A box of 10 hoppy beers from the top-rated brewery in Wales who are famous for the hoppy beers they brew?! Yes please!
I drank my way through all 10 cans, and here’s what I tasted…
IS IT OVER. A 4% pale ale with Simcoe and Strata, it’s hazy orange in appearance and hazy orange in flavour, with definite notes of orange squash. There’s also some dank and herbal aromas, and lemon peel and pith. It’s got a lot of depth for a 4% beer!
FLORET. This Extra Pale Ale is 4.2% and brewed with Azacca, Citra and Simcoe. It’s very pale yellow with a creamy foam. It’s crisper than some of the others in the box, with a lively carbonation and some pithy citrus hops making this one nice and refreshing.
LITTLE PATTERNIST. An El Dorado and Simcoe 5% Pale Ale, it’s got a sweet citrus aroma, tropical fruit squash, some melon. It comes out with big flavour up front, then finishes lighter.
LITTLE PETAL. A 5.2% West Coast Pale Ale with the classic West Coast hops of Cascade, Amarillo and Simcoe. It’s a little hazy (but less hazy than all the others!), there’s lots of lemony hops with some lemon candy and lemon sherbet, plus some savoury aromas, a bit of woody spice, and a nice crisp bitterness which lasts a while – just what you want in a West Coast Pale!
HUMBLE RENDER. This 5.7% Pale Ale is brewed with Citra, El Dorado and Sabro, and it pours a thicker, hazier yellow compared to some of the others. The Sabro comes through really nicely (but I like this hop – not everyone does!) with a dried dill aroma and a creaminess that’s rounded out by tangy citrus, some strawberry, and a peppery finish. Great full texture.
OH MY. Oh my indeed – this was my favourite beer in the box. Citra and Sabro in a 5.8% Pale Ale, you get lots of juicy hops and a lovely aroma of tinned orange, orange cordial, sweet melon, candied citrus and zesty citrus. There’s a lot of hop flavour layered through this beer.
ROSEBUD. A 5.6% IPA with Citra, Galaxy, Mosaic and Simcoe, and with that combo of hops you know it’s going to be good. It’s light yellow and light in hazy, with lemon peel, orange, tropical fruit and some danker herbal aromas. Nice soft texture and a crisp dryness to finish.
ELLA FROM DOWN UNDER. With Ella and Simcoe, this 6.1% IPA pours a thick hazy orange and has a big juicy hop aroma. There’s peach and apricot, fermented tropical fruits, sweet melon and papaya, a little booziness, and a peppery hop finish.
PATTERNIST. A 6.6% IPA with El Dorado and Simcoe, it’s like tropical fruit juice with some bitter melon, strawberry and some herbal dank aromas. It starts creamy and full, then ends dry and pithy.
SPUR. Brewed with Azacca, Citra and Simcoe, this 7.2% IPA has a thick hazy yellow texture, some ripe peach, some fruity yeast esters, stone fruit, a creaminess and fullness to the texture which is a really mouthfeel, and a great overall balance to the finish.