Beer in Cans: Reviews for Friends, Honest!

I've been asked my opinion of these 2 beers, the first, presumably, for possible addition to the crafty keg beers they sell, the other an alcohol-free/very low alcohol alternative, maybe Wingman too. 😏 Wingman, a 'Session IPA' (4.3%), is brewed by the near legendary Scottish brewery Brewdog (website). This is a pale golden ale, it was pretty clear, but I did pour carefully, and I think there was maybe wee remnants in the bottom of the can when I rinsed it for recycling!

Wingman is pretty much an APA style IPA, that is bursting with pine and tropical and citrus fruit aromas, unsurprising as the hops used from the USA are Simcoe (hopslist), Ahtanum (hopslist), Chinook (hopslist), Citra (hopslist), Mosaic (hopslist), and HBC692 (Yakima Chief)! Big body and flavour too, hint of pine, with plenty of grapefruit, peach and mango, and a nice dry bitter finish. Pretty damn good, oh yes, as hinted at, you can get it low alcohol too (0.5%).

The specifically 'alcohol free' beer is from the North London brewer of the ubiquitous Neck Oil, Beavertown (website), and their 0.3% Lazer Crush. However, Lazer Crush is not brewed in London, but is brewed for them in Belgium by De Proefbrouwerij (website), who apparently brew many alcohol free beers for a number of other breweries too! 

As you can see, Lazer Crush is paler than the Wingman, slightly hazier, but similar in aromas and taste, just, unsurprisingly, a bit thin, lacking body. More citrus than forest fruits in the aroma, but plenty of grapefruit, some orange, and hints of melon and mango in the taste, thanks to the use of Azacca (hopslist), Amarillo (hopslist) and Citra hops (hopslist). So a bit more citrus flavours than the Wingman, but I did notice less body, despite the big hoppy additions, though it was very crisp and refreshing, not bad at all, cheers! 👍

Aah... Memories of when you could get Brewdog ales in cask...

I Celebrated Beer Day Britain, Cheers!

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So, I had to celebrate Beer Day Britain yesterday (blog), obviously, and partook of my ales at my local, The Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW (website). I mostly drank, from Sheffield based Blue Bee Brewery (website), their 5.0% Citra Azacca, and quite a big ale too. Golden, with the 2 types of hops used, obviously, Citra and Azacca. The Citra hop (USA) has a complex lineage, including Hallertau Mittelfruh, Tettnanger, Brewers Gold and East Kent Golding, and provides 'citrus, grapefruit, lime, and tropical fruits' flavours (hopslist).

The Azacca hop (USA) lineage includes Toyomidori, Summit and Northern Brewer, and produces citrus and tropical fruits aroma, and 'mango, pineapple, tangerine and pine' flavours (hopslist). This is an APA style beer, a fair amount of body, big fruity aroma and drying bitter finish. I noted mango with the forest fruit aroma and flavour, and very much citrus in aroma and flavour. Nice brew Peter (Blue Bee), cheers mate! 👍

The Dolphin has 6 cask ales available from handpumps, 3 regulars, Harvey's Sussex Best, Young's Special and Dark Star Hophead, and 3 guests, which yesterday included the Blue Bee Citra Azacca, Marston's Pedigree, and from Kent Brewery (website), their 4.5% single-hopped Hallertau Blanc. The Hallertau Blanc hop (Germany) lineage is Cascade, and was established in the Hallertau region of Germany early this century, with 'cassis, elderflower, grapes, grapefruit and lemongrass' in the aroma, and white wine and gooseberry in the taste (hopslist). I'm not a great aficionado when it comes to tasting, but 'hit the nail on the head' this time as my notes suggest similar to a dry white wine, and it is pale and dry, with a bitter finish, not the enormous fruit aroma and flavours of the Citra Azacca, but much more subtle, as hopslist suggests, and the pumpclip, wine-like qualities 'similar to Sauvignon Blanc.' Another very nice one, cheers! 😁

#BeerDayBritain 

Return to Rye Waterworks...

Well, I didn't walk there and back this time, indeed, a quiet Friday and it seemed a good time to catch the train back to Rye (£6.30 cheap day return from Hastings, not bad) and revisit the Rye Waterworks micropub (facebook) on the corner of Tower Street and Rope Walk, TN31 7AT. Not much more work on the building to do for David now, I imagine, just the usual upkeep, and no doubt he has many small alterations he wants to make here and there! Anyway, I wrote about the history of this lovely cool wee building before, so, if you haven't already read it I suggest you go to my previous blog, cheers!

This was the array of beers and ciders I was presented with even before entering the building, so a good time to talk about what I had to drink, regular readers will know I prefer pale hoppy ales, but, as you can see, there is a good variety of traditional bitters, darker ales, and ciders too. I went for 3 of the ales again on this visit... From Hopfuzz of West Hythe (website), and remember, David sources his beers from a 20 mile radius of Rye, I began with their 3.6% Fallout, a golden session bitter, with a slight maltiness and hints of fruits, starting off with a sweetness to the taste, but a nice bitter finish. Not a bad start at all...

Then I moved on to the stronger ale from Romney of New Romney (website), their 5% American Pale, slightly darker golden/amber, does what it says on the label, apparently using American hops that may change between brews, eg they have so far used Azacca, Citra, Summit and Simcoe hops in their brews. I'm guessing they hadn't used Citra in this brew, at least I didn't detect any hints, this ale had much more body, as you'd expect, a little bit too sweet for me at first taste, but certainly dries out with a nice bitter finish, getting there...

Before I go on to the third ale of the day I'll quickly mention that David is now providing local gins for customers too, a selection of which arrived just after I wandered in; and included Tom Cat Dry Sussex Gin (website), Chapel Down Bacchus Gin (website), and Mayfield Sussex Hop Gin (website). I'm also aware that David is also seeking out local producers of perry, indeed, as I write, so there's even more to look forward to...

Oh! And remember that I told you in my previous blog that, basically, if it's not nailed down, all the furniture and curios at Rye Waterworks are for sale, consequently every time you visit you are likely to be witnessing a slightly different micropub. See the image below for a comparison from the last time I visited, similar view/different furniture.

Oh yes, and my final ale, well actually I had more than just the one pint of it, but I do like their regular pale session bitter, from The Three Legs of Broad Oak (website), that is the 3.7% Pale. I haven't written much different in my notes this time: "pale golden, lovely, dry and bitter, fruity aroma and taste, very nice!" And with a smiley face too 😊

Anything else to add? Well I ate one of their locally produced (that morning!) Scotch Eggs (please look away of you're vegetarian), it was nice, tasty and large, and served up with English Mustard and/or a very locally produced spicy chutney, indeed, made by David's next door neighbour I seem to remember him saying, both Scotch Egg and Chutney were quite delicious!

I must have enjoyed myself, because I stayed for a few hours, cool inside on a hot day, nice ale and food, and plenty of pleasant company and dscourse...

Finally, for today, David told me that, due to the huge number of charities that keep asking for support or wanting him to display their collection boxes, he has chosen just the one local charity as the defined charity of Rye Waterworks, ie Little Gate Farm (website), which "helps adults and children with Learning Disabilities and Autism." Nice one, cheers again David!