8 Degrees Denali Single Hop
Reading time ~1 minute

I love that 8 Degrees are constantly trying new things. Sometimes they miss (see the review of Cumulus Lupulus for example), and sometimes they hit. This is definitely the latter.

Denali seems to be a relatively new hop (it’s definitely new to me anyway), which is what drew me to it. Pouring a dark caramel with a white head, tropical fruits come screaming out of the glass. Lots of pineapple, spice, and a bit of pine which creates an aroma I’ve not noticed in an IPA til now.

Drinking it provides a similar taste to the aroma, but adds just enough bitterness. This is a cracking beer. Well done, 8 Degrees!

Siren CapHeine
Reading time ~1 minute

This beer is confusing. Look at the colour of it, then look at the description. That does not scream coffee at me.

The colour comes from the raspberries and hibicus that they’ve aged this beer on. Pouring a beautiful pinky red, it smells strongly of raspberries. Unfortunately, the coffee overpowers everything. Can’t say I’ll be having this again.

I love sour beers. I love coffee. Don’t mix them.

8 Degrees Cumulus Lupulus
Reading time ~2 minutes

I love this current trend of New England IPAs. I’ve had some fantastic examples from Cloudwater, Lervig, Gipsy Hill, BrewDog, Alchemist… They’re not bitter, they’re pillowy, they’re tropical, they’re fragrant.

Here’s the thing though - Irish breweries cannot make a good New England IPA. I think the closest that I’ve had to what I expect may have been Galway Bay’s I <3 NE, but that was a one off, and I want more. There have been a lot of breweries trying of late, but they’ve all done something that isn’t NE style.

8 Degrees are the newest brewery to get on the band wagon with Cumulus Lupulus, which in their own words is a “hazy beer…with tropical juicy sweetness. Oats and wheat, along with truckloads of hops, add a smooth, subtle mouthfeel. Championed in Vermont, New England, this cloudy IPA style is taking hop enthusiasts to another dimension”. Here’s the problem - it’s not hazy at all, at least neither of the two glasses I’ve had it of. If this was sold as a normal IPA, or maybe a double IPA, it would be closer to those styles. It lacks the pillowy softness that I expect from oats. It has a huge alcohol bang up front, and it’s just not an easy beer to drink. Damn shame.

BrewDog Black Eyed King Imp Vietnamese Coffee Edition
Reading time ~1 minute

It has been a great month for big, heavy, tasty imperial stouts. Great since it’s St Patrick’s Day today.

I saw BrewDog’s Black Eyed King Imp Vietnamese Coffee Edition in their BottleDog shop in King’s Cross. That day though, £10 and 12.7% was a little rich for my wallet and liver.

I’m pretty sure that if this beer had come out back in the 70s, this is what AC/DC would have been singing about. The body appears to absorb all light that goes near it. The head is a rich caramel which fades away quickly.

On the nose, there’s chocolate, with a lot of plum, cherry, and raisin. The taste is a bite of sharp fruit again, with lots of raisin, which fades away to leave traces of chocolate and coffee.

Another cracker of a beer from BrewDog, but perhaps just for sipping by the fire.

Beavertown Imperial Lord Smog Almighty
Reading time ~1 minute

I don’t like smoked beer. To be quite honest, I don’t like a lot of smoked things. Pork and salmon, yes. Whiskey, beer, smoke in general? Not for me. Why the hell are you drinking a smoked beer then?!

Well, I like Beavertown. They’re interesting, and I don’t think they’ve made a beer I don’t like. So, what’s the deal with a smoked imperial porter then?

This pours a very creamy heady, almost like a nitro head. The body is dark. Very dark. I think this is the beer Spinal Tap were talking about when they said “none more black”!

On the nose, there’s a much of roasty loveliness, without being over powering. It’s a bitter drinker, but a nice bitterness. There’s a very mild hint of smoke but thankfully, it’s not overbearing. This is certainly another Beavertown beer that has made me rethink about smoked beers.