Review Posts

The Kernel IPA Double Black

The Kernel is a brewery I've enthused about before; they were the subject of one of my earlier Brewery Tours At Home and I've always loved their beer. Finding myself in the general vicinity of London Bridge recently on a Saturday, I took the opportunity to pop down to the brewery and pick up ...

The Macallan 12

This week we venture off the islands, and on to the mainland of Scotland, to Speyside. The Macallan Distillery sits on the banks of the river Spey and has been producing whisky there for nearly two hundred years; today's choice is a little younger than that! This is their 12 year old, matured in sherry ...

Marble Tripel

This week sees the start of a run of monster beers from breweries I know and love – in this instance Marble, who were the subject of one of my Tours-At-Home and were broadly judged to be lovely. So, when my regular online beer pusher – the now sadly departed Ales By Mail – mentioned ...

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2008

This week sees yet another whisky from Islay, this time from Laphroaig . Next door neighbour to Lagavulin, I tend to find the Laphroaigs on the lighter side of Islay, but without sacrificing that characteristic smokiness. Needless to say, I'm a big fan of them both! This is the 2008 Cairdeas, a special bottling ...

Dark Star Imperial

Dark Star is a Sussex based brewer that started life nearly 20 years ago as a brewpub and has grown to be a fairly large brewery – the second largest in the county - with an impressive range of beers. Sadly (for the bottle-buying drinkers) most of their production goes into casks, but a small ...

Bruichladdich Waves

This week's whisky is another Islay, this time a younger, easier drinking dram from Bruichladdich – the seven year old Waves. Fiercely independent since it reopened back in 1991, Bruichladdich produce an impressive range of different whiskies, which makes it hard to pin down their 'house style'. Waves is relatively lightly peated and is ...

Robinson's Brewery Tour-At-Home

Robinson's featured rather well in our recent Alcoholic Ginger Beer test, taking both first and third place in the 'beery' section of the review. So it seemed only sensible to grab hold of the rest of their bottled range and see what the brewery has to offer. They have quite an extensive range of ...

Samuel Smith's Yorkshire Stingo

This week's monster beer has been lurking at the back of my cupboard for a very long time, but as it's apparently been matured in oak casks for over a year it's not exactly going to let a little age worry it. Part of the reason it's languished so long, to be honest, ...

Lagavulin Distillers Edition

Unlike beer, I haven't always loved whisky. I put this down to my initial taste, in my teens, when I somehow acquired a small bottle of Teachers and decided that whisky was icky. To be fair to Teachers, I don't think my teenage palate would have fallen in love with the finest single ...

Brewdog Tokyo*

As my contribution to the continuing campaign against the Higher Strength Beer Duty, I'm selflessly drinking through my collection of beers which are directly affected by this absurd tax. I'll spare you the rant (you can visit my inaugural post on the matter if you want to know more) and move straight onto tonight's guest beer. Brewdog ...