Thanks, Honkman, for shedding light on the IBU in relation to ABV.
Mr. Happy, would love to drink all your juicy, hazy and awesome looking beers from the tap. I still haven’t been back to my regular pub since the first lockdown! Or I should stop buying beers from the bottle shops for a while first.
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I like creamy IPAs but I also like crisp, lip-smacking ones. Have been drinking too many creamy IPAs lately, now it seems harder to find the other kind.
Bloody 'Ell - Blood Orange IPA - Beavertown Brewery - London, UK. 5,5%
Supermarket beer, industrial craft beer, Beavertown is owned by Heineken.
Smells hoppy but not so much in the taste. Does not have a good blood orange taste and bitterness to it. Thin bodied, nothing in the finish. A disappointing IPA.
High Score - NEIPA - Van De Streek Brewery - Netherlands. 7% - Galaxy and Sabro
Quite fizzy. Juicy, ripe and tart tropical fruits, not too sweet. Low on the creaminess, a bit thin bodied. Decent NEIPA, but barely makes the standard.
Blueberry Chocolate Coffee & Vanilla Sour - Collective Arts / Stillwater Colab - Ontario, Canada/NY, US. 5,8%
What the hell am I thinking? Another “pastry sour”?
Pours a nice blueberry colour, swirling round like mud being stirred. Pleasantly tart, faint chocolate but I hardly detect coffee and vanilla. It’s probably just me but this is just a blueberry sour fruit drink and nothing more. Looks and smells very good, though.
I’ve only tried 2 pastry sours but I think it’s quite enough now.
Vanilla - Pillow Double Vanilla Strong Ale - Põhjala brewery - Estonia. 12,9%
Smooth and full-bodied. Sweet, dark chocolate, licorice, boozy. A heavy sipper. Over the top.
Maru - IIPA DIPA - Pühaste Brewery - Estonia. 8%
“Juicy, tropical and powerful double IPA, massively hopped with Southern Passion, Cashmere and Nelson Sauvin hops.”
A very good NEIPA despite Nelson Sauvin, which is not my favourite hop. The beer doesn’t always tastes like what it says on the can but this time it’s true. I buy Pühaste beers all the time, and they really make a lot of versions.
Gonzo Imperial Porter - Flying Dog - Maryland, US. 10%
Burnt toast, dark chocolate, coffee and some tobacco. Alcohol is subtle at 10%, lingering bitter finish.
Flying Dog has some of the best beers one can buy in supermarkets here. I like FD more than Stone.
Snake Dog IPA - Flying Dog - Maryland, US. 7,1%, 60 IBU
Colorado-style IPA. Crystal Malt, Warrior and Columbus hops, dry hopped with Columbus.
Not super bitter but tasty and refreshing nonetheless. A very drinkable IPA that’s readily available in a supermarket nearest to me.