Expectations muted, possible impaired judgement.(11/94)
Firstly, I feel I have to apologise to Frome Brewing Company as this month as I run the spellcheck etc I can see it’s not anywhere near as comprehensive as normal. Long and short of it is I’ve had a rough month (rough while actually but particularly this one), so I’m not sure if: -
A: I’ve depicted them in a clear light.
B: If my mood potentially impaired my views of some of the beers.
As such, this tasting / review is probably a little bit tainted and it’s in the interest of fairness and openness that I divulge that at the beginning. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t a hatchet job by any stretch it just feels a bit phoned in and if I was struggling maybe I’d have issue finding joy in the beer.
Frome Brewing Company’s motto is a simple one “It’s all about the beer” which is something I appreciate a good simple unique selling point. I ordered a mixed case of 12 330ml cans as well as a single can of their Double IPA coming to a total of £33.30 with no shipping costs, which was very reasonably priced. The only issue that I did have with the mixed case was that it was 6x2 in terms of beers and there were other beers available from them, as such I don’t feel I had a true vision or journey through the brewery, as there were others that interested me when I was browsing the website which I thought would be picked up in the order itself.
https://fromebrewingcompany.com/collections/all-cans
I always find it hard to critique lagers as they often don’t give too much away until you have that first drink and even then, it’s hard to truly distinguish between them. This does smell very fresh however with a slight hint of bitterness behind yet.
Ok so this certainly isn’t what I was expecting. For a start there is a lot of flavour going on which swirls around the mouth, there is the slightly bitter aftertaste present but also a hint of citrus in the background as well. This almost doesn’t fit the standard lager profile at all and if not for the very first fizz and tang on the tongue, the flavours could easily be mistaken for an IPA and a pretty tropical based one at that.
It's these sorts of lagers I can really get on board with, somewhere that does something a little bit different, as it notes on the back of the can “Prior to prohibition’s ratification in 1920. America was not dominated not by a handful of giant brewers selling mass produced lagers, but by thousands of small breweries and brewpubs serving all kinds of beers in their own neighbourhoods.
This pre prohibition lager is a throwback to those times”.
This is exceeding what I was expecting from the beer, but should have known when it poured as hazy as it did. In my experience hazy = good and this rule hasn’t seen me wrong as of yet. I’m now optimistic about how the rest of the beers are going to go.
I don’t have a huge amount of experience when dealing with brown ales, with my brain immediately going to the standard Newcastle Brown, of which I still know little about in terms of flavour profile.
To the nose it has a mild fruitiness to not but a much richer, darker smell to it as well, where you imagine it could sit a little heavy.
I have to say I’m not hugely keen on this one too much. You get the initial hint of freshness and a light hint of fruit which was alluded to with the nose, however it then is strongly overtaken by a slightly overbearing bitterness which just slides into being a little bit too much for my own liking. I will say is that it’s an incredibly light drink which you wouldn’t necessarily think would be the case with the heavy bitter aftertaste. The can describes understated earthy tea-like notes, but I’d argue it’s not understated and the chocolate wheat malt within overpowers a little too much.
This smells more like it with that lovely haze which often accompanies a good pale ale. It has that light citrusy smell which is pretty much a staple of the craft scene in the UK at the moment, certainly based on my tastings anyway I’m finding I’m using the word citrus almost as much as beer.
I’m not sure why exactly but I really like this one on first tasting. You get hit with that fruitiness right away and it fools you into thinking it’s going to be something light and refreshing, which it certainly starts off as, before the hops kick in with the bitterness slowly but surely coming to the forefront.
What doesn’t happen though is it overpowers and more-so pulls alongside and joins it for the ride, creating a momentary harmony before the beer disappears down your mouth. I was slightly worried that this would lose its identity by going too far one way or the other with fruit or bitterness but a really good balance has been found which makes this one a very enjoyable drink.
Smells nice and fresh with that slight tinge of citrus to it, quite similar to the American Pale Ale previously. I have to be honest I don’t know the differences between English and American whether it is specifically hops or part of the brewing process.
I think if I had to go with taste, it would be the American Pale Ale which wins out but only just. There is a bit more bitterness to the Funky Monkey which lingers a little too much on my palate for my liking and doesn’t have the same balance I liked on the RA.
