) are so hard to find that you might well be onto your 4^th Tangle Foot by the time you think you have found them…

Oh well…there’s always next week…

*Tales of Tangle Foot yet to be written by Muse on Booze

Sammy’s Rating: 65%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 62.5%

MOB review next weekend: BEAR CUB by COCKSURE BREWING COMPANY

MUSE ON BOOZE

BEER REVIEW: 69

BREWER: Brouwerij Bliksem, North Brabant, Netherlands

STYLE: Black IPA

ABV: 7.1%

VESSEL: 33cl brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 1st February 2019

SAMMY SAY’S…

Kermis in De Ale is very very dark, just as it says on the bottle.  It looks like a stout once in the glass, a cousin of a stout if you will.  

The aromas are mainly earthy, sweet and nutty.  The best comparison I can think of is like a forest floor after rain. And if you’re wondering whether or not I like the smell of a forest floor after rain – I do.

The colour of Kermis and the smell don’t quite marry up.  They are not happy bed friends.  They are jarring with one another and it’s a combination that is slightly unnerving.  Nobody wants an unnerving combination with their beer.  At least, I don’t.

The mismatch continues into the taste.  There are sweet beginnings with a bitter liquorice aftertaste.  While it’s not altogether undrinkable, it’s a little odd and very uninspiring.  

Kermis, to summarise, is an odd concept of a beer, which will without doubt have it’s fans.  I’m just not one of them.  

That’s not to say it’s not worth a try though.  

Sammy’s Rating: 60%

JYMI SAY’S…

I’m not overly sure what the marketing team over at Bliksem were up to with the labelling of KIDA…

Was it, let’s make it neon pink to really stand out from the crowd?

Was it, let’s make the font so pointy that the crowd in the beer aisle may trip over it?

Either way, for MOBJymi this is an absolute disaster when it comes to the look of a beer bottle. Don’t get me wrong though, it has intrigued me no end. Add in the fact I’ve never had a Black IPA before and the intrigue grows higher. But from a visual alone I have to say this is not a good start for this Ale in Pink…

However once the lid was off and my hooter got round it things began to look up.. The chocolate / coffee / nutty nose brought forward what could only be described as a stout / porter / IPA hybrid thought. Possibly not surprising seeing as it’s described as a Black IPA. And in the drinking of Kermis In De Ale the nose most certainly transferred to the taste. A very smooth coffeesque (I put it to you to spell coffeesque correctly!!) IPA. Pretty good you know. The fact that this little tiger is 7.1% actually passed me by. It certainly tastes strong, but not THAT strong.

In conclusion KIDA looks s#*t, smells fantastic and tastes… good.

Jymi’s Rating: 64%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 62% 

MOB review next weekend: TANGLE FOOT by BADGER

MUSE ON BOOZE

BEER REVIEW: 68

BREWER: Morland, Oxfordshire, England

STYLE: Premium Bitter 

ABV: 5%

VESSEL: 500ml clear bottle

DATE POSTED: 25th January 2019

SAMMY SAY’S…

The name Old Speckled Hen conjures up images of a farmer’s favourite feathered friend.  Or maybe it’s more aligned to a legendary bird that’s tale is passed on from generation to generation as families are huddled around a roaring fire.  Either way, it’s a good name for a beer and sits well in Morland’s theme where they play on the Hen name.  I imagine that there are fans out there who have lovingly shortened the name to Old Spec, which accentuates the two scenarios previously mentioned to a greater degree.

What needs to be established is whether or not the beer lives up to the name…

In short, it does not. 

Old Speckled Hen is by no means bad.  It’s just very average.  It excels in no area.  While I would never turn my nose up at it if it were the only beverage on offer, equally, I would very rarely reach for it if other beers were available. 

In the drinking, it’s fairly light and is ok in the mouth.  It really lacks punch or bite in the flavour department.  You’re left in no doubt that it’s a traditional bitter.  But dare I say it, it lacks character.  There is no USP in the drinking of Old Speckled Hen.

At the risk of offending many consumers of this well established ale, I would seek refreshment elsewhere if possible.

Sammy’s Rating: 66%

JYMI SAY’S…

For those of you that read my review of Old Crafty Hen back on the 16^th February last year you’ll know my feelings towards Morland’s packaging of their “hens”.

For those of you that didn’t read my review of Old Crafty Hen  last year I think Morland’s packaging of their “hens” is terrible.

However, there are two things that help out Old Speckled externally… This bottle is iconic. It’s their flagship. It’s the pioneering hen. This doesn’t improve the look but does make it easier to bear. Also the name in isolation away from the brood of other hens is a cracker. Especially as, unlike the others, Old Speckled Hen isn’t named after a female chicken at all but a bleedin’ motor!! This information comes via our 500ml vessel’s label as well as what food would pair well with OSH. And for that Morland, I thank you.

