The other day I had a long chat with a late 50’s, huge CAMRA
supporter who, rather tragically, is one who has not embraced anything brewed
since 1987. I didn’t shout or judge, I was just interested in his opinions to
see if we shared any common thoughts. On the whole, we did not.
But one eminence did strike a chord with me and has led me
to this post. Whilst discussing a decent pint of Hook Norton’s Old Hooky, a
beer he professed to have first drank in 1978, he made the following statement,
“Hook Norton has made a small number of beers consistently well for over 40
years. These new breweries are too prolific and don’t focus on maintaining a stellar
range.” It got me thinking about some of the experimental “one-off” beers I’ve
had recently, the new breweries I like that seem to have a new beer out every
day and the fact that all beer lovers seem to have had a disappointing pint of
Punk IPA at some point in the last 6 months.
Which leads me on to a taste test with a range of, what may
only be described as “Novelty” beers, brewed by some of my favourite breweries
to see if they do hold any particular relevance or sustainability.
(For several reasons, like location, I didn’t have any
photos so have accompanied this with pictures I do not own)
Beer number one was By Zeus from Arbor Ales, this is part of
their Freestyle Fridays range. 400 IBUs it says and one of my favourite beer
names and labels of all time - this beer has much to live up to. It's a slightly hazy blonde
colour, with lovely aromas; sweet sesame seed and honey, with a hint of lemon.
Certainly comparable to a big double IPA at first. The taste is bitter (DUH!!!).
A big citrussy hoppiness keeps trying to hit you but then those bitters steal
it from your tongue. With each mouthful it’s like an attempted prison break by
citrus hops being quickly overpowered by bitter malts. When they do break out
they're pleasant, but just how much do I enjoy the bitter hit? Maybe a beer to
experience and most probably enjoy once, but not rush to a second time
Next was the Mikkeller 10, which poured a massive head, big
haze and lovely amber colour. The aroma is hops. Did they mention that there
are 10 hops in this beer? Well this beer smells of hops so I’m assuming that is
the case. There's also a background of hops with a little hint of hops. So what
does it taste of? Well, surprisingly, it's a little malty. There's quite a balanced
quality to it I was not expecting, quite a hit of alcohol that you don't anticipate
and a fizzy carbonation. But aside from that it's a decent beer in the new
world IPA style. Unfortunately, I reckon a beer of similar quality could be created
with one or two hops. In fact I know it can, it's been done many a time. This IS a novelty act.
Finally, came the Kernel India Pale Ale Black V, again, part
of a range they’ve been working through. It pours a muddy brown and is
completely hazy and sediment ridden despite being settled for hours (wish I’d
managed a picture.) I’m not sure what I've done wrong. It has a deep hoppy
floral aroma with a big mix of sweet toffee and tulips. The taste is a little
mixed. Black Jacks come through initially, followed quickly by little
carbonated air bubbles, subsiding for a malt characteristic and then a long hop
finish. It's a mixed bag. So we can assume it’s unbalanced and it is. If you
sold this to me as a new brewer I would be intrigued and excited, but someone
like The Kernel knows better than this. At this point I’m left contemplating
why I spent my money on a pointless, uncared for experimentation when I could
have had one of their “proper” beers.
I hate to be a killjoy but the experimentation and inexhaustible
number of brews has gone a tad far recently and does need reigning in. Series
such as Brewdog’s Abstrakt were all well and good, and a novelty at first, but if the core range is
suffering then its not worth it to me. The fact that I know I’ve had bad Punk
IPA recently is testimony that it is a beer I will happily go back to. And isn’t brewing
a business after all? Don’t they need us to go back for more?
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