This week, one of the biggest beers of the year is back, and it has a new BA buddy! Plus some of the biggest and best collabs I’ve seen in an age from some of the world’s best are in, be it hoppy, sour or dark – they’ve nailed them all!
One of the most anticipated beers of the year is back and it’s as outstanding as it’s always been!
If you’ve been under a rock for half a decade then here’s what you need to know: Neon Raptor Centaur Army – it’s thick, it’s oily, it’s got bucketloads of chocolate, peanuts and caramel, all perfectly balanced and working in harmony.
This is what put Neon on the map, and it continues to be one of the classic modern dark beers.
As a bonus, this year we had access to the BA version… and Neon BA Centaur Army is everything the original is but with a depth and complexity ON TOP of all that lush gorgeousness plus this monster is still insanely smooth.
Both exceptional beers. Get in quick!
Hard to follow but I think I just about can with lashings of amazing hoppy beers and a whole bunch of collabs.
First up we have Basqueland. We had the head brewer over to visit us recently and fell (even more) in love with what they do.
The UK collabs such as the Verdant Double Down DIPA is exactly the place to highlight how good they are. Smooth drinking but complex as heck and bitter to boot, it really is excellent stuff.
…And even when Basqueland push the booze levels to 11 with the Garage collab The Great Beyond TIPA the drinkability stays on. That’s testament to the mad brewing skillzzz on display.
I also picked up a huge haul of Funky Fluid big collab cans this week too.
There’s a cracking Fuerst Wiacek Fundamental NEIPA and a UK buddy-up with Northern Monk Devoted Double DIPA.
Want to push it further? Then the hops again go off the scale with a Forager collab Unrestricted TIPA. I’d say the sweet spot for me was the DIPA but depends how much of a hop-head you are!
With all this going on it would be easy – but criminal – to skip two amazing Barons.
I’d say the Baron Soft Focus IPA is my favourite with a name perfectly reflecting the mouthfeel and flavour. Baron go from strength to strength, every single week.
If I were to put together a few dream collab combos I’d probably say Nerd Brewing x Funky Fluid x Moersleutel… and right now I have two huge brews from them here to satisfy my desires!
Who could say no to Royal Cookie Tompounce Imperial Stout?
The mellow and classy vibes from the dutch brewery come through even in this collab and it’s perfectly balanced between rounded roasty notes and slight sweetness.
The Nerd Royal Cookie Smores collab is a bit more bonkers with added biscuit sweetness but still a banger and everything you’d expect from these giants of dark brewing.
Back to the Basque. As awesome as the Basqueland hoppy brews are, for me their stouts and porters are even better!
It’s a toss up for best in show here with yumminess like Waffle Supreme Impy Stout and Pōhjala Chocomel Chocolate on the menu, but I’m going to go ahead and crown Mustachio Pistachio as the best of the bunch… mainly because my kids think it “has daddy on the can!”.
The sweet nuttiness and dark chocolate dream combo is just an added bonus!
I’m always excited to get new Holy Goat in as their sours are some of the best in the biz.
Of the three new bottles I managed to get hold of this week the brilliantly titled Holy Goat Funk Weapon is my pick.
Think a traditional lambic but with extra ripe fruitiness of apricot and peach – “Drink young, or age. This will get weirder.” is what the brewery say!
Yonder are a brewery really ramping up what they do at the moment. They used to have the odd amazing sour here and there but now they are coming at us at pace with great new beers every week and I’m excited to see what they make every time.
This week we have the big almond-laced Yonder Cherry Cocktail Amaretto that nails both the fruit and the adjuncts to a tee as well as the Strawberry Cheesecake Pastry Sour… think creamy but not over-the-top, and so much real fruit flavour it feels like it’s just been freshly squeezed into your glass!
There’s still lots of little treats I’ve not mentioned above like the masses of amazing Full Circle we have. For hop-heads the core Full Circle Looper IPA is a must when it comes to a go-to IPA but also check out the brand new Full Circle Extraterrestrial Locomotion NEIPA and see how this brewery hits the hops hard.
I did mention we were collab-heavy this week didn’t I? Take a look at those four Collective Arts Origin of Darkness cans pictured above – what a thing of beauty! They range from the somewhat grown up and complex team-up with Garage with Vanilla Cacao and Pinot Noir to the downright insanely fun in the shape of the Vitamin Sea Coffee, almond and Speculoos Cookie number.
I also managed to get two Arpus collabs this week too. The first is a cracking Northern Monk hop-monster with Vic Secret, Simcoe, Mosaic and Sabro. This DIPA is huge on flavour! A little more restrained but no less juicy the Polly’s On Balance DIPA really is a gem finding a smoothness to hide the ABV like a ninja!
We also welcome Mad Scientist to our blog for the first time – I know, what have we been playing at?! It certainly won’t be the last time based on these. Fans of tonka should head straight to Mad Scientist Candy Man for a fix of that cheeky little bean along with lashing of marshmallows too.
Being a huge fan of lagers I also couldn’t resist this week grabbing the freshest Donzoko Citra Pils for you to enjoy (and for me to drink!). It’s one of those brews that you’re just thrilled is in a 500ml can as the freshness of the hops comes through with each sip on top of that clean base.
Fans of chilli stouts should also be alerted to the newest dark brew from Left Handed Giant and their Holy Trinity Mexican Chilli & Chocolate Stout. 9% ABV and as big on flavour as it is big on booze this is a rollercoaster of a beer!