We are also told by our brewer that this is a rich and distinctive fine ale.

Well let’s find out if it is shall we…

Errrrr, yes it is!

Rich – yes without doubt, it’s oozing toffee and caramel from nose to taste.

Distinctive – now this is a bold claim in the world of a million beers but you know what, I think it is distinctive. I’d like to think that if I didn’t know I was drinking Old Speckled Hen I would know I was drinking Old Speckled Hen if you know what mean?

Fine – It most certainly is. OSH is smooth as you like and has the air of settling in for a long session whatever the weather, shooting the breeze with chums in a cosy pub.

All in all Old Speckled Hen, though not joining the elite, is a great and iconic everyday beer.

But you probably knew that already didn’t you.

Jymi’s Rating: 74%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 70% 

MOB review next weekend: KERMIS IN DE ALE by BROUWERIJ BLIKSEM

MUSE ON BOOZE

BEER REVIEW: 67

BREWER: West Berkshire Brewery, Berkshire, England 

STYLE: Best Bitter 

ABV: 4%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 18th January 2019

SAMMY SAY’S…

There’s nothing quite like an old pair of slippers.  They’re homely, comforting and they always make you feel that little bit better. They keep you grounded and you know exactly where you stand with them (no pun intended).  And the things that would ordinarily bother you with aged clothing, such as a slightly off putting aroma, well, you can turn a blind eye to with such faithful footwear.  

Good Old Boy is exactly like the aforementioned old pair of slippers.  The packaging is very old school – and in this case it is pulled off with aplomb.  It doesn’t feel out of place; it feels perfect for the product.

Ok, the nose, just like old slippers, could be better but there are hints of caramel and burnt chocolate.  But this is a best bitter we are talking about here.  Just like those slippers, once you are fully immersed in Good Old Boy all it’s strengths shine through.  It’s light and refreshing and oodles smoothness.  The after-taste is very short, which isn’t a bad thing.  

Although this is a cracking winter (or all year to be fair) ale, it lacks a little bit of weight in its flavour.  So although it is exactly like a pair of old slippers, it’s not like your favourite old slippers.  

However, get yourself tucked into one of these and you’ll feel very at home and very happy.

Sammy’s Rating: 77%

JYMI SAY’S…

Good Old Boy.

Great Old Boy.

Flippin’ Excellent Old Boy.

Guess which one of the above best describes Good Old Boy? I’ll give you clue… It’s not Good Old Boy.

Confused? Yeah, so am I… But this beer from start to finish is most definitely not.

The packaging though not striking in any way is nigh on perfect. From font, to colour to ratios this is just a fantastic looking bottle of best.

The nose gives off that most delicate but lively scent of… about to have a decent pint.

The smoothness and lightness of this brew is just exceptional. Every single sip just glides down like Alberto Tomba on his way to Gold /  the bar at the bottom of the slope.

And the taste, the taste is just superb. Of course the flavours of GOB are more suited to the country pubs of the home counties of England rather than the pre, mid or après ski bars of Piz Bernina but nonetheless… It tastes FANTASTIC.

A job mightily well done West Berkshire Brewery.

Jymi’s Rating: 83%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 80%

 MOB review next weekend: OLD SPECKLED HEN by MORLAND

MUSE ON BOOZE 

BEER REVIEW: 66

BREWER: Electric Bear Brewing Co., Somerset, England

STYLE: Porter

ABV: 4.7%

VESSEL: 440ml tin

DATE POSTED: 11th January 2019

JYMI SAY’S…

Sip 1: Huge taste explosion in mouth, missed every flavour that hit me due to the shock to the taste buds. Other stuff went on too but was left in such a state of wonder nothing registered.

Sip 2: Taste explosion again! And again missed everything else! Come on Jymi, you can do this man…

Sip 3: Less of an explosion but still a huge hit of flavour. Chocolate smacks for sure with cherry notes and as promised from the back of the tin a kind of biscuit tone. Then I noticed the switch in intensity of the flavour… then I quickly went in for my 4^th sip.

Sip 4: Same hit of flavour as Sip 3 but my mind was now focused on this switch of flavour intensity after about 2 seconds.. and there it was. Inspector Remorse (hats off to which Electric Bear came up with that name!) goes from full on Chocolate attack up front to this mellow beautiful biscuit and coffee delight. And it was only after sip four that I suddenly picked IR’s sublime finale…

Sip 5: Initial sip intensity had dropped actually (though still delicious) but whatever, I WANT TO GET TO THE SUBLIME FINALE! The aftertaste of Inspector Remorse seems to be this infinite yet ever fading sort of coffee with cream heaven. INCREDIBLE.. I’m going again….

