This is a really nice beer, very easy drinking with great fruit flavours and a vibrant cloudy yellow colour.
You should buy this beer as you will enjoy it. ... And now for the rant. What a godawful can this is. Stylistically it's pretty cool but seriously, do you expect me to drink out of that? The divot around the top is deeper to increase the strength, which on the downside makes it a bitch to clean so good luck wiping away the inevitable rat piss that will get around it from sitting in a warehouse. And it pours like a sonofabitch too wasting too much of a nice beer. Nice beer, shit can. Seriously guys, it's letting you down. Type Session IPA Country of Origin UK, England Brewer London Beer Factory ABV 4.6% Size 330ml godawful can
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 Tea. Earl Grey. Cold.
Mr Crusher, set course for Starbase Piste. ... Ok, I'm done. So yeah, it's a nice beer. The tea flavours coming through I initially found to be a bit... odd, but when I finally parsed it through my head I decided that it worked, it was a really pleasant drinking beer. Quite high on the alcohol content though so I wouldn't recommend making a session of it. There is a nice fruitiness on the nose that just carries subtle hints of the tea flavour, it's smooth drinking bordering on slightly dry (not saying that's a bad thing) and as you can see from the picture it gives a pretty vibrant serve. It's definitely one to bring on a sampling day with friends, or when playing a gumshoe detective on the holodeck. Type IPA with Tea Country of Origin UK, England (New Zealand brand) Brewer Brewdog PLC, for Yeastie Boys ABV 6.5% Size 330ml can  Uugh, I have not been looking forward to writing this review, here's where I get to look like a dick and Magic Rock get to hate me.
It's not a nice beer. I can see what they're trying to do, after all it is right there in the name, and the cherry cola does come across very well on the nose. Now, before anyone says "Maybe you're just a big cherry coke hatin' bastard" I actually love cherry cola to the point that it has been the subject of an almost lifelong mockery. I enjoy a nice cold cherry coke almost as much as I enjoy direct stimulation of my reproductive organs. The problem is that there is too much cherry. You get an enormous burst of sourness at the front that overpowers every other flavour except a lingering aftertaste of SodaStream cola and disappointment. My advice to Magic Rock, for what it's worth or if they even want it is to drop the sour cherries from the mix (or cut waaaay back at the very least), the sweet cherries and kola nut should be enough to balance with the malts to create a pleasant and well rounded beer. I don't like giving bad reviews and am probably going to feel guilty about this for far longer than I should considering I'm really just adding another bit of white noise to the internet. I do like the can, it's very cool, and the colour of the beer is nice and it wasn't overly carbonated. Type Cherry Cola Berliner Weisse Country of Origin UK, England Brewer Magic Rock Brewing ABV 5.5% Size 330ml can  This is a great pale ale.
It's light with a pleasant zestiness from the citra and at 4.6% it's not overly punishing if you were going to use it as a session beer. I think that was the intention going into this particular beer. The nose also carries that sweet zest that frankly is a pleasure to sniff. The West Bay isn't overly carbonated, meaning that you'd really have to make a balls-up of the pour to have it foaming over the top of the glass. Just smooth drinking and a fantastically rich colour. I do tend to wax lyrical about the Lacada products in conversation (just beer conversation folks, I'm not running about looking for people to pin down and talk about Portrush beers to) but the reason being is that I find that they generally have a great consistency of balance. There are some craft beers that try to go for bold flavours up front and then have no follow through flavour so it's like getting a glass of cordial that hasn't mixed properly and what you taste is mostly water. The Lacada beers aren't like that, they always have a nice consistency on the tongue so I'm always happy to talk them up. So the West Bay is a nice, fresh beer for a sunny day with some friends and a BBQ. Type Citra Pale Ale Country of Origin Ireland (Northern) Brewer Lacada Brewery Co-operative ABV 4.6% Size 500ml bottle  I'm a big fan of the Lacada beers so it's something of a surprise that I'm only getting around to throwing up a review for one now, so I guess it's a good thing that I'm starting with one of their newer beers that I've just tried for the first time.
To be honest I'm not fussed on overly hoppy beers so I was given immediate pause when pouring this beer, it gave a big head that on first sip has intensely hoppy, and on the nose there is a strong fruitiness of hops. The pour was a beautifully rich and cloudy, and whilst giving a big head this wasn't an issue of over-carbonation but more of the continental European style of a large head to top off a quality beer. So the hops are carried very powerfully in the head, but when you get down to the beer itself it becomes a lot more balanced and very easy drinking for my particular tastes with the malt and oats coming through. I'm not sure if I would want to drink more than one or two in an evening though, whilst being well balanced it is still quite intense. It is a lovely ale but I wouldn't say that it is a session beer, more the sort of thing if you're having a few friends around to enjoy a couple of different beers then this is definitely one for making a strong finish. The big head coming down to a more balanced body falls somewhere between a woman with big 80's hair, and a hair-metal rocker. Type Double Dry Hopped Pale Ale Country of Origin Ireland (Northern) Brewer Lacada Brewery Co-operative ABV 4.5% Size 500ml bottle  Well right off the bat I was surprised that they'd labelled this beer as a lager as from the first pour it seemed to be more of an ale, and upon tasting I definitely would have labelled it an ale.
