Magic Rock Brewing Co, Un-Human Cannonball

Noteless for this one from Magic Rock, but you already know what this tastes like right? There weren't as many woeful twitter tales of missing out this year and it seems that there are still a few kegs of this floating about, so I'm guessing that everyone who wanted a taste got one.

I was lucky ('stupid') enough to attend the Craft Beer Co N1 launch of this. I paid £20 for a bottle and got a tote bag too - money's worth for sure! Paid a fiver for a third too! Happy days! Sorry, that's a bit harsh. It's just that Manish got a case in and was charging only £12.50. (Forward slash face.) No one to get upset at but my geek-greedy self.

Anyway, it was a delicious drink, pine sap mayhem, felt like I was sinking my teeth up to the gums into a fleshy piece of bark. Controversially, I think I may have preferred the 2013 version, but it was a long time ago so I can't be sure. If I was flush and I saw this again on keg, I'd almost certainly buy it. And I will get the 2015 version.

Anyone want to buy an Un-Human tote bag for a tenner?

Shepherd Neame, Double Stout

Double (?) stout from Shepherd Neame. Nose of coffee and mineral water and hops! Taste follows suit then adds a very dark malt, sweet chocolate and granola. It's almost like a porter with those hops. Solid mouthfeel with a good viscosity, ends on a sharp espresso bitterness. Aftertaste is a nice herbally residue on the teeth and gums, maybe a slight touch of mint and more bitterness. Bit of dryness too. A little watery towards the end of the drink and the mint made itself more and more noticeable which I'm afraid I didn't really like too much.

Shepherd Neame, Brilliant Ale

Made using a recipe from early 1800s by Shepherd Neame, I think the name of this beer might refer to the colour (pale) rather than any of the more integral qualities that one might associate with a calling something a 'brilliant ale'. Pithy and derogatory-for-the-sake-of-it-because-the-name-is-an-easy-target comments out of the way, I'd certainly get this on cask, I suspect that drunk fresh, the hops would shine more and maybe benefit from a more subdued level of carbonation. From the bottle, I felt there were glimpses of 'brilliance': at its very best it was sweet, rich citrus floating on soft bread but at its worst there was zero malt presence and the hops stung without flavour reward.

Schneider Weisse, Eisbock

Pungent nose - blackcurrant wine gums/fruit pastilles. Some raisins in the taste, blackcurrants and possibly some plums? Boozy - hooray! Woody and barky in the aftertaste. Delicious drink, more please. (The intriguing history of the Eisbock here.)

Schneider Weisse, Tap 6 Unser Aventinus

James Clay at it again, flooding the market with good beer. No complaints here. My bottle of Schneider Weisse Tap 6 Unser Aventinus was a bit of a gusher though unfortunately, did I contaminate the drink with the yeast? No problem if I did it seems, it was a great drink nonetheless. Never had a Doppelbock before (regular or the weisse variety), didn't really know what to expect (except something pretty malty). Murky brown like river water. Clove and root beer nose plus that thing you get off Belgian Tripels (germolene, plasters, a sort of dryness type thing). Occasionally, there was a pleasant whiff of bubblegum.

Mildly carbonated, taste was raisins (bit like a quad), banana echoes and generally quite sweet overall, although the hops did seem to do well to temper that. Very smooth on the palate and an ever so slightly metalliccy essence right at the death (possibly the yeast running through it after the gush?). Want more of this.

Schneider Weisse, Tap 5 Meine Hopfen Weisse

My first weissbier for absolutely ages (my last one being something a bit rubbish and commercial like a Hoegaarden or something). This one was very good! Very sweet, cloves etc, the hops merged well. Very morish! High carbonation typical of the style, citrus nose (orange and pineapple*), orange squash on the belches, no trace of alcohol. Drank it out of my pilfered Pilsner Urquell embossed stein of course. A pint at 8.2% though...phew. (Think I got a couple of these in the end.)

*For my sins, I can only ever discern orange and/or pineapple in those tropically hoppy IPAs. Passion fruit, mango, guava, peach, apricot - forget it. If it tastes and/or smells tropical, for me it's only ever gonna be orange and pineapple.