As always enjoy your shopping and thanks for supporting our small business!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
It’s service as normal this week after last week’s postal strikes, so get your fastest finger ready to snag some of these new releases…
I have to start with the Northern Monk 9th Birthday beers.
The first is an insane collab with monsters of brewing Stigbergets and Garage – Ethel Tropical IPA is just that – a fruit monster! Full of mango, papaya and passionfruit, it’s treading that line between beer and fruit juice and slips down in record time!
The beer that got everyone (even more) excited was the IPA with Finback and Vitamin Sea: Once, Twice, Three Times a Dreamwhale. It’s a 7.4% DIPA and throws so much tropical creamy hops at your face you just want another.
Very limited so don’t mess about!
Baron continue to be the hype-hop brewery at the moment. We literally have to order cases on sight as they disappear faster than a kölsch on a hot day!
This week we bring you Baron Dojo IPA and Baron Wheelbite Pale Ale. Both of these gems are insanely well balanced and rounded, but full of flavour and smooth as well. No faddy fireworks or craziness.
Just always brilliant.
Also on the highlights reel this week is Polly’s Spur. Seems only a few months ago we first stocked this but it’s such a belter we HAD to reorder the rebrew.
It’s where Polly’s really excel – the 7-9% IPA/DIPA range – and this is fast becoming classic.
Azacca, Citra & Simcoe work in harmony for a beer with bite as well as all that stone fruit.
Our 4-5% shelves seemed a bit scant early this week, so I dialled up Howling and they sent a truck-load to us. (To be fair I actually emailed… but the order did come in a truck!).
Pick of the bunch for me was Howling’s Thunderball Express, which leans on a new and rare hop in Triumph.
Get ahead of the nerds and try the latest gear on the scene!
Matt from Unbarred dropped in last week. He’s someone that’s shared a very different journey to me in craft beer but someone I’ve consistency worked with. I was thrilled when he gave me some samples for this week’s mailer and I hoovered up their wares without a blink.
Unbarred Bueno Shake is an absolute classic and I’m thrilled to have it back and The Unbarred Caribbean Quad was good with a subtle barrel edge to it but staying fairly true to it’s quad roots.
All that said… the Unbarred Chonka was the big winner. 4+ ratings on Untappd, and with good reason.
There’s cherry there, but it’s not sickly sweet or too in-yer-face. Then the tonka does the same, enough to make it work but not just lashed in and overpowering. The Oatmeal brings enough body to thicken it up without being a 9.2% challenge you just can’t take on alone.
A winner!
We also have three monsters from Stigbergets: Peanut!, Cacao and Midnight Special.
All very much on the same theme here, but this brewery bloody nails this kinda thing so if you love peanuts, chocolate or hazelnuts (doesn’t everyone?!) then check these out!
CM beer slinger Charlie doesn’t do lagers. He’s normally found happily ingesting the best hoppy brews the world can supply and impy darks that’d make your toes curl.
So when he says “I like a Früh Kölsch”, you sit up and take a LOT of notice.
Affordable, complex and slammable, this 100% classic beer is a belter. It has the bite and cloudy haze in it’s body to really carry it up a level, so so good!
We also have the Christmas beers starting to reach us like the Omnipollo Imperial Julmalt Holiday Sour which is based on a classic Swedish winter drink.
As intriguing as it is odd, it’s based on a recipe of unripened berries and spices. Think Gluhwein but on acid!
Don’t miss the latest sour from Pressure Drop either as the last one sold out super-fast.
Green Means Go is an elusively green-fruited sour with gooseberries bringing the tart twang.
Elsewhere don’t skip the Unbarred Apple Pie Sour, which has cinnamon and fruit to die for, and the very clean and light Northern Monk OFS089, which is a zippy little Cherry & Lemon sour.
We also recently went to brew a beer at Beak (you may have seen the excited images on socials) and talked Czech beer with Kat who works there. While I don’t have her level of knowledge (and I’m sure she would frown upon a brit-made Czech Pils) I loved the OFS088 Pils from Northern Monk – everything I could wish for in a refreshing brew.
While we’re talking Beak then grab a can of Beak Hymns IPA, all the soft juice from the Lewes legends and easy to drink for the ABV, as always!
Also if you’re feeling brave grab a can of the 13% Northern Monk Tom Joy For Coco BA Speyside Imperial Stout. Scarily big and unapologetic, this one’s a sipper!
As always enjoy your shopping and thanks for supporting our small business!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
From the top, you need to know that the stuff we grabbed this week was absolutely insane! Seriously – Nerd’s Xmas brew, Amundsen, the strongest beer we’ve ever sold in Kees’ Ice Bock, and oodles of insane new Pinta… plus so much more!
I can’t remember such a strong week of new releases for a long time, so scroll away, take it all in and, if you like, pop one or two in your basket. Seriously, this week, you will not regret it.
I simply have to kick this off with THAT 25% brew – the Kees Ice Bock.
It’s barley wine and that sometimes puts people off but this one has been put in the deep freeze and all of those dark chocolate notes have come out and it’s mellow and smooth and waaaay too easy to drink for a quarter of a century’s worth of ABV!
The delicious flavour is backed up by a huge unique booze buzz. A crazy and cracking beer.
We also secured some brilliant beers from Pinta this week. They all sound amazing but I gravitated straight to the Pinta Reputation.
Mega dark chocolate and a touch of milky goodness with that edge of almond chocolate bar. Mmmmm.
For something more sessionable(!), Kees have also created the Kees Saint Brandarius at a mere 10%.