The hops are one’s I haven’t necessarily come across regularly, but they certainly push through the malty backbone of the beer. As the beer continues down the palate does adjust and find more of a balance on the mouth which does make it an easier drink. The subtle heaviness of the drink also belies the low percentage of the drink too making it a good session beer which could give the impression of something stronger.
Reading a little bit of the blurb on the back of the can makes for interesting reading in that the Riwaka hop sounds like really difficult one to not only purchase but also utilise to its full extent due to its oil content, scarcity and unique balance of acid so it will be interesting to see how it will come together.
On pour alone it’s a lively beast with a very quick forming head which remained for a large, large portion of the drink which again is always a plus from me. To nose this is right up my alley and just screams citrus (this is further extenuated by the citrus fruits all over the can, so if the flavour isn’t there something’s gone wrong entirely).
The citrus is actually a lot more subtle to the taste than I was expecting. It’s certainly there but it still remembers that it’s fundamentally a beer and a strong one at that, although only the slightest aftertaste gives hint as to the true ABV leaving you searching for the citrus, but once you pick through the slight bitter aftertaste it’s there and really starts to sing through.
There is something about this beer however that sings to me and almost constantly left my mouth watering. There’s a real subtlety to the flavour that they are bringing to the table here which is firing off all across the palate making me want more.
I’m slightly worried about how this one is going to work. Having watched a boat load of cookery shows Yuzu is a notoriously tricky ingredient to utilise well and as far as I can remember I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in a beer so if the balance isn’t there this could go wrong quite quickly.
The nose isn’t really giving anything away, no overpowering smell or anything, but reading the can there is some other stuff at play which should pull everything together nicely, I’m particularly intrigued by the inclusion of lemongrass which ties in to the eastern cuisine, so the research has been done anyway.
First off, I think the flavour profile is pretty much bang on, everything ties together pretty well, certainly nothing overpowering at all. A nice hint of citrus that plays around the mouth but is very respectful of the palate. What I’m struggling with however is just how gassy this beer is, as you can see from the picture there was a particularly lively head and this was emulated in the drinking of the beer where there was just an overwhelming amount of fizz to each mouthful which sat on the stomach almost right away and left it sitting a little too heavy.
That aside my initial worries were unfounded and the flavours were there it was just a little too gassy for me to truly enjoy it.
I have two weaknesses when it comes to beers, a crazy name and a good Double IPA. So, I might be a little biased with this one in hoping that it does well. This smells pretty bang on with a wide variety of fruits to the nose which hopefully will be emulated in the flavour of the beer.
Oh, wow there’s a lot going on here. First of all, you know it’s a strong beer and actually resulted in some form of involuntary squint by me when I first had it. I really want to like this, but I’m really not sure that I do. There is something in the fruity flavour profile which I can’t place my finger on which I don’t quite like and honestly, I think I can pick out the banana and mango profile which isn’t working for me as it’s too central and just sits a little much on the palate.
It's not that it’s too complex. I like picking out the intricacies of beers and seeing what I can make of them, I just honestly think there is too much going on and more importantly doesn’t feel like a true DIPA to me, it’s a little bit too fruity and I just can’t get past that, but do you know what I think this is what they were going for because on the back it mentions that you might think you’ve materialised next to a greengrocer’s fruit counter and I can see that.
Unfortunately, it’s just a bit much for me.
Final Thoughts:
On a re-read it was clear that I really enjoyed Riwaka as the stand out in this selection and the DIPA I was most looking forwards to was possibly the biggest disappointment, if only because of the high standards that have been set and I hold for DIPA’s. I’m struggling to come up with a more comprehensive “end” for this blog as noted at the beginning this edition just felt a bit tainted and it was nothing to do with the brewery itself.
I’m glad that it wasn’t entirely negative and there were some beers that managed to pierce through the foggy veil I was drinking under. What I may well look to do in the future is revisit Frome Brewery and see if a different perspective might alter my view point on the beers.
There is a minor issue in relation the next county and brewery choice below which I’ll go into further details next time round, essentially I “picked” this brewery after the random generator instead of the whole process being random but that’s a story for next time.
Next County: Wiltshire
