Kernel Brewery, Galaxy + HBC 291 IPA

I'll add the glass/bottle picture when I buy another bottle of this - I seem to have misplaced it on my hard drive (*deleted it accidentally*). Brewed with the Aussie Galaxy and the catchily named new hop HBC 291 from the US. Like Dead Pony Club but 750% better - fuller, stronger, bitterer. (An unfair comparison? Dead Pony Club is actually quite good I think....) Drank 3 weeks fresh, bought direct from the brewery. Palette = roast vegetables and hummus.

Tap East, Nebula Galaxy IPA

IPA from Tap East - the boys that own UtoBeer (and the Rake I think?) in Borough Market. My bottle was flat, so potentially not drunk at it's best. Very heavy sherbet nose, but the taste was thick hop resin. Similar to the Arbor Yakima IPA. This style is possibly too much for me, although I definitely started to get into this by the half way point. I'll give their next IPA a go at the festival next month.

Partizan Brewery, Saison Galaxy

I managed to drink this Saison brew from Partizan within about 6 weeks of it being brewed, so I think I got it reasonably fresh. Very hazy, crayon yellow, tropical nose. My first Saison, I couldn't isolate the components of that very distinctive taste as such: winter spices/herbs? Cinnamon? Cloves possibly? (Mouthwash??) The Galaxy hops came through as a sort of parenthesis to the spices - possibly in the same manner that the hops accompany some of those hoppy brown ales (i.e. Kernel India Brown Ale + Brewdog's 5am Saint). Forward thinking brewing for sure, but if I was being uncharitable, the hoppiness might seem to be present only for the sake of it? I absolutely don't mean to say that this pairing of flavours should be frowned upon, but it did have the slight effect that my drinking ended up feeling more like an experiment than classic enjoyment. (I strongly suspect though, that this tacitly says more about my level of experience than it does anything else. Obviously, if it wasn't for experimentation with beer flavours, I wouldn't have started this blog....)

My palate was homemade fishcakes with a fresh horseradish sauce - that strength of flavour could well have influenced my tasting of this beer. Saisons aren't for me I don't think. I'll try another I think (a 'truer' example, the Dupont probably) for parity's sake, but I'm not expecting to be converted.

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).