These guys seriously know their way around using those barrels and this is a whiskey lover’s dream having been housed in Dutch wood to get that deep beastly flavour out of them.
Rounding up an insane dark section is the latest Nerd, Xmas Override 2022 edition.
It’s basically a Terry’s chocolate Orange in a bottle!
I’ll be having one on Christmas day without a doubt, it’s a ritual of mine, make it one of yours too!
I’ve got in there early with the Amundsen fun this year for a little extra treat for you all. Jump in now for those Santa cans!
You know the score by now, all the Desserts in a Cans are big impy strength and as crackers as they are fun.
The Super Santa and the Christmas Morning Breakfast Waffle are both classics, but my attention is firmly on this year’s Barrel Aged Upside Down Christmas Cake.
This is another one on my Christmas wish list – big, naughty and full of crushed dark fruits, a festive winner every year!
I’ve managed to go out and grab more than a DOZEN new Sureshots for you and they’re already flying out!
The biggest highlight has to be that collab with Verdant. Imagine mixing the huge fruity dank DIPA that is Tim the Human Fish and the lemon-sherbet of the Cornish classic Even Sharks Need Water. Hey presto – Even Tim the Human Shark Needs Water!
Sometimes these don’t work as well as you hope but this delivers all the best bits in spades from both sides. One of the best big hoppy beers this year!
We also have new Polly’s Fuzz Generator Pale Ale just in, an easy drinker crammed with creamy hops El Dorado and Idaho 7. Both of those are two of Polly’s brewery’s favourites, and it shows.
Creamy pineappley top-hop class.
Elsewhere Azvex bring us Clown Car Horns Pale Ale which throws citra and riwaka at us in equal measure.
Expect fruit but bitterness too, it’s what they do so well and a perfect ABV to showcase both the hops. Get in!
The release of Neon’s Vampyre Disco is fast becoming an important annual date in the diary… you simply cannot ignore this huge, jammy, nutty monster.
It’s got huge Funky Fluid vibes, and that’s about as huge a compliment as a brewery can get!
Indulgent and daft, I love it more every year.
I’ve also been so encouraged with you guys and your appetite for Pastore. Long may it continue as it means I can buy more and try more of their incredible beer!
This week is no exception with Baklava Pastry Sour being my pick. Just a hint of that pistachio nut alongside the puckering but mature ripeness of apricot.
Pastore are one of the UK’s best and their quality levels seem to never drop.
If you’re looking for something even more crazy then Vault can oblige.
It is halloween week so jump in on the Gosebumps Lemon & Slime Sour even if it is just for the awesome name and the funky can design!
What a week, right? What have I missed? Maybe the fantastic DIPA from Gravity Well – Universal Theory 3.0. It’s a beer for people who love hops and are looking for something a little different. There’s a funk and a skunky edge to this beer that feels very unique.
Hop fans should also check out the fresh Santa’s Hop Sack IPA which has lashings of orange pith in with a hazy complexion.
Or what about the Polly’s Linnu Red Ale which uses the utter classic Hook Island Red from Five Points as it’s inspiration for a malty yet jammy and hoppy ale. Could this be another modern classic??
There’s a Neon and Funky Fluid collab Jet Set Billie that should be on anyone’s hit list. Funky are one of the leading sour makers in Europe and Neon aren’t too shabby either so expect all the red berries in a fruity overload of a beer.
For the (possibly) more refined of you out there please don’t miss the Pinta Curiosity Apricot & Peach and Pinta Mystery. Perfectly judged beers, both have easy-drinking ABVs but also funky smooth smart & wild flavours. Fun for any and every beer aficionado.
Enjoy picking and, as always, thanks so much for your support!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
It feels a lot like the doomy weather is here to stay, but I’ve collected a mega-haul of hops from Beak, Verdant and beyond this week to keep you snug on those nights in.
Need the moody brews?
I’ve got that covered with a Boxcar classic, HUGE Brew York BA beers and a cinnamon swirl porter. Let’s go!
Beak are fast becoming our favourite brewery and it’s a no brainer each week to pile our shelves high with their wares.
This week grabbing their new stuff was an absolute must especially when you factor in there’s FOUR new hoppy treats as well as a re-up of BLVD and Snoop too! I often say this but they are all top drawer.
Paw Pale Ale brings you a sweet but robust New Zealand trio of hops so it’s punchy as hell.
Shape IPA also brings the kiwi hops in spades and has those classic Sav Blanc flavours with fresh lemon and lime notes.
For a more subtle ride, Purrr IPA is a 7% smooth and soft brew with Mosaic and Strata and Also IPA is an utterly glugable pale that just flies down.
Awesome Beak, as always.
Away from the Beak beers it’s certainly not a dip in quality as I’ve loaded up on some big old Verdant brews, new and old.
Three Way Handshake IPA is a collab between the Cornish outfit, Baron and Rivington. It’s no surprise it’s a banger when you see these three brewing a beer together and it’s big on flavour, but maybe smoother and less raw than the usual Verdant fare – a really top level modern IPA.
We also welcome back both Comfort Settings DIPA, which is unashamedly brash and skunky, and Solid State IPA – featuring Citra, Ekuanot, Mosaic and Chinook – a hop bill that can’t fail!
Bring on the stone fruit vibes.
Bubbling along in the hops section, we also have a mega Track IPA – New Vibration – with one of my favourite fruity, sunny hops, Galaxy.
We only have a few of these so don’t snooze!
What a varied, exciting dark section I have for you this week!
