Late Knights and Good taste, Imperial Saison

Oops! This one slipped through the net somehow....SE19/SE20 collab between the mighty Late Knights and Manish at Good Taste. This was Christmas 2014....cheers!

Gyle 1, Mash Monkeys

The first of the 2 bottles of Gyle 1 from the Mash Monkeys (Honest Brew and Late Knights collab) that I've had the pleasure of drinking was a unsolicited birthday gift from the lovely chap (brewer?) behind the bar at the frankly amazing Beer Rebellion in Gypsy Hill.

Vicky and I had been to drink expensive imported DIPAs and impy stouts at the unpleasantly atmosphered (is that a word?) Craft Beer Co in Brixton (where certain staff unfortunately reinforced the snobbish/too cool for school, 'craft beer' geek stereotype. If you're reading this guys - please don't forget: you're a pub. Sort it out.) By massive contrast, Beer Rebellion (to be fair, being well outside of the Brixton Friday night idiocy zone) is congenial, warm and instantly welcoming.

We took home a bottle of this Gyle 1 which we shared over an episode of Masterchef, a Mikkeller wine glass of it lasting more or less the whole hour of the programme. A dark pour, minimal carbonation, a miscellaneous strata of pine and citrus followed by a satisfying bitter hop linger. Caramel sweetness underpinned it all - Werther's Originals? Setting this DIPA apart from others was it's particularly creamy mouthfeel.

Not sure if my description has done it justice, but for me, this is a very distinctive and pleasant DIPA. We look forward to the Mash Monkey's next collab!

Late Knights, Hairy Dog

Very black pour this one from Late Knights. The mildest of hop profiles here against burnt coffee bitterness. A different, south London take on a BIPA (as compared, say, to the citrusy elements of the US style), more like a rough and raw stout perhaps. Had this on cask a few times, the smoothness suited it slightly better than the carbonation in the bottle for me (the cask flow smoothness balancing out the almost biting nature of the coffee bitterness here).

Late Knights, Worm Catcher IPA

Finally: Late Knights in a bottle!

I had the pleasure of chatting to Steve when I photographed him for this article. A super genuine and hard working individual who has paid his pub management + beer brewing dues and whose beer now seems to be fast becoming a regular feature anywhere that good beer is sold. What I think has been key to his success (amongst other things) has been his consolidating his rep in local South London (where I am - so I am biased a bit I suppose...!): trying to get a license sorted at the Mr Lawrence Crofton Park premises (a place destined to be mentioned in the beer history books?), a lovely little spot (extended pop-up bar that has really chimed with the locals) in Gypsy Hill and of course the brewery itself in Mr. Lawrence's old lock-up down in Penge (pronounced 'pawn-je', I'm reliably informed).

This IPA comes in at 5% with an orange pour and a light body. Minimal carbonation, the taste was Fanta at first, then the pine sap began to dominate thereafter. A sessionable IPA for sure. I had the bottled Hairy Dog at The Flying Pig last weekend too - I think I prefer the IPA in a bottle, but the Hairy Dog on cask in a pint. (The real star from Late Knights though is their Hop O' The Morning....I could drink that for days.)

I should obviously mention that the labels (designed by Bethany Warren) are spot on branding-wise and also very cool indeed.