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!