First up we grabbed LOADS more Pressure Drop x Amundsen Fødj Chocolate Fudge & Toffee Imperial Stout. Why?
One because it’s one of the most milky, chocolatey beers we’ve tasted – yum.
And two because you monsters smashed through our initial stock at an unprecedented rate!
Elsewhere the new stuff is just as good: we have two BA beers from Brew York, both new versions of old favourites.
The first is Nightmare Of Brew York 2022 Imperial Stout, the 2021 release of Nightmare of Brew York aged in Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels for 12 months! It’s packed with nuts, rich maple and deep woody flavours.
The second is Speyside BA The Ghost Dimension Imperial Stout, which has also aged in barrels for the last year and while there’s a warmth from the chilli, it’s not so much to kill the other flavours of dark chocolate and booze.
Brew York do this stuff so very, very well 🤤🤤🤤
Beak are on a bit of a roll with their dark beers – after the amazing Paste we now have Plummy Baltic Porter.
This is the perfect dark lager for us – somehow smooth, creamy and crisp all at once!
Last but not least Polly’s Cinnamon Twirl Porter is a beer that delivers what it says on the tin – think oodles of dark roastiness and an edge of sugary spice.
Almost Christmassy!
We have two cracking lagers from Track this week.
The first is Arosa Helles – a bit of a classic – but the Vale English Lager is the winner here…
It’s all the lager cliches – clean, crisp and smashable – and it’s all the better for it.
Talking of which, the Boxcar Born Slippy Lager Lager Lager is finally with us in cans! We’ve torn through keg after keg of this across our bars and couldn’t wait to get it in tins. It’s a classy beer with a touch of honey and a grassy edge – the lager section is STRONG this week!
There’s also a criminally good pale from Burnt Mill in Clouds Rest NEPA. Maybe because it has clouds in the titles but it’s smooth and still full of flavour for the sub-IPA scale of things.
After a bit of a break, I’ve snagged a ton of Newtown Park beers and the Visions Pale Ale is my pick this week – a brew with a bit of funk and edge from the Kveik yeast.
Polly’s have Floom DDH Pale Ale back and it’s tasting great. Again another cracking choice away from the IPA-strength beers.
Dogs Grandad are local to our railway arch in Brixton, and our neighbour’s beers have always flown out. We’ve got their brand new Dog Day Afternoon Extra Pale Ale but someone looking for something a bit different could do worse than grabbing their Red Dog Redemption Red IPA which is full-bodied and ripe with lovely dried fruit and malt.
It’s been a while since I got some Double Barrel brews in so as well as some dark beers we have both their fruity Fierce collab Juicer Zesty Citrus Wheat and Maluku Hefeweizen – both smart, well executed beers. We’re chuffed to have them back in the mix.
Rounding up this week’s top picks, but still bringing all the flavour are the non-alcs… Lowtide are one of the best in the business at this and we snapped off their hands when we saw their Lowtide & Friends series. They’ve collabed with 4 awesome breweries to create some banging brews across a range of styles – Exale Ohana DDH Pale Ale, Time & Tide Changing Tides Citrus Pale, Newtown Park Sky At Night Pastry Stout and Baron Down Red IPA.
Enjoy picking your beers and, as always, thanks so much for your support!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
I’ve collected some proper seasonal treats for you this week, including a pumpkin spiced porter, new Brew York Christmas beauties and a birthday treat courtesy of one of the best craft breweries you’re yet to try.
Let’s go!
The headline this week has to be a pumpkin beer. I know, I know, they split opinion, but every year we get asked for them and normally they’re gimmicky or from breweries we don’t tend to stock.
This year is different though as the brew in question is Elusive’s Carve ‘n’ Yams.
It’s not crazy on the booze and the cold-brew coffee base dominates before the aftertaste of sweet and musty pumpkin comes through.
Not overpowering and not laden with syrups or silliness, it’s a corking stab at a grown up, drinkable pumpkin beer.
Elsewhere there’s some of the most fun seasonal beers of the year just out from Brew York.
Nightmare of Brew York Gingerbread Milk Stout 2022 and Fairytale of Brew York Stollen Milk Stout 2022 are both as good as ever.
My pick of the two is the Nightmare, with its warming, slightly spicy gingerbread tang. You know Christmas is coming when you’re sipping these!
The other headliner this week has to be the 10% monster from Overtone.
Duty Free is the highest ABV brew from a quartet of Overtone birthday beers. This is laden with nougat, honey and chocolate. Like a Toblerone. Like you buy in duty free. Geddit?
Also don’t miss Azvex’s first foray into “normal” ABV stouts. The Cookie Cutter Approach is a real gem and reminds me of the more muted Amundsen dark beers.
Again, Azvex nailing things all round.
The hoppy section this week is full of birthday fun in the shape of Overtone’s Pale Four Candles and their latest DIPA Pure Magic.
Four Candles is a fairly decent, clean, bitter beer but Pure Magic is where the, erm, magic is!It’s BIG on smooth hops and juicy as can be.
Maybe one followed by the other? That’s how I’d celebrate my birthday anyway 🥳 🍻🕺
It’s kinda the same deal with the fresh Drop Project beers this week.
Ledge IPA is a skunky funky west coast full of pine and resin and damn easy to knock back, and the DDH DIPA Dawn is where the huge hops are at.
Again, a great warm-up-beer-plus-main-event combo!
I’ve also snagged Hammerton’s Baron H Earl Grey IPA too, which is a must if you’re a fan of the sophisticated tea.
