It's been a strange old year for craft beer fans, no events, no tastings and only a handful of visits to pubs/bars during the Summer. Still, the year hasn't been a complete right off, because of the on-line market we've been able to support the trade by buying directly from the breweries, the variety and quality of the beers on offer has probably never been higher. In the photo above you can see the double fridge at my local craft brewer Siren (still open for takeaways) it's always interesting to pop over there and see what the latest batch has to offer, even if it is only for consumption at home.
Anyway, here's my usual roundup of the more noteworthy beers tasted this year..
1. Fruit, Car, Sight, Exhibition – Verdant (Falmouth) Citra is the hop in this double IPA, an 8% fruit bomb of a beer, layer upon layer of wonderful grapefruit and tropical fruits, soft pillowy mouthfeel and just the tiniest hint of bitterness. Verging on a perfect East-Coast DIPA.
2. Every Minute Matters – Siren (Finchampstead) A classic West Coast IPA made in collaboration with Green Cheek Beer Co, based in Orange County, California. Mosaic, Citra, Simcoe and Sabro combine in this beauty to give a crisp and clean marmalade of a beer, perfect lip coating bitterness, textbook!
3. This is a concept – Verdant (Falmouth) Old school American hops in a West Coast style, assertive bitterness but balanced with a dank fruity core, pithy citrus for days!
4. Neal gets things done – Verdant (Falmouth) A hazy, juicy, fluffy, yellow, almost glowing beer. Classic American hops plus Nelson from NZ give a wonderful umami vibe to this rather unusual IPA, really addictive nose and satisfying flavour combo. A few of these and nothing’s going to get done!
5. Azaccattack – Siren (Finchampstead) A single hop IPA featuring Azacca from Australia, mango and pineapple heaven, decent bitterness and perfect balance. At 6.1% it’s also got good body and mouthfeel, wonderful with a BBQ.
6. I Left my wallet in El Dorado – Siren (Finchampstead) Along the same lines as Azaccattack (they look identical) but different hops. El Dorado hops take the lead here and deliver a dank and more piney core with nice citrus and stone fruit notes to follow, not really East or West, an IPA for the over-fly zone.
7. Best foot forward – DEYA (Cheltenham) A unusual choice among all these hazy IPA’s but this one stood out for me this year, a classic English bitter. Light citrus, bitter and a golden malt core, sessionable for days, a beer to savor on a rainy afternoon.
8. NZ Pilsner – Verdant (Falmouth) Not content with making the best IPA’s (West and East) the Cornish maestros can also turn their hand to lager. This one was the best I tasted in 2020, featuring Nelson hops it was bright and bitter with a lovely citrus tone (lager-top’ish). Perfect thirst quencher in the warmer weather.
9. Caldera Lake – Vibrant Forest (New Forest) Loved this beer, I had a couple of cans of it and can’t wait to buy some more. A hefty 8% single hop DIPA featuring Simcoe in all its dank, piney glory. Thick and juicy but this one is all about the hops, delicious.
10. Sonoma – Track Brewing Company (Manchester) a relative lightweight in this company at only 3.8% but so, so tasty. Plenty of American C hops plus Mosaic lifts the taste of this beer well above the ordinary. Try taking a sip and not saying “wow”!
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