Stout, Stout, Stouty, Stout
As noted at the end of the last blog, we’re doing something a little different in a mini special of sorts. This journey has led me to a number of different beer places online, a large number of which are reasonably welcoming and others not so much which highlighted just how amateur I still am in all of this, but that’s neither here nor there.
It was on one of these forums that I read about the F&%K Cancer Beer Project. Below is their mission statement from the back of the cans
“The F&%K Cancer Beer Project has been able to unite some of the most exciting craft beer brands from across the UK and beyond with some of the best ingredients available, producing some of the most indulgent and flavourful beer we can, to raise both awareness and funds for Cancer causes. Everyone involved in this project has been touched by the disease in some form, and together we would like you to raise a glass with us in saying “F&%K Cancer!”
With cancer now touching one in two people in the UK and having lost my own mother to cancer around 18 months ago, this is something that I felt I had to get involved with and at the worst-case scenario if the beers weren’t to my taste I’ve at least tried and my drinking has done some good for charity. What made even more intrigued was when I found out that the run of beers involved four super stouts and a DDH NEIPA, immediately ticking the boxes I would now be drawn towards.
So, in a change from our regular journey across the UK we’re looking at some collaborations who have come together to raise some money against this cruel disease. I normally save final thoughts until the end (who’d have thought of structure like that), however what I will say is if you like stouts you need to pick up some of these, easily in the best I’ve ever drunk, regardless of the cause.
If stouts aren’t your thing the next lot of beers have been confirmed as US Sours which could well be sensational, available for pre-order on the shop now.
Bacta – Imperial Stout – 12.0% - F**K Cancer Beer Project x Loch Lomond Brewery x Emperors Brewery
(With this photo i learned a valuble lesson about cleaning glasses properly)
This smells lovely, rich and sweet at first which gives away
to something darker and heavier on the nose but still incredibly warm and
inviting. I get the feeling that this is going to be incredibly bold and punchy
from the first taste.
Looking at the ingredients everything should work well together hazelnuts, coffee
and cacao and the honey which should pull it all together and add that level of
sweetness that will cut through the strong other flavours and the rampant
alcohol abv.
Oh, ho ho applause
Yes, just yes. Firstly, this is far far thicker than I was expecting and leaves that coating on your top lip and the roof of your mouth. After that you are taken on a literal taste journey. First you get the sweetness of the honey as the initial dominant flavour where you brain for a second could think it might be drinking something like mead. Only for the drink to decide right now we’re gonna hit you with the real flavour bomb.
At this point the profile changes and I hate to use the pun (I don’t, I love it) but turns to the dark side as you get the cacao and coffee flavours kicking in and demanding your attention and stays well on your palate long after the actual drink has gone. It’s also not afraid to be alcoholic, by that I mean I’ve had some imperial stouts where even though they’re in the 10-12% range you were fooled into thinking it was something less, which is far from the case with Bacta. It wants you to know you’ve had a drink and to think about what you’ve done.
The only thing I’m not picking up on is the Hazelnut especially, which could possibly have been dialled up a little but that’s entirely personal preference as Hazelnut is one of my favourite flavours, so would have liked maybe a little bit more.
Other than that, it’s hard to fault, I might be a bit less objective than normal as this is a mini blog and it’s all charity beers for a project dear to my hearts, but other than the lack of hazelnut I’m struggling to find anything else I’d fault with this beer, even the sweetness which to some might be off putting at first, I think is required to truly balance the other ingredients.
What a stout, what a drink.
Breakfast Before The Maypole – Imperial Milk Stout – 10.0% - F**K Cancer Beer Project x Old Street Brewery x Dark Arts Coffee.
This smells certainly more stouty than the previous one, but the lack of anything sweet like honey this is to be expected. I’m interested to see how strong coffee this holds especially as it’s in collaboration with a coffee specialist, you’d hope it’s the primary flavour profile.
Applause
This is a top top end stout. This is so unbelievably smooth that there isn’t anything that confuses the palate but the true gem is the subtle hint of vanilla that runs through pulling everything together perfectly. The coffee is there but not overpowering, with just the right amount of coffee flavour pushed through and complimented with chocolate undertones.
This is such an incredibly drinkable stout and doesn’t really give any indication of the ABV it’s hiding behind it. What I can’t get over is the subtlety and harmony with it all, everything fits together perfectly and leaves that creamy like texture all over your mouth which in such a way that you don’t want to generate any extra saliva, you just want the flavour to stay there and not be washed away.
As the drink progresses you do start to get a hint of the strength behind it as the flavour begins to develop a little and the ABV tries to punch its way through and it’s notable a little but certainly not oppressive and if anything, a little reassuring because you need a reminder otherwise you could be fooled.
I thought I loved Bacta and you know what, I did…. but this is something different. This is one that I will remember for a long time and will be sad when it’s empty.
Fighting Back The Titans – Imperial Stout – 10.0% - F**K Cancer Beer Project x Twisted Wheel Brew Co x Tartarus Beers.