It’s an acquired taste but the floral notes are subtle enough to keep it enjoyable, and it’s certainly unique, which gets my respect.
There’s two hat-tricks of beers from cracking breweries in the sour section this week.
First up Pomona come at us with funky sour IPAs You Just Don’t See ‘Em Sour IPA and Put Down Cello, Play Bongos Sour IPA.
Both are up to the usual awesome Pomona standard but the latter is the slight winner with plenty of fresh mango juice rolling on your tongue.
That said, if a more ‘straight up’ sour is your thing then Somebody’s Had Too Much to Think Wild Cherry Farmhouse Sour IPA should be your bag. Dripping in sweet – yet sharp and sour – cherry, and a touch of funk.
Yonder always deliver when they start playing about with fruit, so it’s great to see such a range this week from them.
Passionfruit Cheesecake is a rounded and fun pastry sour with a real creaminess to offset the oodles of fruit, and Attack of the Lemonoids is like a Sicilian holiday in a glass.
My fav has to be Overnite Oats though, which is one of the best beers I think they’ve done. All the main flavours are balanced and bangin, but the oats give it all the body in the world.
Cracking stuff, Yonder.
There’s also three brilliantly smooth and moreish dark brews from Hammerton this week. Dia De Los Muertos is already flying out so dive in quick for this chilli beer with bite. Plus we have a ton of the Classic Crunch Peanut Butter Stout in stock so fill your boots with this corking core brew.
Azvex keep knocking out awesome beer and a hop bill of citra, azacca and chinook means that Desert Roses IPA is as good as it sounds. Hop fans, take note.
The last of the three big Christmas releases from Brew York is certainly worth your attention. Not as big or bold as the other two, Dreams of Brew York Cranberry, Redcurrant, Apple & Cinnamon Pastry Sour 2022 still has all the festive vibes in a glass. Cinnamon and red berries properly crammed into this beer. Maybe it’s too early to think of Christmas day, but it would be a corker to sip while making that lunch!
Enjoy picking your beers and, as always, thanks so much for your support!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
I’ve some classy brews for you this week, with a must-buy UK/Norway collab, and a 10% stout that tastes just like a Frijj milkshake.
Got your attention? Should think so. Let’s get into the best of the best this week!
There’s only one place to start this week and it’s the Polly’s/Funky Fluid DIPA.
I love a Polly’s DIPA and think it’s where they produce their best work so imagine my excitement when they dropped this beast with Funky Fluid who are undoubtedly one of the most experimental and daring breweries in Europe.
Chameleon DIPA is loaded with HBC-630 hops and wow! They claim this monster is “possibly our stickiest, most decadent DIPA to date” and I find it hard to argue! Don’t sleep on this one. It will fly out.
If you’re feeling the Polly’s big ABV vibe I’ve also snagged a rebrew of Rosa DIPA so you can double DIPA if you wish… and we’ve also got their Citra Vista DHH Pale too which I rate as their best 5ish% brew for a long time. Go!
Last week was good for big beers but I might have trumped it with these this time around especially when you consider we have a pint can of Arbor x Liquid Lights Sunset Vista DIPA on our virtual shelves for you lucky lot too.
Away from the big boys we drop down to the 6.5% range and the fun just keeps coming.
We have a hattrick of Verdant’s such as De-Bleaker NEIPA loaded with Mosaic and Nelson and a cold fermented IPA in Little Mountains We Move. Both cracking, but their Sureshot collab Electric Mizzle NEIPA is my pick.
Thick and juicy – you can’t go wrong with the Cornish masters.
Last but not least, Neon Raptor’s Shoot The Duck NEIPA is my pick from a good Neon drop.
This IPA is packed with Talus and Simcoe giving it a proper bite and tons of dank juice.
Hop overload this week!
Mmm Frijj milkshakes. Are they still a thing? Let’s hope so because Pressure Drop and Amundsen have made a stout that tastes like one – and a 10% one at that!
Fødj Chocolate Fudge & Toffee Imperial Stout is a genius mix of chocolate, fudge and toffee and it nails those flavours perfectly. It’s so fully loaded it’s really no wonder this is such a winner when you consider the Norwegian dessert stout masters are involved.
One customer in our Brixton arch said it was “the best stout I’ve ever had.” I’ll let you decide, but it’s damn good!
The chocolate theme continues with the rest of my dark haul this week with a new variant of Neon’s Clusters – CBD Clusters Chocolate Brownie Stout – and this time it’s brewed with Cannabrew!
With 20mg of CBD in each can, it’s a bit of a classic with a chilled out twist.
Also in the mix this week is SMOD’s Babayaga Sylvan Stout.
Smoked beers aren’t for me but some of you oddballs like them so if you’re insane I have you covered haha!
Seriously though, I’m told from multiple in-the-know sources it’s really damn good.
Vault City dominate the sours section like they do for quite a few weeks of the year on here. Reason? They’re so, so good at what they do!
This week there’s a triple header of mega-beers and as we’re just a couple of weeks from Halloween then the highlight has to be the Blueberry Pumpkin Spice Latte. This was brewed last year in bottle and was good then but it’s even better now – mellow spice and oaty creaminess all day. It’s truly a beer for the season, and a corker to boot!
Another rebrew is Strawberry Woo Woo and again it’s LOADED with fresh fruit, one of my fav ever Vault beers with genuine crushed strawberry flavours. On the session side of things the Blackcurrant Choc Chip Waffle somehow makes a mash of flavours all work and rounds off a rather brill trio of beers. Congrats Vault, you rock!