Sip 6: Same as five.

Sip 7: Same as six.

Done.

This is just a fantastic work of art, and I’m not even talking about the can.

Case Closed.

Jymi’s Rating: 86%

SAMMY SAY’S…

First up, what a fantastic name for a porter, which is backed up by great packaging.  Who couldn’t help but love the name Inspector Remorse?  It’s unique and Electric Bear Brewing Co. has done a phenomenal job on the marketing front with this porter.  It really moves away from the typical image of old-fashioned beer and this modern, craft revamp of a traditional beer is exciting.  We all know there are traditionalists out there who will turn their nose up at this, but the fact is that there is room for both modern and tradition in the market place.  There’s no doubt that Inspector Remorse is aimed at the craft market. 

Let’s hope then, that this porter is as strong on the inside as it is on the outside.

The nose gives us the first insight into the ‘inside’.  There are the exact notes that one would expect from a porter, with malted barley front stage, chocolate stage right and biscuit stage left.  It’s a reassuring aroma and gives a strong hint to a great drinking experience.

Inspector Remorse is a great porter to drink.  It ticks all of the boxes.  It’s very light but has strong up front flavours of dark chocolate, that are supported by short bitter after notes.  All in all, it is a very well balanced porter and highlights that Electric Bear Brewing Co. really do know how to brew.  The mouth feel is perfect.  All of this leads to a very easy drinking experience and a porter that is actually incredibly refreshing.

It’s all very well having unique, bold packaging but that needs to be backed by a great product.  And that is exactly what we have in Inspector Remorse.  It’s got everything going for it.  If you’ve never tried a porter before, this is your way in…

Sammy’s Rating: 90%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 88% 

MOB review next weekend: GOOD OLD BOY by WEST BERKSHIRE BREWERY

MUSE ON BOOZE

BEER REVIEW: 65

BREWER: Uiltje Brewing Co., North Holland, Netherlands

STYLE: American Black Ale

ABV: 5.5%

VESSEL: 330ml brown bottle 

DATE POSTED: 4th January 2019

JYMI SAY’S…

The aviarian eyed of you will have noticed that the packaging for this American Black Ale is centred around a cartoon. The cartoon’s dialogue is between two curious looking chickens discussing Sir Turnaround and it goes a little something like this…. In fact it goes exactly like this…..

‘What a klutz’!

‘What a goof’!

‘Nah, he’s just playing mind games with you’.

‘What do you mean’?

‘He looks dark and toasty, but he actually flies like a butterfly’.

‘Huh’?

‘He hops like an IPA’.

‘By God that’s genius…. Any drinking tips’?

‘No flashlights, no strobe lights, no sunlight. Drink fresh or keep dark and cool’.

What an incredibly innovative way to describe the experience you should get from a beer and what the characteristics of this ABA actually are… my only issue is, it looks terrible!. Don’t get me wrong, marks are certainly being awarded for the innovation here but when it comes to the look of the packaging I’m really not being so generous. The colours are terrible and the fact you can’t really see the name of the beer without turning the bottle is pretty irritating. I love and admire what Uiltje have attempted, it’s just not worked out.

Nose is of burnt caramel which should be a huge highlight but because it’s a bit thin only comes out as pleasant enough. This pretty much carries on into the ‘sip n swallow experience’…. A huge plus is that there is plenty of flavour up front, again of burnt caramel, but the body is so thin it just disappears into a large disappointment. Then come’s a very bitter almost acrid aftertaste. Oh dear. None of the above is helped by the fact that the whole beer seems to be over carbonated.   

However, in conclusion I’m actually going to finish on a high! With a bit more care, attention and thought all the way through from packaging to body to carbonation, this could actually be a really good beer.

Idea…Good.

Execution…Meh, not so good.

Jymi’s Rating: 52%

SAMMY SAY’S…

Sir Turnaround is a fantastic name for this beer.  The unique way of presenting the story on the label works to a degree. Many would like it.  The USP is clear: it’s a dark beer that isn’t heavy. It’s obvious that even before you get into this beer you know what you should be experiencing.  However, I am going to state that I do not like the gimmicky cartoon.  And chickens? Why chickens? Talking chickens?  What do chickens know about beer?  I must be missing something (I mean to cause no offence to the poultry world).  It somehow makes the beer feel cheap.  But hey…what do I know?

In the glass, the nose doesn’t give the impression of a light beer.  In fact, it backs up the colour, which is very, very dark. Once on the palate, it’s like you are dealing with a lighter coloured beer, as promised by the chickens on the label. The thing is, it is not great. There’s very little to the taste and when I drink it, I find myself searching and waiting for the flavour to deliver…and it just doesn’t.  Nothing comes through.  There is no follow up.  The initial sip is the best you’ll get. It has very little body to it, so you’d be able to happily throw a couple of them back, and that’s about as good as it gets. 

