Frontier - New Wave Craft Lager

Okay, in my last post you know how I mentioned that I forced myself past the wicked cool labeled beer and picked up a nice traditional, pretty plain looking one??.... Well this time I was utterly, completely, unapologeticly drawn in by the alcoholic "cover art", which you can see for yourself in the accompanying picture (and by checking out our instagram)
Unfortunately, and believe me I hate to say it, the bottle design may have been the best thing about the beer. I am loathed to say it but I was pretty massively underwhelmed. If I was to provide an analogy, which I'm sure you all want me to do, I'd equate it to sitting under an apple tree waiting for an apple to fall into your hand, and having an onion land in your lap.
The bottle sells by saying that the "combination of new world hops deliver citrus and spicy notes to reward your thirst for exploration". Perhaps I'm just lacking in a sense of exploration, because I found the taste pretty tame. There was a certain zestfulness, but this was only noticeable when you really payed attention to the taste. The only plus points I can give it (other than the afor-fawned-over label) are that a) it was certainly refreshing and b) when popping the cap off the bottle, it definitely smells amazing. However, at least from my own point of view, the delicious scent is a harbinger of disappointment.
I therefore give it my lowest score yet, and match my colleague's previous score of 3/10.

Henry

Bacchus Raspberry Beer

Greetings beer lovers! This is my first post and now I realise I have a lot of catching up to do - my silence has been broken so this train is filled up with coal and ready to leave the station. Buckle up!

So here we go, Bacchus is a Lambic beer (though not an entirely traditional one) made in Belgium by Van Honsebrouch brewing company, and for those of you who don't know what Lambic beer is, I've done the research for you: basically Lambic beers hail from some region Belgium and it is just a different type of beer which is left in open vats with wild yeast. Then, in the case of Bacchus at least, it is fermented with fruit.

On to the beer itself - perhaps the best thing I can say about raspberry beer is that it is presented wonderfully, almost like a miniature bottle of wine, all wrapped in fancy looking paper which makes it all feel super classy. So the taste: well it's those first few sips that sell the beer to you and the first thing you notice is that it's somewhat refreshing to begin with but when you wash that away you're hit with a very dry taste with only the slightest hint of raspberry and once you've exceeded 4 or 5 big sips, the illusion of the delightful berry red colour of the beer diminishes with haste.

Overall this isn't what I would call a great beer, maybe a good one or an okay one considering it's a fruity beer, but it's not something that is going to take the edge off after a long day when you crack open a cold one and lie on the couch and in the end isn't that what we all really want?

With all that in mind I'm giving Bacchus Raspberry Beer our first 3/10

Jack

Old Speckled Hen

To restart this blog I felt it'd be good to go for a nice familiar name, so while wandering the beer aisle in Sainsbury's, and having all these interesting and fancy looking bottles calling to me, I eventually landed on a beer that I recognize through countless TV adverts featuring an ever sneaky fox... Old Speckled Hen.
The bottle says that Old Speckled Hen (OSH) is a "Strong fine ale" and that certainly rings true with the flavour. It's certainly got a nice distinguished taste which is both delicious and refreshing. You can tell that OSH is an ale too by the strength of flavour and the beery aftertaste which, although slightly bitter, is very pleasant.
I have to admit that I've been drinking  a lot of the same beers recently, all of them fairly light in flavour and colour (I'm sticking with the English spellings no matter how much blogger tries to correct me). Therefore to be drinking a pleasantly dark, pleasantly strong ale was a very welcome change of pace. Having said that, summer is fast approaching, so I think I will be leaving Old Speckled Hen for colder times, where I want a nice beery wallop.
All in all, I give it a good 5/10
Henry

The Inevitable

So it happened. There was always a chance, but it definitely happened. The unstoppable boozy train ground to a halt.. and for this I am eternally sorry.
But still! At least we got it out of the way early! Not only that, but I recently made a purchase, that was not only ethically bought from a charity shop, but will act as a guiding light to this blog, and to its eventual destruction of my liver. I present to you "300 Beers to Try Before you Die!" by Roger Protz.
So yes, it's time to dry those tears for your long lost blog, and get back on the road from Beer to Eternity!