Elsewhere, don’t skip the other breweries doing fab things with sours this week.
The always bonkers Brew York Sweet Shop series continues with Fruit Saladz Sour. Imagine a beer filled to the brim with pineapple and raspberry with a creamy finish – taking you back to the tuck shop in style.
If that’s not enough hops for you, I got rather excited when I saw Pressure Drop’s Two Weeks in Florida DIPA back in the mix. Originally a collab with DEYA it has returned and tasting better than ever.
Duration have teamed up with Boxcar and Unity to brew Great Purple Emperor Jasmine Rice Lager. They went heavy on the jasmine and it’s a huge hit of floral crispness.
Pressure Drop channel the Pina Colada vibes with their latest sour Internet Friends! Pineapple, Coconut & Vanilla Sour.
There’s pure chocolate and no gluten in Brass Castle’s Trinitario Chocolate Stout, made with real cocoa nibs from Trinidad and Tobago.
Baron meet Arundel in the aptly named Barundel Pale Ale, a savoury hazy banger that went down a storm at our Baron tap takeover!
Finally, Brew York’s Juice Campbell and the Army of Dankness NEIPA is back – all the big hops, and one of the best film references in beer!
Enjoy picking your beers and, as always, thanks so much for your support!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
I was worried after the last two weeks that we’d peaked but NO CHANCE PEEPS!
Out of nowhere this week we’ve seen some of the UK’s best double IPAs emerge, some unreal stouts (including one of our fav breweries doing a stout for the first time) and tons of gluten free offerings from friends old and new.
Not sure how the brewers do it but maybe not sleeping is key, haha! Tuck yourself into some of these (that made more sense in my head). They’re the best new beers you’ll find anywhere this week.
Where else to start than a brew between two of the best breweries in the UK who are both two of our absolute favourites.
Originally I couldn’t get this beer in (long story) but by hook and by crook it’s now here for you. Beak x Verdant’s It Is Forbidden DIPA is a brew packed with Mosaic, Strata and, a CM fav, HBC 586.
It’s that classic, hoppy Verdant bite with the smooth finish we love Beak for. You’d expect this from these two but always good to be right isn’t it?
Once you’ve added that to your basket take a look at other beers just as worthy of your attention in the high ABV bracket such as Azvex’s Pentrich collab Consolation Prize Fighter DIPA or Overtone’s Everything Changing DIPA.
I’d say the Overtone is the smoother of the two but the more complex is the Azvex, with the Citra, Galaxy and Nelson hops making it punchy and bold. Get in!
I touched on Baron last week and explained why we all here hold them in such high regard and they follow that trend with another couple of hoppy bangers.
Top pick has to be Still No Cat Chris NEIPA. Smooth and grown up, these beers continue a trend for excellent work from the outfit from Buntingford.
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.
I’ve been following the Allkin Brewing story since the very start, and am therefore thrilled to have grabbed their first official brew!
Formerly known as Good Things Brewing, their brewery sadly burned down in 2021 after being struck by lightning. But they literally rose from the ashes, rebranded themselves as Allkin and spent the last 12+ months brewing some banging collabs with the best UK breweries, all while plotting their return on the Road To Unruin!
Thirst Of Many Pale Ale is their first solo release, which coincides with the launch of a crowdfunder to fund a new brewery on their former site in Tunbridge Wells. Make sure to help them out if you can – more good beer is good for all!
People often swerve gluten-free beers but I’ve seen both an emergence of quality GF brews and people’s acceptance to drink them without noticing any difference this year. Abbeydale have long been a brewery that we’ve respected but not had on the roster, but we’ve loaded up because the beers are great and loads of them are lacking on the old gluten.
Our pick from the ‘normal’ brews this week is their Deliverance DIPA, with its killer juice-bomb combo of Galaxy, Idaho-7 and Nelson, but we also have the season’s first pumpkin beer in Pilgrim Pumpkin Spice Ale, which is just too much of a fleeting pleasure not to include.
Haters gonna hate but… erm… lovers gonna love, right?!
Nerd were always a bit of a hard sell. I’ve no idea why because they’re hands down one of the best brewers of dark beers I can think of.
The Barrel Series returns this week with the 013 Bourbon BA Oatmeal Stout. Always classy and always full of that barrel-aged goodness, this is thiccc from the oats and dripping in woody vanilla notes from Bourbon.
Over the weekend our leading beer nerd Charlie managed to crack open Dig Brew’s Judge Doom Slays Eddie Chilli, Cacao & Vanilla Imperial Cake Stout and all he sent to the Whatsapp group was fire emojis.
That’s good enough for me to recommend it as a superb dark beer, so I jumped in. It’s got chocolate cake vibes in truck-loads, with only the smallest tickle of chilli. Swerve it at your peril!
Finally this week you have an EPIC Vault City collab with which to wet your beak in Vault City x Browar Stu Mostów’s ART+59 Modern Silly Sour.
The name says it all with this one, with this strawberry, yuzu and coconut brew everything we’ve come to expect from a Vault sour. Immense.
Been a while since we picked up some Frau Gruber beers, and I really don’t know why cause they kill it with every style. Lagers, IPAs, Stouts, all are crushed with these guys, and two new Triple Fruited Goses continue the trend. Both are bangers, but the Pangeve Triple Fruited Imperial Gose takes the cake with its winning combo of passion fruit, orange and Pink Guava.
