Moor and Arbor, Dark Alliance

Opaque with a mildly foamy head, this Dark Alliance from Moor and Arbor had a thick coffee nose and taste wich was followed by a mild fruity hoppiness. Texture was a bit thin. Long, medium bitter aftertaste coupled with some fruity belches. I had this on keg at Westow House where I remember it being quite a bit more enjoyable (actually, it was one of those slightly embarrassing 'saying "cor" out loud' moments). Can I call this a black IPA? A black pale ale? (Or is that an oxymoron? Not that it particularly matters of course - good beer is good beer regardless of genre/type/pigeonhole/etc.) I liked this bottle and I polished it off quickly. It's nice to have the option of a decent session BIPA (most of the others I've tried have been 6%+ abv), although I suspect this is a limited edition. Purchased from Mr Lawrence before they went mail order only.

The Kernel Brewery, IPA: Citra, Ahtanum, Galaxy

My tasting notes are pretty sparse for this recent Kernel IPA. Obviously hoppy and fruity thanks to the Ahtanum from Washington, the Aussie Galaxy and Citra hops. As with Kernel's recent Amarillo Pale Ale, I think I noticed the malts a bit more. The same couldn't be said for the 7.3% abv, which was utterly indiscernable. A gentle lacing down the glass and each finish probably had some of that grapefruity bitterness to it (although I've got a feeling I'm making that up to sound more knowledgable).

The Kernel Brewery, Pale Ale: Amarillo

Typically amazing pale ale from Kernel. Brewed with the Amarillo hop. Sweets on the nose, light in texture and very smooth and drinkable. I think I got the sweetness of the malts through on a couple of swigs too. The colour was a "Kernel Yellow" and there was decent lacing down the glass. Not a bitter smasher, but a gentle and mild bitter linger in the finish. Top stuff as per.

The Kernel Brewery, India Brown Ale

Not my cup of tea this one from Kernel. (I had a similar issue with their Export India Porter.) I think it's one of their more permanent beers? Quite clearly an excellent beer, full of strong flavours, but the mix just didn't do it for in the same way that their BIPA did. I took bottle/glass photo in a room with mixed light sources so apologies for the weird colour.

Beavertown, Black Betty

I've had three bottles of Black Betty from Beavertown this past month: my first was more hoppy/citrusy (had after a long evening of other beers), my second was had by itself and was where I got the malty flavours (coffee and possibly blackcurrant?) much more than anything else (maybe some citrus in the finish). The third was at Powderkeg Diplomacy (after a few other beers) - this one seemed low on coffee malts and high on the citrus. I get the feeling that this difference in taste says less about the beer than it does about how easily influenced my palette can be. One thing that isn't in dispute is that Black Betty has been no less than 100% satisfying each time I've had it. I love it and will go back to it time and again. Love the new Beavertown website - great graphics/branding and glad the core range has increased.

Partizan Brewery, IPA: Columbus, Cascade, Bravo

Poured a similar colour to a light red ale? This IPA from Partizan became amazing at about the half way point. I tasted marshmallows? The bitterness wasn't a stinger, but gave me a kind of swelling at the back of the tongue and on the inside of the cheeks. Keen to try their next IPA.

Thornbridge, Halcyon

No tasting notes for this Imperial IPA from Thornbridge - bloggers/writers a great deal more experienced than myself have written much on this beer already, most of which I agree with. Fat citrus nose, full bodied West Coast IPA taste, long bitter finish. Alot 'cleaner' than other UK brewed West Coast IPA efforts (not necessarily a positive for me personally). Genre nit-picking is a downer I know (I only really bring it up for lack of copy on this one), but I wouldn't have called this an Imperial IPA myself, although I suppose in the Thornbridge context (i.e. Chiron, Jaipur then this) it's the 'correct' category for this beer. Thornbridge are ace - I used to pick up Jaipur ages ago from Waitrose and drank loads of them. It'd be great if they stocked this too.

Ps - Thornbridge collaboration ale with Sierra Nevada sounds exciting!

