Month: November 2017

8 Wired – Cosmic Chaos Sour Black IPA

8 Wired – Cosmic Chaos, Sour Black IPA, 2017, 7.5%ABV, 500ml bottle.

Drank on 30/11/2017 from I.B.S

Appearance: 3 – Black, coffee black, good head on pour that sinks to a nice ring with light lacing. Nice label.

Smell: 3 – Coffee and brown malt, roasty, woody, a hint of some kind of dark funk.

Taste: 3.5 – Sour, tart, citrus, grapefruit, hopping, all that is well balanced and resolves into a burnt wood, dark malts, coffee-like bitterness, with a musty finish. A lot of interesting range.

Mouthfeel: 2.5 – An initial fizz that coast the tongue on sipping creates a good rounded body that fills the mouth.

Overall: 3 – I like this, its sour, its dark, its an IPA without being too IPA, and it lets the other characters shine.

3 Ravens – Acid Original Sour Beer

3 Ravens – Acid Original Sour Beer, 2017, 3.5%ABV, 375ml can.

Drank on 30/11/2017 from I.B.S

Appearance: 2.5 – Slightly cloudy, light amber, No head, no lacing. Excellent looking can

Smell: 2 – Lactic funk? there’s a light indefinable funk, yeasty but more bacterial, nothing overwhelming or distinct

Taste: 2.5 – Mineral, a sour lactic acid taste, citrus maybe? the tastes are all very the yeast+bacteria, light, not definable, no real malt character or hops.

Mouthfeel: 2.5: Fizzy, nice carbonation, light, easy.

Overall: 2.5 – Its a very easy drinking sour. Does what it says on the can .Its nice, it is what it is. A tart refreshing and crushable summer beer.

UPDATE – 1/12/2017 – I got another can of this, probably from the same batch. Its as above. Still quenchy and enjoyable, but taste, smell, etc is all the same.

3 Ravens – Lemon Juicy NEIPA

3 Ravens Lemon Juicy NEIPA, 2017, 6%ABV, 375ml can.

Drank on 30/11/2017 from I.B.S

Appearance: 3.5 – Cloudy, opaque, light orange juice colour and opacity. Thin but solid head

Smell: 3 – Citrus, sweet orange juice, very slight yeasty notes.

Taste: 2 – Orange or lemon pith, hop bitterness mixed with yeast spice. A strong Saison-like yeast character. Finish is a lingering hoppy bitterness.

Mouthfeel: 2 – Light carbonation, rather smooth despite the bitterness and yeast spice.

Overall: 2.6 – Maybe this has sat a bit on the shelf, or maybe I shouldn’t have drank a Berliner Weisse first, this particuluar can isnt as good as the normal Juicy IPA. I really want to try this again but super fresh, the smell is amazing.

Dainton – Blood Orange Berliner Weisse

Dainton Family Brewing – Blood Orange Berliner Weisse, 2017, 3.5%ABV, 500ml can.

Drank on 30/11/2017 from I.B.S

Appearance: 3.5 – A large soft head that subsides to a thin coating with soft minimal, soapy lacing. Lots of fizz. The beer is cloudy but translucent, its a very light pinkish tint to its light straw colour.

Smell: 2.5 – White wine, a little funky, acidic “puke” a bit like pino gris wine, mineral, steel, some lemon.

Taste: 3 – Minerally, slightly tart, white wine again like a pino grigio or maybe riesling, light citrus notes obviously orange, lemon, citric. All very light tasting that fades to a soft mineral/citric note.

Mouthfeel: 3 – Very effervescent, quenching, like soda water, with a dry finish and a slight acidic bite .

Overall: 3 – Extremely sessional and very refreshing. Nothing feels flawed or off-putting about this beer in anyway. Its a good version of the style.