Dig Brew came through this week with fruit-galore in their brews, with Operation Burn The Sun Mango & Lime Sour a sharp, vegan-friendly sour that delivers with a thick body and deep tropical notes. I also picked up a couple of hard seltzers from them too with Cucamonga Grapefruit & Mandarin and Pulse Of The Maggots Purple Grape offering something for the beer-haters and gluten-intolerant we may have reading these blog posts!
With all this talk of DIPAs don’t miss the lower ABV stuff this week while you’re shopping for hops. Baron’s new pale Funk Pale Ale is sumptuous with a mix of Citra and Sabro and as easy drinking as they come.
We’ve also got more sessionable stuff from Azvex like Attosecond Tunnelling Pale Ale. With its mix of fluffy hops like Cashmere and El Dorado it’s a perfect warm up at 4.8% before going up a gear.
Don’t miss Moot’s new IPA El Toro IPA, which like all Moot brews uses a combo of UK and imported hops to max effect. It’s already a crowd favourite with our West-Coast-Best-Coast customers in the bars since it arrived… and our clientele know their stuff!
In the dark section the Northern Monk OFS085 Coffee Porter is a treat, with the Turkish coffee giving delicious roasty bitterness and berry flavours.
Enjoy picking your beers and, as always, thanks so much for your support!
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
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)
It was a HUGE week this week on the beer front – especially on the hoppy side – but the best of the best of the best of the best this week include…
I went a bit overboard on the beer intake this week and we seem to have ended up with TRUCKLOADS of new brews for ya, including a heap of hoppy bangers. It really is a feast this week in this section and it’s hard to know where to start! Maybe it’s sensible to pick out the Pomonas first…
After a small lull, the Manchester outfit are back with a bang. From the return of many people’s benchmark TIPA (Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell), right down to their session brews these guys squeeze every possible drop of flavour into their beers.
I Loved You in Wall Street is probably my pick of the pales and IPAs with a cracking hop lineup that’s smooth yet punchy but you can’t go wrong with any of the 7 new Pomona Island brews we have in.
Get involved!
We’re also equally as excited to grab some Glasshouse for the shelves.
The obvious basket addition is the DEYA collab Croc Encounters, but for goodness sake don’t swerve the Alkin Road to Unruin IPA.
Pure pineapple juice heaven.
Elsewhere there’s a Huge DIPA with honey (but only the merest hint of extra sweetness) in Overtone’s Mosaic I’m Home Honey.
A must-try for big ABV fans.
Much like the hoppy section we went a tad mad this week on the sour and crispy boi smorgas-selection. At the top of the tower, I present to you lashings of new stuff from the one and only Vault City.
Expect every base covered, from big spicy monsters like the 7.5% Pineapple Habanero Sour and the latest Dark Fruit Dreamcake to sessionable collabs with Full Circle and Mash Gang.
The big boys here are both real sippers, especially the Habanero and the collabs are super easy to smash, so it’s win-win and really just depends on the mood you’re in.
Also don’t skip on the Overtone Summer Fool this week – this pours like a smoothie full of raspberry and gooseberry flavours, but as you glug away it’s still really sharp and tart.
A real belter if you’re still desperately hanging onto summer by your fingernails!
In the lagers section, I’ve dug out some brews from two breweries that are not particularly known for lager largesse.
First up, Polly’s have delivered a classy little number in Hive Colour. It’s just the right side of malty and spot on with the finish.
That said, Burnt Mill Pils just pips it for me. It’s probably just personal preference, but for me this was a tad easier drinking with great head retention…
But let the record show, both Burnt Mill’s Pils and Polly’s Hive Colour are refreshing beauts.
Dive in ASAP; I’m expecting these to fly.
A small but BRILLIANTLY formed dark list for you this week peeps.
Beak tend to stick to hoppy perfection but with Paste Maple Imperial Stout they lay claim to be masters of the dark matter too.
It’s a big treacle-laden ooze-fest of gloopy liquid. Awesome work from the Lewes legends.
The sidekick this week to the headline is a beer that would normally be nibbling at it’s toes for top billing.
Northern Monk’s Dark & Wild Vanilla Mochaccino stout has them team up with not just Three Hills Brewery but Nerdbrewing too!
It’s boozy and big and unapologetically bold. There’s lashings of vanilla and a big roastiness of coffee that punches through at the end. Not bad for a sidekick, eh?
Alcohol-free! I love going out each week and restocking the no/low section. 18 months ago it was slim pickings and even the stuff you did manage to source didn’t sell… but now the boozeless scene is utterly thriving and it’s down to guys like Mash Gang that this has happened. Always pushing the boundaries, this week I managed to snag 4 of their utterly bonkers new 0.5% brews and they’re as daft as they sound…
There’s retro toaster fodder inspired Cryo Pop Tarts full of berries and vanilla, breakfast cereal laden Cap’n Krunk and sweet shop Sour Batch Hop! Call me a traditionalist (ha) but the Mangonada Mango Pilsner was my pick. Either way, all are perfect for a night off the sauce while still exploring the madness of modern brewing.
Back to our normal additions… There was so much going on in the hoppy section this week it would be easy to miss (but also a crime to miss) the new Pressure Drop IPA Home Taping is Killing Music. Columbus, Idaho, Mosaic and Sabro – what a hop combo, and it delivers. We also have two more muted ABV offerings from them in the shape of Dreamlife and Catamaran. Both are rebrews but for pales in the 5% zone these always sell very fast because they’re just really, really good.
There’s also a double dry hopped ale from Northern Monk you should check out. As a proud Yorkshireman I loved it. Yorkshire Til I Die uses truckloads of traditional hops to create a modern bitter on steroids. Expect a hoppy beer where the English hops have been made to work to the MAX.
