Posted on 29/09/22
What a treat of a new beers list I have for you this week!
Rare and limited bottles of the UK’s highest rated beer, absurd, cake-themed stouts, and hops a plenty, as per usual.
And of course, Oktoberfest is here! So read on. These are the cream of the crop just out this week…
There really is nowhere else to start this week other than the epic Good King Henry 2020 Reserve. What a beer.
Of just 900 out there in the wild we snagged 10 just for you on a first come, one-per-order basis.
This boasts the insane rating of 4.61 on Untappd. Is it up to that accolade? I’ll let you decide but I found it an absolute pleasure to drink. It’s got hints of smoke, raisin, dark burnt chocolate and maple. Although not as thick as more typical imperials these days, the smoothness in the mouth is glorious.
All in all a brilliant brew and a beer hunter’s must-have. If you want one don’t snooze!
Another week where it’s all too apparent this is a hobby rather than a job; over-ordering all the good stuff so you can bathe in hops. I’m an unsung hero and all that, I know.
There’s way more than I could fit on one image but beeline for the latest Track DIPA Lost in Motion. Not a gold top but as creamy and oaty and smooth as you like, with oodles of soupy goodness from the “mash hop” of Idaho, Citra, Incognito and lesser known T90 & Spectrum varieties.
Probably my fav of the week.
There’s also four new Barons to go at. The obvious place is the Claxton Citra IPA but all of their beers are clean, well thought out and wonderfully balanced.
Talk in the office (the Beer Cave) is that they’re like a modern Kernel. High praise indeed, eh?
Beak are also in the mix this week with two more sessionable pales around the 5% mark.
Both BLVD and Snoop are excellent as always but if you want more hops for your buck Talk is your brew – 6% of Citra and Talus so expect pineapple and grapefruit rind flavours for days.
Finally, I also managed to snag four new Azvex beers this week and at an even better price – so I’ve passed the saving straight on!
These guys seriously know their way about a hoppy brew but my pick is Flamingo Duvet Set IPA – a huge hop bill and tons of bite.
Load up!
It’s that time of year again! As a devout lover of all things lager I ADORE the season where I can go shopping for the world’s best lagers straight from Germany. There’s the absolute classics in Augustiner Lagerbier or Teghernseer Hell and both are staple legendary lagers.
However, we also have some of the brewery’s other beers – and I think they’re even better! Augustiner Edelstoff is a smoother and cleaner tasting lager in my eyes than it’s little brother. It’s infinitely quaffable… much like the Tegernseer Spezial which is very, erm, spezial indeed!
I even grabbed some of the Schofferhofer Grapefruit Radler for you this week too. It’s a cult classic hefeweizen with a slammable ABV and lashings of refreshment.
Don’t skip on the UK brews in all this though kids – Queer Brewing are back on our shelves with their cracking Flowers Witbier and Anspach are always on point when it comes to Oktoberfest. Their The Bock is a classy example of a malty lager done really really well. Prost, of course!
Another specialist in this department are Elusive…
Maybe not that well known for pure lager just because their dedication to west coast styles (clean, bright and flavourful) sets them in such good stead.
But Kumpel Kolsch is yet another very well executed Elusive elixir!
Leaving the land of lager behind, the sours this week all come from Pastore. The Pompelmo Sour is cracking at the ABV but it’s the two collabs that fight it out for my top spot this week. From a three part series, The Diplomat Fruit Crumble Sour is with Nottingham’s Neon and is a pie packed with apple and blackberry.
As good as that is, Il Diplomatico with Maltgarden from the collab trilogy edges it for me.
The amaretti pushes it flavour-wise with plum and sweetness fighting it out for your attention. Immense!
Away from the King Henry headline the dark section this week is looking pretty damn good. Three Kees should all pop in your basket if stouts is your jam. Colin the Caterpillar is the obvious headline.
Quite what M&S make of this after the twitter spat with Aldi goodness only knows, but beyond the impending lawsuit the beer is a heady high ABV mix of dark choc and vanilla loaded white choc and is as daft as the name suggests.
The Kees 2022 Barrel Project brew is as good if not better than last year (amazing) with deep plummy sweet overripe cherries and deep booziness from the Predro Ximenez wood.
That said the pick for me might just be the Coconut Grapefruit Bar, which is a wizardry mix of the two flavours with lactose sweetness – it’s weird but it just works!
Wow, so much to go at this week but also worth your attention is the Mosaic single hop beer from Elusive, Mephisto Pale Ale, which nails the juicy bold flavours of the hop so well.
Two corking Drop Project new arrivals too, including a Newtown Park collab Levelz NEIPA. This pretty much nails the best of what both breweries do…so the perfect collab in my eyes. Also lurking in the dark brews section was a rare(ish) Elusive imperial Stout. I’m Gonna Bee is a roasty brew with just a hint of honey bringing a touch of flavour but without too much sweetness. Bravo.
Last mention for the Advent Box. We’re already all sold out of the Hoppy Box but the Mixed Beast Version has a dozen or so left so dive in before it’s too late.
Enjoy picking your beers and, as always, thanks so much for your support!
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
