Camden Pale Ale (4%) - Camden Town Brewery, London

Holy moly, I'm on a role! It just goes to show what a few beery gifts and some law-enforced quarantine time can do. And lots of hard work and dedication to the cause, of course. 

After a string of tinnies I reached for this bottle, popped the cap with a pftsss here and a jingle jangle there, followed by the glug glug glug of its stunning golden amber insides flowing into my glass, surging with a lovely puffy head. 

On the nose there's a nice subtle waft of tropical and citrus notes, and a swig of the smooth and juicy liquid brings with it some bitter citrus notes balanced out by sweet pine, peppered with herbal grassy notes and a nicely toasted malt backing, all leading to a dry finish. A lot going on as you can see.

Camden in London

As promised on the bottle this pale ale goes about itself in a refined British way that makes it a bit more subtle and a lot more quaffable than some of the zappy American pale ales we're all familiar with. This is one is a beer garden sipper for sure (once they, y'know, re-open). 

Rating ★★★★★★★★☆☆

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Camden Town Brewery

Website here 

Facebook page here

Where to buy

£1.80 at Tesco

Cali Pale (5%) - Tiny Rebel Brewing Co, Newport, Wales

Brew number two of what I'm now spontaneously dubbing the self-isolation series of Easter 2021, we have a little gem from Tiny Rebel brewery.

Tiny Rebel are a brewery I've had the pleasure of sampling the delights of many times in the past, one of which you can join me in reminiscence here once you've finished with this post and not a moment sooner.

Topped with a nice white fluffy head, Cali Pale pours a pale (the clue's in the name) straw colour with a bit of a haze to it - like the sort you might observe engulfing the Golden Gate Bridge or Newport Transporter Bridge of a morning.

It's abundantly fruity on the nose with tropical notes of mango, passion fruit and pineapples all coming through. I could have poked my nose about in it all day, but there comes a point where you just have to get on with it and take a swig.

Newport within Wales

In the mouth it was gloriously refreshing and fruity, bursting with flavour even after coming straight out of the fridge (I tend to approach cold beers with caution as it normally weakens the flavours too much for my liking, but not so with this one), all capped off with some sweet pine notes and a dry finish.

All in all this juicy pale ale is highly drinkable and thirst-quenching, perfect for the warm spring and summer days that are just around the corner, as well as the disappointingly cold and cloudy ones.

Rating ★★★★★★★★★☆

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Tiny Rebel Brewing Co.

Website here 

Facebook page here

Where to buy

£2.00 at Sainsburys

Saucery Session IPA (3.9%) - Magic Rock Brewing, West Yorkshire, England

You could be forgiven for wondering why things have been so quiet around here lately when planet Earth has been shut down and I should, if anything, have more time to dedicate to the exploration of beer. The odd fact of the matter is that the start of the pandemic coincided with a New Years resolution to experimentally forgo alcohol from Sunday to Thursday, leading to less of an inclination towards written drinking practices on the two remaining days of the week.

But during a recent bout of compulsory self-isolation following a flight of utmost importance, I found myself suddenly being the recipient of a generous beery windfall, and the conditions were perfect for dusting off the ol' tasting notepad (opening Blogger) and reporting on my experience.

The first brew I ever had by Magic Rock Brewing was their very nice 6% Surreal Stout - from the other end of the spectrum from this 3.9% IPA, but my promising encounter had me looking forward to seeing what this one was about. 

Saucery Session IPA pours a hazy straw colour with a fizzly head. The aroma gave way to enticingly fresh tropical and citrus aromas, sweet mango and passion fruit meeting zesty lemons.

Each swig brought with it oodles of juicy tropical and citrus flavours, accompanied by some spicy and peppery bitter notes that lingered through the dry finish. It's exactly the kind of brew that is perfect for sipping on at any time of day, whether alone or in the company of friends* (*according to the rules wherever you are at this point in time, of course). 

At a mere 3.9% (which I have to admit is an ABV that I usually sniff at - no more!) Magic Rock have managed to produce beer that's as impressively flavourful as it is sessionable. An act of saucery indeed!

Rating ★★★★★★★★☆☆

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Magic Rock Brewing

Website here 

Facebook page here

Where to buy

£1.80 at Tesco