Saison Dupont

Brewed since 1844, this beer has a phenomenal taste rooted in strong traditional history.

It pours with a large amount of haze, a body of orange with carbonation appearing around the sides. The head is very creamy, forming in a strong foam like consistency of around a finger or two at the top. There’s a lot of classical Belgian saison scent that comes through in this, with straw, bread and citrus dominating the aroma. A bit of apple can also be smelt, but is not dominating. The taste reiterates these smells with the yeast making a grand appearance. Breaking through is also a much more ester taste, reminding me of bananas. The carbonation can be considered of a medium level- it certainly is prominent, but not overriding. Saison Dupont is perhaps the epitome, apotheosis of what a saison should be. With more experimental beers arising from the craft beer revolution, one should not forget that sometimes the traditional beers are the best beers. Definitely a summer beer, drink this when the sun is out, and you’re out too.

Hammerton Brewery- Oyster Stout

In the first half of the 20th century, it was Hammerton who became famous as the first brewery to use oysters as part of the brewing process. After a relative of the original brewers set up a new brewery in 2014, they started to create this wonderful beer again.

The beer pours quite dark- brownish black- with a small coffee/ tan coloured head. Coffee, baker’s chocolate and salt (sea air perhaps?) dominate the scent of the beer. The addition of wild Maldon oysters to the boil for the last 30 minutes create a very mild oyster flavour, but not one that is overpowering and nor is it as easy to pick up on the nose. Coffee becomes more present in the taste, along with a healthy dose of oats that were less prominent in the scent. The feel of the beer is highly smooth, slightly creamy and leaves a bitter finish. This is a wonderful stout that actually became easier to drink with time.

Despite only brewing for a year, Hammerton brewery is already making a name for itself in the craft beer world. Definitely one to grab and watch out for, you can buy Hammerton beers for just over £2 in Budgens. As they grow, their distribution will improve.

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

This is the epitome of a Weiss beer… And one that should set an example for others.

Brewed under the strict laws in the German beer industry, weihenstephaner (brewing since 1040) have made a wonderful, reliable beer here. It pours a hazy gold- similar to some new craft beer pales- with an average head that dissipated quickly. A highly sweet banana, reminiscent of artificial or unripe banana, hits the nose in a wave that also has hints of pear and apple. Typical of most wheat beers, clove is also apparent. The taste is very similar to the scent and all aforementioned flavours come through in abundance. There is a moderate level of carbonation and a slight lemon/ floral background that prevent the beer becoming too sweet. The wheat makes the beer seem almost chewy, giving it substance that makes it easy to drink without food. However, if you were to try it with food, I’d choose typical German cuisine (sausages, pulled pork, ham steak- anything pork really!).

Their website is full of the interesting history of the brewery (beginning in 725 AD when a monastery was founded alongside brewing at Weihenstephan. Through the ages this brewery has stood firm to traditional German brewing.

Five Points Brewing Company- Hook Island Red (Chinook, Columbus, Simcoe)

This red pours with a fairly large head that remains a while and a copper- reddish body that is fairly hazy (again, an unfiltered beer). On the nose, the beer smells similar to some pales with grapefruit, lemon and pine shooting out from the Chinook, Columbus and Simcoe hops. Passion fruit too makes a mild appearance. You can also just pick out the rye (20% of the malts) induced spices. It is these spices, along with pine, that become the main flavours of the beer and the larger the sip, the more I could pick up on the spices. Specifically, there was a slightly peppery tang that, along with a biscuit after-taste, left the beer quite bitter and dry at the end. It is slightly carbonated.

Five Points have been running since 2013, based out of Hackney. A quick scan over their website shows the type of wonderful company you’re supporting with each purchase of high quality, innovative craft beer: “We are a Living Wage employer, we run an apprenticeship scheme for 18-24 year olds in Hackney, we source our energy from 100% renewable sources, and we are committed to reinvesting a 5% of our profits in local charities and community projects.” Worth both a visit to their compound, and a taste at your local supplier.

Partizan Brewery- Pale Ale (Apollo and Cascade)

This pale ale pours a hazy (unfiltered) yellow/ gold with a generous head.