Partizan Brewery, Pale Ale: Cascade, Wakatu

Brewed with Northern and Southern Hemisphere hops, this pale ale from Partizan was surprisingly mild in flavour terms - not in a bad way, just less of a blatant sherbet wallop than other similarly marketed beers. In actual fact, this beer did not taste it's 6% abv whatsoever, almost making it a kind of antithesis to drinks like the Table Beer and Dead Pony Club. Wine Gums on the nose, a relatively mild finish: a quick sting then a long linger at the back corners of the tongue. Enjoyed this alot, could probably have drunk quite a lot of it. (And then been quite poorly the next day!)

Sierra Nevada, Celebration Ale

I haven't really been on too much of a US persuasion recently with my beers. I first had a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale on keg at my magnificent local Westow House and I was more or less smitten. I was always a bit late to the craft beer party, but it's obvious that West Coast IPAs started a global trend for a reason i.e. they're bloody delicious. I haven't tried some of the harder-to-acquire, perhaps more esteemed ones (like Pliny and Sculpin), but I do like the West Coast IPA style an awful lot and I loved this Celebration Ale. I bought this from Utobeer in Borough Market for about £3.20 which I suppose is about right.

Oakham Ales, Citra

I did genuinely detect lychees on the nose of this Oakham Citra, but almost definitely wouldn't have known what it was I was tasting had it not said so on the label. Anyway, the citrusy taste went miles beyond any promise the nose gave - very, very fruity indeed! True yellow in colour, bit of lacing and the finish not desperately bitter, but very long lasting. Top stuff, need to find more of this.

Partizan Brewery, Almond Road SE16

I popped to the Partizan Brewery in Bermondsey yesterday. It's a small space under the railway line (running from London Bridge down to where I am in Crystal Palace) where they're using the Kernel's old kit. Andy, the owner, kindly let me take a few photos - it was great to see the facilities up close. The equipment looks like it's seen a fair bit of action in it's time! Partizan are adding to their core range: a saison and an export stout (a special edition of which will have spent part of it's brewing process in a Strathmill cask - looking forward to that one). Many thanks to Andy (and also to Josh) for chatting and again for letting me take some snaps.

Bear Republic, Hop Rod Rye

My first taste of a rye IPA by Bear Republic. My brother brought this one down from Kris Wines for me. This beer booted me in the knackers then legged it with my wallet.

Ilkley, Mary Jane

I think perhaps I ought to have drunk this Mary Jane from Ilkley a little colder. It wasn't refrigerated and it warmed up reasonably quickly, so maybe I was getting a little distortion in the flavours. Anyway, I tried drinking this while referring to Mark Dredge's Beer Flavour Wheel in an attempt to better understand where exactly the flavours might be coming from.

The drink poured very pale indeed, like a washed out gold and the nose was pretty faint. The taste wasn't immediately fruity (compared to a similar drink like, say, Oakham's Citra), but the fruits very definitely in there, just in a (it seemed to me) diluted form - weak orange squash maybe? (I don't mean this to sound like it was bland - it certainly wasn't that. It was quite different to anything else I know and I'm sure this 'lightness of touch' was deliberate!) The closest thing on the Beer Wheel might have been 'blossom' (American hops section). Mild bitterness afterwards that didn't last too long.

Out of all the low alcohol content drinks I've tried to sample recently (eg. Dead Pony Club, Kernel's Table Beer and Moor's Revival) I'm afraid this one has left me the most underwhelmed. I think this would be amazing if very chilled, on a super hot day by the river. As it was, it was dark and blowing a gale outside. I get the feeling that my timing on trying this beer was a bit off. I'll try more of Ilkley's brews though for sure, maybe something stronger next time I think.

Brewdog, Dead Pony Club

I'm a big fan of beers that have a lot of flavour but a low alcohol content - they enable me to have a delicious drink and to have the confidence that I'm well under my daily recommended allowance of alcohol (whatever that is). (Such beers make you wonder about what on Earth people like Carling and Fosters are bothering to do when Brewdog, Kernel and Magic Rock can make ales that are well under 4% abv which sometimes excel their stronger compatriots in terms of flavour.) This US style pale ale by Brewdog has a fat nose of refreshers, thoroughly carbonated but not a great deal of head. The initial bitterness didn't really last long unfortunately. These are now available in my local Sainsburys at a pretty decent £1.69. Although the Punk IPA sells more it seems (that part of the shelf is nearly always empty), I definitely prefer the (seemingly) more intense US inspired flavour of the Dead Pony Club.