There’s fresh Beak just in too – anyone not grabbing Beak’s Talk IPA at under a fiver needs to have a word with themselves.
We also managed to grab Monk’s latest crazy fruited ale as well in Turbo Bonbons which is crammed with berries and cherries and all things good from the sweet shop.
A huge haul of beer for your shopping delight I hope you agree? Enjoy picking.
As always, thanks so much for your support!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
Fresh Verdant IPAs, a debut Baron TIPA and a To Øl dark monster you can’t miss – it’s been one helluva week on the new beer front, so without further ado let’s discuss the very best on offer anywhere this week!
Recently I’ve been taken with a sexy new hop that’s just come on the scene. Currently (and forgetfully) known as HBC 586, me and the whole CM gang have been loving the guava notes it gives off, so naturally I was thrilled to see Verdant showcase it in all it’s glory in Endless Horizons IPA.
A 6.5% single-hop NEIPA in the classic Verdant style, it’s hazy, juicy, and the perfect way to sample what is fast becoming one of my favourite hops!
This is one of two killer Verdant NEIPAs I picked up this week, the second being Making Global Sound Local IPA. Packing a slightly more powerful punch, this one’s creamy, dank, and an absolute joy!
Make sure to give these a go.
It’s great to see Baron ramping up their production schedule lately; seems they have new beers out every week at the moment!
Not that we’re complaining when they taste this good, and they’ve outdone themselves with Breeze Block TIPA – their first triple IPA!
A medley of Calypso, Citra, Loral and Talus hops gives a deep tropical and citrus fruit flavour against a light, clean body. Not too bitter, not too sweet, this one really hits the spot!
And finally on the hops front, I’m singing the praises of a brewery who rarely get the recognition they deserve – Howling Hops – who are always pumping out the killer brews.
I’ve just picked up a bunch of their wares and for us this week it’s got to be their latest collab with Amundsen, Hauketo Kveik Pale Ale.
Big stone fruit flavours from the Kveik yeast compliment the piney hop character at a most session-friendly strength of 4.8%.
A meeting of two great minds = great beer!
We’ve been pouring Howling Hops Crisp Flaxen Damson, Quince & Pear Sour at our Brixton taproom over the weekend and it’s been going down a treat – so good news is we have cans too!
This unusual trio make for a tangy, juicy, and somewhat biscuity little number.
Another cracking brew from Howling Hops this week.
Falling firmly into the ‘oldie but goodie’ category, it’s great to have BBNo’s 19 Solero Gose back in stock.
A triple-fruited gose which, as the name suggests, is inspired by the famous ice cream, it’s got exotic juice, creamy vanilla and a subtle salinity all wrapped up in a single can.
Plus, at £4.25 for a 6.5% sour it’s probably the biggest bargain of the week so grab one while they last.
If you like your lagers with a little extra oomph then you need to get your lips around a Kernel Pils: Taiheke.
Light, crisp, malty, as you would expect a Pilsner, the addition of the New Zealand hops gives this lager a floral, fruity edge that makes it stand out from the pack.
You’ll need to grab these quick, otherwise I will 100% have drunk the whole case! Kernel nail a pils. It’s official.
There’s only one place to start with the stouts, and that’s To Øl Mash Test Yummies Bourbon BA Imperial Stout.
A heavenly combination of hazelnuts, cacao nibs, coffee, vanilla, sea salt & lactose, aged in bourbon barrels.
It’s thick, rich, salty, nutty and creamy; easily one of the tastiest brews I’ve tried in a long time. And I try a lot! Research purposes, I’m sure you understand.
If that sounds aggressively adjunct-filled, then Brew York & Overtone have you covered.
Continuing their pun-tastic tradition, the awesomely named Winona Ryeder Imperial Rye Stout is both a team-up with the great Overtone Brewing and a top example of a no-nonsense dark beer that relies solely on its giant malt bill for it’s deep, dark depth of flavour.
To finish this week, we’ve topped up our low/no options with some fresh Big Drop and Lucky Saint.
It’s getting easier and easier to find great beers with low or no alc in them these days but much like the booze-filled scene the ones on offer are not all great.
I rate Lucky Saint as one of the best lagers in the sector and if you’re looking to cut down on your units then it’s an absolute winner.
We finally have some cider back in stock! It’s September and the evenings, although darker, are still warm and muggy so stick some of these top level apple-smashers in the fridge and enjoy the late rays.
There are two Nightingales to choose from, both are medium dry – Wild Disco is my pick for that balance of sweetness and bite. Luke’s Original Sin is also a cider go-to for me with a funk and a twang that saison and sour beer lovers will be familiar with. Give ’em a go!
If the TIPA is a bit much for your tastes then check out Baron Lark Pale Ale, which delivers just the same on body and flavour but at a more respectable ABV.
A bunch of Boundary Brewery came in this week. While there were some great looking pales, To Here Knows When Cherry, Plum & Tonka Berliner Weisse was top dog for us. Tastes like Grandma’s crumble.
Kernel have been chopping bricks like Bruce Lee, cutting down their classic Red Brick Rye to give us the Half Brick Red Rye Ale, which comes in at a super-sessionable 4.5%.
After some fresh gluten-free? Czech out Czech Mate! Dry Hopped Pilsner from 360° Brewing for all the flavour but none of that pesky gluten. And sorry about the pun.
As always, I hope you get to try some of these epic beers this week.
Cheers & thanks so much for your support!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