Chickens, you are definitely not beer experts.  Stick to laying eggs. 

Sammy’s Rating: 53%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 52.5% 

MOB review next weekend: INSPECTOR REMORSE by ELECTRIC BEAR BREWING CO.

MUSE ON BOOZE

BEER REVIEW: 64

BREWER: Thornbridge, Derbyshire, England

STYLE: Coconut Chocolate Porter

ABV: 5.5%

VESSEL: 330ml brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 29th December 2018

JYMI SAY’S…

Now, I’ve had a fair few Thornbridge brews over the last year or so and I have to say they have always delivered and I’ve not yet been disappointed… taste wise that is.

Packaging wise I’ve been disappointed Every. Single. Time.

The whole labelling concept looks flippin’ terrible. It’s not that it’s unappealing and not eye-catching, it’s just s#*t.

The only saving grace for Coco Cocoa’s look is that the pink label is very striking but with one teeny eye movement you’re back to the tacky, crappy and unnecessarily sparkly gold upper label.

Anyway, let’s get to the beer itself.. As I’ve already mentioned this Derbyshire brewery have yet to let me down. I’m especially looking forward to this as knowing that I’m a coconut super fan (if done correctly) and knowing that Thornbridge have never let me down, I could be in for a real treat.

Bottle cracked and poured, what’s the whiff like?

Average…

And so to the taste…

Now what I really wanted was a well brewed, soft velvet smooth porter with hints of chocolate and coconut.  And I have to say team Thornbridge nailed it!!

The only trouble is…. I didn’t like it.

I really thought the coconut flavour was going to work here as long as it was just a hint… and it was just a hint. But it didn’t work. For me anyway it tasted like a Piz Buin cocktail…and that’s that.

Jymi’s Rating: 50%

SAMMY SAY’S…

Sammy’s Rating: 58%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 54% 

MOB review next weekend: SIR TURNAROUND by UILTJE BREWING CO.

 MUSE ON BOOZE

BEER REVIEW: 63

BREWER: Black Isle Brewing Co., Highlands, Scotland

STYLE: Porter

ABV: 4.6%

VESSEL: 330ml brown bottle

DATE POSTED: 21st December 2018

JYMI SAY’S…

Errrrmmm, Well….

Errrrrrm….

Where do you start with something that is great but isn’t actually great?

Leicester City 2015-16

Philadelphia Eagles 2017-18

Wimbledon FC 1998

Chicago Cubs 2016

Chatauenauf du Pape 2002

I really can’t put my finger on just what is going on with Black Isle Organic Porter I have to say.

The packaging and name probably took a combined 7 seconds to come up with. The nose though not at all unpleasant really isn’t doing much. And the flavour and taste impact barely register on the palate.

BUT,

BIOP is good, in fact it’s verging on great! How, how is this possible? I hear you all cry from your pre Christmas drunken parties / sofas.

Well, let’s start with how smooth this beer is. It’s smooth let me tell you. Like, crazy ridiculous smooth as silk smooth. With this comes lightness with the body too, normally something that you would not necessarily associate with the super dark beers, but it works. Then for all the lack of flavour there are tiny little hints of liquorice and coffee.

On paper this just doesn’t work as a Porter, but in glass and gob it most certainly does.

Somehow… very well done!

Jymi’s Rating: 77%

SAMMY SAY’S…

So…let us step into the world of porter with Black Isle Organic Porter, which comes from the Scottish Highlands and is brewed in small batches. 

I don’t think anyone could claim that this would jump off of the shelf and grab you by your senses and scream buy me.  Black Isle Porter is very understated in it’s appearance.  However, I like the way it’s very clearly linked to it’s Scottish beginnings and there is no doubting that what’s on the inside is a dark ale.

Some stouts have a strong aroma, which vary in their pleasantness.  This porter is actually very light on the nose, and while it’s quite pleasant, it just doesn’t pack a hearty wintery punch.  But that all changes when you take your first sip when you are warmed by the light bitter malts, which are exactly what you want from a porter.  The small batch brewing really does work with Black Isle Porter and it’s balanced incredibly well, with just the right amount of what you want that clears the palate in good time.

And another thing – it’s incredibly smooth, which really works with this porter.  The smoothness supports the balance of flavour and gives a great mouth feel.

We’ve got a great porter on our hands here.  Lovely job.

Sammy’s Rating: 82%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 79.5% 

MOB review next weekend: COCO COCOA by THORNBRIDGE

MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL FROM MUSE ON BOOZE xxx