We’re back on the Imperial this time round so expecting this to be a heavy hitter in terms or being rich and powerful and aggressive on the palate with that hint of sweetness just to carry everything through. The nose isn’t giving too much away with this one, I’m getting that richness certainly but not a huge amount through to give a big indication of flavour.
Hmm, so again much smoother than I was expecting in the first instance which shows just how on the ball the balance is again as has been the case with all of the stouts so far. It again works, that immediate sweetness which is quickly taken over by the bitterness kicking in, unlike Bacta this doesn’t leave that coating which would normally be expected around the mouth and the flavour of it dissipates quite quickly after drinking leaving a much more subtle after taste, allowing the majority of it’s work to be done in the initial drinking.
Holding the beer in the mouth and giving it a little swill around opens up the flavour profile a little more with cacao there as the prominent flavour that is generating the bitterness. I think on the balance of things I preferred the Bacta as the key imperial stout in the bunch, the Bacta just felt punchier and had a bit more oomph about it. Fighting Back The Titan’s feels a little more restrained. Don’t get me wrong it’s still a lovely wonderful beer but the bar was set so high with Bacta this had a lot to live up to. If it was a football club it would still be in the champions league spots, but not quite there to win the title.
You Had A Busy Day Today – Imperial Milk Stout – 11% - F**K Cancer Beer Project x Farm Yard Ales
This is smelling absolutely gorgeous and when it was pouring, I noted a particular redness to it which I’m assuming is as a result of the cherry within it. Looking at the list of ingredients this should be absolutely sensational and I’ve had a really arse day so I just want to get stuck in.
Thank you for making my day a little bit better.
This isn’t like any stout I’ve had before; the closest comparison is the Raspberry Tiger Rooftop Jacuzzi I had from Abbeydale. This is so incredibly fruity that it’s almost a Cherry Beer and that remains for much of the drink. Until the very last instance when the stout just appears and sits on the palate a little bit confused as though it’s been mugged on the way into the mouth by the cherry flavour.
I think stout purists wouldn’t like this as there’s a lot of bold fruity flavours going on, but I’m all about this it’s absolutely wonderful and the single good thing happening today, as the palate adjusts to the fruitiness the stout does become more apparent for the purists just a little bit, but for me this is a piece of velvety fruity stouty heaven.
My Name’s On That Can – DDH NEIPA – 5.0% Loch Lomand Brewery.
We come to the final beer now which obviously goes against the trend and isn’t a stout. Instead we have an NEIPA packed full of hops I routinely go towards (Mosaic, Citra) and a number of others which are new and quite intriguing (Cryopop). A little bit about the name first of all.
This can has the names of every individual who supported this run of beer on it and just a really nice little touch.
As for the drink itself it smells wonderfully fruity and welcoming, but also with that hint that it could pack a punch with the flavour and incredibly hazy pour which again for me is normally a sign that we’re in for a good time... In all honesty it got me salivating a little but so I guess there’s nothing left but to give this a try, which by all accounts I should probably love.
Ok off the bat we have another banger. Straight away you’re getting a mix of tropical undertones mixed with the harsh DDH style that lingers towards the back of the mouth and makes the drink become a fine balancing act, which works almost to perfection. Gun to my head the bitterness is the dominant flavour and you’re aware that you are drinking a beer and not a fruit drink but there is that pleasant citrus flavour there within the drink to carry it along.
It's hard to judge it against the stouts as naturally it’s a very different beast, I think I preferred the stouts overall, but this is still a really good drinkable beer and something I would return to in the future if the opportunity presented itself. It’s also a beer that I’m not aware of how quickly I’m drinking it, finding myself returning extremely frequently to the point I’m having to step back and just slow it down a little.
Final Thoughts:
I was always going to go into this tasting with a hint of leniency, it’s generally not good form to slate or ridicule charity work, however I needed have worried as the leniency simply wasn’t required. What you can tell is that every one of these beers has been made with love and attention, which sounds like a cliché but it’s really not in this instance.
It’s very easy to make a beer that is ok or good enough to sell and there is nothing really wrong with that, if you can mass produce, it makes a profit and some people like it. These five beers I feel go above speciality though, every instance of each beer has been carefully considered and when I say their heart and soul is in each mouthful, I truly mean that.
You can tell that these beers meant something to everyone involved in the brewing process and owing to the nature of the drinks, they have done those effected or the memories of those lost incredibly proud.
I don’t normally ask people to buy beer based on my blog, I leave people that read it to have their own opinions and likes and leave it at that, but this time round I’d asking if you can find some still, buy some of these beers.
If you “Don’t Like Stouts” get the You Had A Busy Day Today almost like drinking a cherry milkshake. If you do like stouts get the Bacta to really knock your socks off and generally if you’ve been affected in anyway shape or form by cancer, just grab a can of something raise a glass to the good fight or in memory so that together we can say proudly. “Fuck Cancer”.
Next County: Somerset
