beer

[sableagle]

Kelham Island Brewery

Pale Rider Ale

5.2% abv

"The legendary golden hoppy pale ale."

*pshk*

Looks closer to pink than golden while pouring, light amber in the glass. Smells like sliced apples going a little brown in the air. Not much head, not much bubbling going on. Slightly foamy feel, but only slightly. Tangy-sweet sort of taste. ... Honestly? Hops and malted barley. Pleasant enough! Not bitter at all. Gets a little sour in the aftertaste. Pretty good. I reckon this is going on the good list.

[sableagle]

Joseph Holt

Two Hoots

4.2% abv

"With great beer comes great wisdom but we only care about the great beer."

*pfsht*

Pale gold in the pour, amber in the glass, bubbling pretty well, not much head and it's clearing. Pretty generic beer smell. Slightly sour at first, getting more sour. Umm ... slightly bitter ... not really liking this one. Not bad, just not pleasing to me.

[sableagle]

Badger

Firkin Fox

4.6% abv

"This moreish auburn ale combines the biscuity and aromatic qualities of our speciality malts with the citrus hop charge of Celeia and Cascade hops."

Smells like bread dough that's only just gone in the oven.

Smooth, fine head, fading away. Bubbling lightly. Orange-brown colour. Deep sniff: yeah, hint of lime with the bread. Citrus sting's stronger in the taste than in the smell. This may sound weird, but: it tastes of undiluted lime cordial and uncooked bread and it's good. I don't recommend mixing undiluted lime cordial into uncooked bread dough and eating it, but this beer? This beer I'd get for a party. There's just a little too much of a "needs more lemons" aftertaste for the great list, but it made the good list. It's sippable and swiggable. It's not very foamy, so, of course, if you only drink beer to burp ... what's WRONG with you?

Anyway, yeah, good for a party.

[sableagle]

Old Mout Cider

Passionfruit & apple

4.0% abv

*ssshhhhf*

Instant tangy smell. Pours like soda water. Very faint yellow-green colour. Think 7Up, Sprite, that kind of thing. Medium bubbles, pretty vigorous but head's already gone. Looks a lot like a glass of 7Up. Smells like an apple barrel.

Ooh, nicely balanced sweetness and tanginess.

Yeah, it's good.

[Mike Taylor]

I haven't had beer, or any other alcohol, in three years now. Stupid diabetes.

[gdsunshine]

I haven't had beer, or any other alcohol, in three years now. Stupid diabetes.

My dad actually found that he could balance beer/liquor with something with a higher carb count than he usually eats because the alcohol actually lowers his blood sugar levels rather than the spike he gets from other carbs.

[Mike Taylor]

My dad actually found that he could balance beer/liquor with something with a higher carb count than he usually eats because the alcohol actually lowers his blood sugar levels rather than the spike he gets from other carbs.

My meds won't allow for it, so no go.

[sableagle]

You're not the only one. One of my fellow wine-drinkers is now on prescribed ethylene glycol, so no alcohol for her.

S. A. Brain & Co

The Rev. James

4.5% abv

"A silky, full bodied, warming ale brewed to a traditional recipe"

*pfshk*

Crisp, pleasant smell, dark, peaty colour as it pours, bubbling moderately, fine head that's sticking around so far but getting thinner.

Very crisp, clean smell to it. Tastes ... treacly. Quite a fizz on the tongue. Bit of a tangy aftertaste, not unpleasant. May be a little too sticky-sweet. Hmm. Drinkable. Started out quite good but it's slid down the scale as I've sipped down the glass. That probably means it's a good one if you're having it with salty and savoury nibbles but not so good to drink on its own.

[sableagle]

Stella Artois

Raspberry cider

4.0% abv

"A crisp and refreshing cider with crushed raspberries."

*shhp*

Instant smell of that rasberry syrup they drizzle over ice creams. Pours pale pink. Red in the glass. Small patch of head turning into a ring of it around three quarters of the glass. Bubbling moderately.

Smells like a raspberry patch on a hot summer day. Tastes ... sour and kinda rough. Starts off on "crisp" but goes out the far side of "tangy" in ten seconds or so. I get the impression that mixing this half and half with 7up would make for a pleasant barbecue party drink. As it is, it's a little too much like those sour Cola Bottle sweets.

Not good, I'm afraid.