Recently, the lovely people at HonestBrew got in touch to see if I’d like to review some of their great beer selection. A few months ago, I bought my boyfriend four beers from these guys. Two he’d had before and two he’d not, he really enjoyed them and was impressed by their selection.
For those reasons alone, I knew I had to say yes and after much conversation, the team sent us over a selection of 6 beers. Taking into account the tastes myself and my boyfriend and chucking a few surprises in there too.
However, if you’d like to create your own selection of beer, you can and it’s extremely simple! Head to their website, pick your beers and construct your own box. Their online bottle shop has a huge selection of beers from all over the world! They also offer subscription boxes, howlers, pre-selected mixed cases and much more too.
As a reader of Mixtape Couture, those awesome guys at HonestBrew have supplied me with a link offering you 50% off the taster kit which will begin your subscription! That’s pretty awesome going so make sure you follow this link and check it out for yourself.
So to review the beer, was a beer novice and seasoned beer drinker:
Beer novice: Lottie, writer at Mixtape Couture. I only started to experiment with beer drinking in the past year. I’m very much into fruit beer and light, refreshing beers too. Nothing too heavy or strong for me.
Seasoned beer drinker: Paul, the boyfriend and lover of dark beers. Occasionally working in a pub and always on the lookout for new beers to try, it’s the dark, rich and sometimes odd beers that usually end up being the ones he loves.
Siren Craft Brew Calypso Dry Hopped Berliner Weisse 4%
Charlotte’s thoughts: “As soon as I opened this bottle, the sourness of the beer completely hit me. I was intrigued to see how that would effect the taste and ultimately whether I would like it or not. It came across as quite tangy and almost a bit vinegary for me. Although, I had a few sips, it is not something I fully enjoyed. It’s not a bad beer but not for me really.”
Paul’s thoughts: “You can smell how sour the beer is immediately, and there’s a strong grapefruit and sea salt flavour that hits the tongue before giving way to a tangy and dry tartness that I really enjoyed. I’ve had this beer before, but it was on Keg. From the bottle the beer has slightly thick, syrupy texture in the pour and on the palette. I think I prefer it bottled like this. It’s a complex beer and I really enjoyed exploring the flavours within it.”
Boundary American Pale Ale 3.5%
Charlotte’s thoughts: “This one smelt quite hoppy on opening which is quite weird as that is not a flavour I picked up on at all throughout my time drinking it. The rich, dark colour gives you the impression this one may be a heavy beer but it is not at all. Although, the flavour here is rich and interesting with a sweet after taste and a sharpness on the tongue. It is a nice sipping beer that I grew the really like and I definitely would drink this again.”
Paul’s thoughts: “Maybe it was because I’d drank the Calypso before I tasted this, but It was so sweet and sugary on the palette for me. Immediately I was hit by a mix of caramel and toffee flavours, as well as lemon peel. I also tasted treacle and digestive biscuits. It was an easy drinking, flavoursome beer, but maybe it’d be too sickly after more than a couple of drinks.”
Magic Rock Dark Arts Surreal Stout 6%
Charlotte’s thoughts: “There was a dark, tarry look to this beer that came through in smell of the deep, rich, coffee bitterness. I’m not really one for dark beer and as a result my palette is quite uneducated with stouts and porters. Though Paul managed to pick out so many flavours, I could only really make out iron and coffee; a bit like a cold espresso with metallic undertones. A really rich and deep beer but again not something I could take more than a sip of.”
Paul’s thoughts: “I’ve a lot of time for Magic Rock Brewery, and the Surreal Stout is a lovely drop. Like the Partizan Brewing Stout, I tasted bitter cocoa and metals, but I think it is a more complex flavour, with hints of liquorice and a salty tang on the tongue as well. It’s got a lovely dark head and is slightly carbonated, which I enjoyed. It’s not ridiculously strong either, so I could feasibly drink a few of these and not totally regret it!”
Crate Brewery Watermelon Wheat 5.5%
Charlotte’s thoughts: “This one is quite a complex one in terms of smell and flavour. As soon as I opened the can, it smelt sour, almost cider or vinegary with hints of fruit underneath. It’s a very strong smell and a very strong taste that is almost tangy on the tongue. There are crisp, clean flavours coming from the watermelon and what tastes like cucumber. It is quite refreshing and light, much like a G&T in that sense, but it is quite watery in consistency. It was a nicer taste than I was anticipating from the smell, one that definitely surprised me.”
Paul’s thoughts: “This was a strange one, on the one hand, Watermelon will compliment a Wheat Beer very well, and so it does with this beer, which has an earthy and fresh aroma, plus there is a fresh and acidic taste to the beer overall. Yet on the other hand, this freshness and earthiness didn’t necessarily blow me away, and truth be told I felt the Watermelon didn’t really add much new flavour to the beer, rather it just expanded upon the Wit flavourings already present. It’s a pleasant enough beer and certainly doesn’t taste like a 5.5% beer, I although I wasn’t blown away by it, I’d happily drink it again.”
Cloudwater Brew Co – Spring/Summer Session IPA E.431 4.5%
Charlotte’s thoughts: “This is one that I was most definitely looking forward to trying. As soon as you open this, you can smell the fresh, citrusy flavours with an undertone of hops. It is a light and refreshing beer with a fizzy and zingy aftertaste in your mouth. The lemon and orange citrus flavours are prominently running throughout this one. It is a great beer to drink whenever and it is one I will be on the lookout for again.”
Paul’s thoughts: “The beer has a clear citrus peel flavour, with hints of pink pepper and I thought I might be able to taste some hibiscus in there too. The IPA had a dry, sour flavour as well, and was quite carbonated. I enjoy cloudwater as a brewery, and it’s an enjoyable beer, but I don’t think I could actually have a session on it, as the dryness of it wasn’t totally to my taste.”
Charlotte’s thoughts: “This was the one Paul was most excited about and it is one that most definitely did not disappoint him. For me, I was again wary of my under-educated palette being unable to appreciate such a rich and complex beer. On opening, coffee, burnt chocolate and metal all hit your nose with a slight hint of nuts; all rich and deep aromas. Personally, I found the taste bitter, irony, metallic and too harsh but the consistency of the beer itself was smooth and easy to drink in that respect. It is a very strong beer and had the metal and bitterness not been too overwhelming for me tastewise, I think this may have been one I could have drunk more of.”
Paul’s thoughts: “I was looking forward to this one! It has a strong mix of bitter flavours, I could taste coffee, cocoa, burnt toast and marmalade, as well as metals like iron and steel, and lingering flavours of malt and oats. It had a satisfyingly thick and smooth texture, although I could taste burnt sugar in the beer which I wasn’t overly keen on. It took me an age to drink though, due to the ABV of the beer, but I was in no rush(!)”
I think it’s safe to say we both enjoyed our evening of being beer tasters and we both found a new favourite. Myself with the Cloudwater and Paul with the Partizan. Thanks again to HonestBrew for getting in touch and sending us these awesome beers for us to try!
Don’t forget to head to the HonestBrew website via this link to get 50% off the taster kit to begin your own HonestBrew subscription!
To find out more about HonestBrew visit their website. You can follow them on Facebook, Instagram – @honestbrew and Twitter – @HonestBrew
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