Rather than striking a balance between tropical and citrus aromas, Partizan leans heavily to the side of citrus. It opens with a little bit of passionfruit alongside strong bursts of orange and lemon. The taste is slightly sweet at first, perhaps more of the orange coming through. However, the pithiness of lemon arrives and, combined with slight carbonation, releases a slight acidity- leaving the mouth with a slightly dry, bitter finish. This might induce puckering of the lips, but the memory of the initial sweetness does make you want more sips! There is a mild floral background, but the focus is definitely on citrus. This is a wonderful beer for those embracing all the wonderful new flavours that craft brewers can produce, or those who lean on the side of citrus in the citrus- tropical pale ale tandem.

            

This can be bought for £2.50 at some places in London. Or if you can’t find it at your local shop, pop down to the Bermondsey beer mile where Partizan Brewery are open every Saturday from 11:00 – 17:00.

Beavertown- Neck Oil Session IPA

Beavertown have perfected this beer. Unfiltered, it pours hazy yellow into the glass.

There are 8 hops in this beer, used in a heavy dosage, that create a transatlantic winner. Mango, passionfruit, pineapple and other tropical fruits erupt from the can after opening. In the background lemon and a slight earthiness- possibly pine- make their way forward, but never take front stage from the tropical side of this beer. It’s quite a thin beer- typical of a session (and a HIGHLY sessionable drink at that) with very mild carbonation. The flavours don’t overpower one another and slowly recede, leaving a slightly bitter finish making another sip inevitable. That’s probably quite good as the longer you leave the beer, the less tropical it is, and definitely the pine and biscuitiness of the hops came through more right at the end. I was told to drink this beer outside on a sunny day and have to admit it was the best advice I was given. A perfect beer for summer BBQs, gatherings or festivals.

Beavertown have produced a truly wonderful beer here. However, it is not to be surprising and you should definitely check out their other stuff. This can was bought for £1.95 in Bottle Apostle (London) but if you want an even fresher experience, head to their bar.

The Kernel- Pale Ale (Mosaic and Equinox)

A lovely beer, this pale ale is tropical heavy on the nose and floral heavy on the tongue.

This version of their pale ale (they have released a number using different hops) pours as a hazy, dark gold or amber colour with a small/ medium size, white foamy head. When opened, a wave of tropical flavours, symbolic of the Juicy Banger revolution, streams out. Specific fruits include mango, passionfruit and grapefruit. Accompanying them is slight floral, piney aroma that takes the front stage when tasted. Fresh cut grass joins the floral taste whilst the citrus, tropical side seems to retreat a bit- but not fully. Like many other beers at The Kernel, this is a great example of the flavours and aromas that hopped up craft beer can produce.

This beer can be bought in a 330ml bottle for around £2.50 in most of London. The Kernel is a fantastic new craft brewery emerging along the Bermondsey Beer Mile in London and is open every Saturday for 5 hours selling beer directly from the brewery.

And Union- Beast of the Deep

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This is an absolutely wonderful beer. And Union have combined the staples of a good Bavarian bock alongside creative new ideas that their brewery is known for, producing a craft beer beauty.

It pours a clean amber colour with a head that dissipates reasonably fast and carbonation bubbles that rise up the side of the glass. It is unpasteurised and unfiltered and therefore slightly hazy, but not completely cloudy. The smell smacks of apple and caramel, combining to produce a clean, candied apple scent. Honey is also a prominent feature on the nose and in the background there is a slight champagne smell, perhaps aided by the carbonation when you stick your nose up close. A deep intake of aroma also left me with a face full of marzipan. Beast of the deep highlights that the craft beer revolution is not just about hops, and uses beautiful malts to create a caramel and honey flavoured taste (but does use a good helping of hops to alter this traditional beer). The apple does not recede on taste and remains in the mouth throughout. At the end there is a mildly bitter, biscuity finish that begs you to sip again to relive the sweetness of the apple/ honey combo. There is a slight yeasty feel to this beer with a creamy, chewy sensation typical of wheat beers. This would work perfect with pork- a nice chunk of gammon, sausages or pulled!

And Union are an interesting brewery- part of the craft beer revolution in Germany that have managed to maintain that country’s long history of wonderful lagers whilst bringing in more flavours than traditionally tasted in these beers. They are a family business through and through and are most definitely worth checking out.

“WE DO THINGS VERY DIFFERENTLY. WE LIKE DOING IT THAT WAY AND WE HOPE THAT YOU’LL LIKE THE FRUITS OF OUR EFFORTS.”