| |
Australia
 scrapes in  decent  good  excellent  sublime
James Boag's, Premium 
This Tasmanian lager is aromatic, with hoppy and lightly malted notes, and a creaminess on the nose. That impression really follows through on the palate,
which is quite thick-textured and very rich, with a rolling, milky quality, and only very gentle effervescence. Its flavours are clean and dry, with a nice bite on
the finish, but this is a very gentle and grown-up style of beer that I really enjoyed. 37.5cl. 5.0%ABV. £28.50 for 24 Surf4beer. 
back to beer notes index
|
|
|
Cooper's Brewery, Pale Ale
This bottle-fermented beer cascades into the glass in a great swirling cloud of yeasty, ginger-beer-coloured bubbles. The nose has caramel and a light iodine note,
and a dry hoppiness. On the palate it is quite light, with a smooth texture and good flavour, without being particularly distinctive. Dry and well-balanced, I
enjoyed this beer very much. 37.5cl. 4.5%ABV. £29.50 for 24 Surf4beer.
back to beer notes index
|
|
|
Cooper's Brewery, Sparkling Ale
This pours (with a little agitation of the sediment) in a cloud of darker, gold/bronze with quite a tight, just off-white head. The nose is lovely, with a little hint of cinammon, fine hops and fruity notes. On the palate
it is medium-bodied and smooth, with a rich moussy attack, and subtly toasty character. It is a very classy beer, with a tight-grained, bitter hoppiness and a lovely focus of quite fruity, herbal flavours and that subtle toast held in check. Long and excellent.
37.5cl. 5.8%ABV £1.49 Surf4beer, Peckhams.
back to beer notes index
|
|
|
Little Creatures, Pale Ale
Only recently imported into the UK, Little Creatures is a light-gold, hazy (bottled-conditioned) ale with a lacy white head. It is vividly aromatic, brewed from whole hop flowers, and has a grassy, tangy, tangerine and
lemon zest nose. On the palate there's more of that orange and bitters tang, with a smooth, full body, and then a really depth of toasty, warming malt. This is long and decisive, with bags of character. 33cl. 5.2%ABV. £1.45 Waitrose, Luvians.
back to beer notes index
|
|
|
|
|