Henry

Dead Pony Club

This is a helluva beer. Got it out in the first sentence! I loved it, all of it, every last drop. Dead Pony Club is a California Pale Ale from the BrewDog Brewery company. This Scottish based brewing company has won me over completely with their no nonsense approach to beer. On their website brewdog.com they say “We have a terminal addiction to make beers we want to drink. Beer with teeth and balls. Beer we lust for. Crafted beer.” How can you not appreciate that??

Dead Pony Club is light, fruity, but still with enough substance to make it feel like you’re actually drinking something, not just sucking down fizzy water.  Combined with a great company name, awesome bottle design, and an amazing outlook on beer (which is perfectly worded on the side of their bottles) I think it’s safe to say I’m falling in love with this beer, and this company. Personally I hope it’s a love that lasts for a very very long time. 

So down to the rating!! I feel like the perfect 10 has to be saved for the shining light at the end of the voyage, the lighthouse calling us home. Therefore… cue drum roll… I’m giving Dead Pony Club a 9/10!!

 “But wait!” I hear you cry, “This is the third review you’ve done, surely it’s a tad early to be throwing around the 9!?” to those of you who say that, I say try Dead Pony Club for yourself, I’m sure you’ll agree. As for me I cant wait to try the rest of the BrewDog collection.

Henry

Spring Sprinter

Onto the second beer already!! What can I say, I like to keep our audience on their toes... and I was walking right by a pub so y'know, what was I supposed to do??
Right! So this beer, as per the title, is called Spring Sprinter and is in fact an ale. Brewed by Fullers Spring Sprinter is one of their seasonal brews and as the name points out, it's intended for the spring season.
Going by what the website says again (fullers.co.uk) this ale is "A light zesty ale with a real spring in its step" as well as having "subtle gooseberry flavours... balanced perfectly with the biscuity sweetness". 
Now I openly admit to not being the biggest fan of ales, it's something I believe potentially comes with age, but I certainly enjoyed the Spring Sprinter. The first sip was actually pretty bitter which came as a slight surprise, but as I reached for it again... and again.... and again it opened up and was full on, down right enjoyable.
I found it nicely easy to drink and just as a side note, it pairs amazingly with cheese and onion crisps.
If I had to pick one criticism, which I suppose for the sake of balance I must, I'd say that athough the zesty flavour was at the very least mutely present, there was a distinctly heavy, bitter aftertaste.
Therefore, all in all, I give it an 7/10 (I know Pistonhead got a 7 too but it's coincidence honest)
P.S. For anyone local to Winchester reading this, I would also highly recommend the pub I was wandering past, The Wykeham Arms. I'd walked past it several times previously but this was the first time I'd gone in and was oh so happily surprised. Any pub that allows dogs is a good pub in my book.
Henry

Me enjoying a Spring Sprinter

Pistonhead Kustom Lager

Okay, so here we are with the first beer! Pistonhead Kustom Lager is brewed by the Brutal Brewing company in Sweden, so like all awesome things we're starting with a Viking. 
The website brutalbrewing.com describes this beer as having "A very rich malty flavor with balanced and marked bitterness." which is certainly true. I personally definitely enjoyed this beer, not to mention its sweet label design. When wandering through the beer section in the supermarket I found myself transfixed by all the pretty labels, but this one was just cool enough to tip the balance. 
The malty flavour was very clear, not to mention delicious, however the only possible drawback was the bitterness. For me the perfect pinnacle of  beer needs to be something which you could happily drink a gallon of just due to its easy flavour. While tasty, I'd definitely leave a beat between bottles of Kustom. That being said it most certainly won't be my last Pistonhead!
All things concidered, I give it a solid 7/10
Henry