Don't take that as a criticism, it is a very, very nice beer. Taste is quite crisp but very richly layered, there is a great depth of flavour that I would more associate with ales, hence me repeating myself I suppose. It's still easy drinking and light enough on the alcohol content that it isn't going to be a punishment the next day. The nose has a nice mix of fruits and cereals, kind of like a proper breakfast. Though if you're taking beer for breakfast and aren't on a stag do then you probably have problems beyond needing your five-a-day. I have a friend who through sheer fondness of Bullhouse beers has probably been the sole source of funding for the company's growth, he's even done the visit to the brewery and got to make his own batch. It's a first for me though, but I have to give my friend his dues and say that he has picked out a good brewery to be his pet project, the beer is nice and I'll definitely be working my way through the rest of the range. On a side note I've always liked the kookie artwork on the Bullhouse cans, someone in the company has a good sense of style, they're very cool. Type Lager Country of Origin Ireland (Northern) Brewer Bullhouse Brewing Company ABV 4% Size 330ml can  I had to google it to find out the actual country of origin for the Sapporo, the side of the can looks like they're just naming places on the globe like some kind of bizarre travel plan. They're one of the four big breweries in Japan it seems.
The can is pretty damn cool being modeled after a pint glass. It's a pretty decent beer actually, nice smell and pretty rich, crisp taste. There's rice in it apparently. I don't know why but on hearing that I had visions of pouring a beer with Rice Krispies floating in it. Seemingly it's quite light on the calories if that sort of thing floats your boat. It's a nice colour and gives a good head (get your mind out of the gutter). If you're writing a review a couple of days after actually drinking it but kept the can so you can double check on the information and scent you'll notice that two days old the rice smell becomes more prominent. Doubt airing it out would do anything for the flavour though, I'd recommend drinking it on the day. Just for any Japanese salary men reading this, I know you're going to be drinking irresponsibly and rocking out the karaoke after work but don't be using my review as an excuse, it's a nice beer... don't be using it as a positive excuse either. I regularly sing drunk (I'm Irish), excuses are unbecoming. Type Lager Country of Origin Japan Brewer Sapporo ABV 5% Size 650ml can  Yeah, it's alright.
Ok, I'll write a bit more. On the hoppier end of the spectrum, as in going out of my preferred flavour profile but I still found it very pleasant to drink. Fruity hops and a rich nose with a tang of malt. I wondered why I liked the colour so much and then I realised that it was quite similar to the fake tan worn by an Armagh girl I used to go out with, she was quite fun even if it meant never being able to wear a white shirt. The Hoppel Hammer was quite fun too, it sat with me to watch Star Wars and didn't judge me for wasting a Saturday night. That's what I like in my beer, no judgement. At 6% it's starting to get into the realms of the stronger alcohol beers, so maybe it was trying to get me drunk and take advantage of me, but I think I'd let it seduce me. Type Triple Hopped IPA Country of Origin Ireland (Northern) Brewer Whitewater Brewery ABV 6% Size 500ml bottle  Well, another sunny day, another lager.
This little Italian is nice and crisp with a hint of fruity hops on the nose, perhaps a little hoppier than most lagers but it makes for a very pleasant drink. I'm not a fan of overly hoppy beers (there are some local craft beers that I just won't let past my lips) so take it as read that if I'm saying it's a bit hoppier than most lagers and am still calling it pleasant then the Menabrea is a tasty beverage. It's a crisp golden colour and isn't overly carbonated, so no crappy pours or burping all night (I'm looking at you, Budweiser). The Menabrea Birra Bionda has a notably different flavour to the Central and Northern European lagers, it has the Southern European warmth and distinction of an Italian lady, and incidentally is about as close as I'm probably ever going to get to an Italian lady (again). Type Lager Country of Origin Italy Brewer Birra Menabrea SPA ABV 4.8% Size 330ml bottle  Oh I liked this one.
Slightly weaker in flavour than the Lacada Devil's Washtub, but that is no bad thing as the Devil's Washtub is pretty intense. So yeah, the Clotworthy Dobbin has a great malt with plenty of depth and a beautiful ruby colour, check out the picture and see how it glows. It's a really nice rich ale but unfortunately I didn't have time to review it the day after I had sampled it so I can't remember if it gave me any particularly strong feelings of arousal. It possibly did not because I was drinking it a fair bit colder than the recommended 8 degrees, the Clotworthy Dobbin is the kind of ale that wants to snuggle up close but I was just being cold and mechanical. I left satisfied, but much like my love life I think that I've been a disappointment. Type Traditional Ale Country of Origin Ireland (Northern) Brewer Whitewater Brewery ABV 5% Size 500ml bottle |
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