Posted on 19/05/22
This week, Verdant’s Allen returned, Beak released an exquisite new Pale Ale, and there’s a new 7% Crème Brûlée Stout to check out that’s only £4.50 a can!
The headline this week though?
Some epic new Belgian lambics. That just became a lot more affordable. Check these out…
I’ve wanted to try the Belgian lambics from 3 Fonteinen and Tilquin for a hell of a long time now. But cause they cost as much as £49 for a sharing bottle, I’ve never been able to. This week though, I spotted them in smaller, 375ml bottles… and I had to scoop some up.
This is specialist brewing. With Belgian lambics, as you probably know, wort is left to ferment with wild yeasts, then aged in barrels to develop for as long as three years – where completely unique flavours develop levels of complexity few beers ever reach.
Even the 375ml bottles aren’t cheap. But they are just about within reach. Tilquin’s Oude Gueuze Tilquin à l’Ancienne is now £7.90. 3 Fonteinen’s Oude Geuze is £8.65. Well worth it.
And the 3 Fonteinen Framboos that costs £49 a 750ml bottle?
You can get a 375ml bottle for £21.30 – for a special occasion.
Back on familiar terrain, Verdant’s Allen DIPA is back, and is as thick a serving of tropical goodness as it’s ever been.
For those yet to get themselves a can, here you have a winning four-hop mega combo of Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin, which all combine for a tropical fruit salad drizzled with a final squeeze of tangerine. Outstanding.
I was once again blown away by the new haul from Beak this week, so much so that we’re holding a tap takeover in our Brixton Arch this Thursday.
Colour Pale Ale, in particular, is bonkers. It’s soft, velvety and cloud-like, and delivers gentle waves of peach, pineapple and gooseberry – and it’s only £4.65 a can!
There’s a reason we’ve blown through two kegs in store already. Get involved!
Elsewhere, Baron continued to redefine the playbook this week; you just will not regret cracking a can of Slim Pickings IPA.
Wheat, oats, cara-pils and extra pale malt make for fluffy goodness. But it’s really all about the hop combo of Mosaic and then the Australian hop Ella, which make for dank decadence topped with fresh grapefruit juice.
Immense!
We missed this year’s Burning Sky’s Saison Printemps on keg this week, which goes to show how popular this little gem has become, but we did manage to get hold of a small selection in cans!
For me, this marks the arrival of summer.
Blended with barrel aged beer, it’s light, floral and refreshing, but complex enough to steal your attention. Immense.
Next up, New Bristol Brewery’s Pale Lager is crisp, lemony and floral, making it once again perfect to enjoy in the sun.
There’s a subtle sweetness on the finish that marks this out. Get one or two for sunny summer nights.
(While I’m on the subject Howling Hops’ Gran Paradiso Italian Pils is made for summer too!)
For those after a bit of sour heft, there’s Pastore’s Crostata Al Limone Pastry Sour, conditioned on Sicilian lemons and vanilla.
This is a beer that has my mouth watering as I write: zesty, zingy, face-puckering lemon up front, expertly balanced by a crumbly, soft and sweet vanilla meringue finish.
Savour this – it deserves respect!
It’s still a case of quality over quantity on the dark front given the time of year, and when I say quality I mean quality.
Kees Brewery’s Barrel Project Jim Beam 2022 Rye Barley Wine is aged for 16 months in Jim Beam rye whiskey barrels, and is the latest in Kees’ outstanding series. Expect sweet toffee and creamy butterscotch.
This one’s for when the sun goes down.
Elsewhere, the beauty of New Bristol’s Crème Brûlée Stout is apparent in the name!
It’s like a vanilla custard biscuit dipped in custard and topped with mountains of blowtorched brown sugar… for just £4.50 a can, you cannot go wrong!
New Bristol Brewery round off the darks this week with the spicy, caramel-tinged Bristolian Rhapsody ESB, and there’s more boundary-pushing madness on offer from Holy Goat in Crimson Void BA Blended Flanders Red and the Dragonfruit and Lime Dragonaut Tropical Sour – Holy Goat are serious brewers who brew some ludicrous beers.
We actually got a couple craft ciders in this week in the down-the-line Pilot Sparkling Session Cider by Ascension and Per Sparkling Apple & Pear Wild Cider. It is summer, after all!
Duration and Burnt Mill stepped up to the West Coast plate with Small Town, Big Dreams West Coast Pale, Sureshot unleashed yet more brilliance with Incredible NEIPA and You Don’t Win Friends With Salad Pale Ale, Verdant weighed in with more Marylou, more Neal, more Headband and more, and Beak backed up Colour Pale Ale with Straws and Stem IPA.
And finally, while it’s sunny, be sure to check out this Aranciata Rossa 2.5% Blood Orange Sour from Pastore – refreshment canned.
As always, I really hope you get to try some of these outstanding beers this week.
Cheers and happy drinking!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
