Best new beers of the week

Brilliant beers from New Zealanders Yeastie Boys and 8 Wired, plus a Scottish style beer from Weird Beard, great Siren beer and one of the best Thornbridge beers we've ever had

What a selection of new stuff this week. We love the tropical Kiwi hops, we love Kiwi beer, and all of the Kiwis we've met are supercool. This week a couple of New Zealand beers have landed at Beer Hawk HQ: Yeastie Boys Stairdancer and 8 Wired's The Big Smoke. So good!

Out of this world, is Thornbridge's Valravn, an unbelievably good black IPA at imperial strength. So good! Scotch away your worries about a wee heavy with Weird Beard's super tasty Don't Worry, Bee Heavy. A strong Scottish style beer, with a subtle peaty taste.

Weird Beard / Don't Worry, Bee Happy / 7.8%

A Wee heavy is a traditional Scottish beer, big on malts, a bit sweet and high in alcohol – it’s designed for a brisk Highland evening. This version, Don’t Worry Bee Heavy, from the brilliant Weird Beard Brewery, weighs in at 7.8% and on the nose, the honey sweetness comes through, but it is on the palate that really surprises. There’s a light, smoky peatiness to it that adds a dryness, but the sweetness is also balanced out nicely by some citrusy hops. Its depth comes from the use of 13 different grains (13!!) including a peated malt. Far from being a cloying, malty ale, its clever use of smokiness and hops lift it markedly.

Buy it here

Yeastie Boys / Stairdancer / 4.4%

 Stocking up for that hot day that’s promised? This is the beer you’ll want in your fridge. This an extra light, wheat-based beer, a work in subtlety that allows a waft of orange to gently entice you into a clean, crisp gulp of liquid. It’s described by the Yeastie Boys as ‘close as we come to a ‘NZ Pilsner’. The refreshing tropical notes come from the fantastic Nelson hops from New Zealand too. Light, refreshing, delicious.

Buy it here

 

Left Hand / Fade-To-Black / 8.5%

Left Hand brewing from Colorado is the master of the dark beer – its flagship milk stout is one of the world’s best. This Foreign Export Stout, has won a fair few awards itself too. It’s rich in texture and flavour – liquorice, coffee, molasses – all compete with a down to earth hop balance. We pulled it out to drink with a salted caramel ice cream – perfect.

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Thornbridge / Valravn / 8.8%

Oh. My. Word. This is an incredible beer from Thornbridge. Quite outstanding. It’s an Imperial Black IPA. A Black IPA is basically a hoppy porter (some think that original porters were hoppy), but this is pumped up to 8.8%. The supreme skill here however, is making it taste so light, so inviting, so fresh. There’s a huge piney hoppiness to the nose but on the mouth it delicately delivers light citrusy flavours (lemongrass is mentioned on the label and we can see that). On paper (well LCD) it shouldn’t work, but blimey does it? If we sound gushing, well, we are. This is a beer you need to have.

8 Wired / The Big Smoke / 6.2%

This is a big old beer as you’d expect from New Zealand flavour merchants 8 Wired. This dark porter uses malt that has been smoked over German Beechwood and New Zealand Manuka wood to impart a dryness that counterbalances the chocolate notes of the porter. It could also be a beer like porters were traditionally, with that smoky flavour (malts were roasted over an open fire), but also loaded with hops like this one (although probably with fewer citrus aromas). A big beer yes, but it works very well.

Buy it here