5 best new beers of the week
This week we've got a stunning red hop ale from Magic Rock, VIPA from Siren and a beer called Pig Smasher from Weird Beard, of course
St Feuillien / Saison / 6.5%
For the last couple of years it seemed everyone was making a saison, a Belgian farmhouse ale that is characterised by a ‘funky’ and ‘farmyard’ tastes. There’s a little spiciness from the hops and the yeast character. There are lots of great saisons by other brewers – Brew By Numbers springs to mind – but this from St Feuillien is one of the classics, a benchmark. It has won pretty much every award going. If you want to try a saison, try this one.
Weird Beard / Pig Smasher / 6.8%
Curiouser and curiouser! What a name, what a bottle, what a beer. This is an American Red from one of our favourite breweries. It is a dark, serious beer underneath, but with an explosion of hops on the nose and across that first big swig. The name, well, we have to speak to the brewers to discern it, but we do know that it was first brewed with the marvellous Against the Grain brewery out in Kentucky. It’s packed with Simcoe, Chinook, Bravo and Summit hops offering a savoury pine hit, but balanced by the addition of honey that adds mild sweetness. One for barbecue spare ribs… oh wait, maybe that’s where the name comes from. Magic Rock / Rapture / 4.6%
What a big, happy, joyful beer this is. It is described as a ‘red hop ale’ and that pretty much sums it up. The beer is almost the same colour as the can and the aroma catapults out as soon as you click it open. Big, piney hops reach out and lull you in to drink swig after swig. The bitterness keeps you coming back for more. Hey, it’s Magic Rock – of course it is good.
Siren Craft Brew / VIPA / 8.5%
Ahh - you know you’re going to get something interesting from Siren. Well, this ticks the box. This is a Belgian pale ale that has, and not to subtly, raspberry, blackcurrant and hibiscus – yes, the fruit is at the fore, and, well, aft. The Belgian yeast adds a fruitiness too. Yet, with this fruit basket, it’s never too cloying, unlike the drink it was started after: Vimto! Juicy.
