31 January, 2015

BBNO London

There's nothing more satisfying that taking off work early of a Tuesday, guilt free (unfortunately as a result of being customer shy), with a few beers and some country air.

Monday night ran into Tuesday morning, as a result of The Off-Licence of the Year Awards, I didn't make it to Copper's thankfully but I did do some damage in House - the nightclub (I also did some damage in-house on G&T's) not badly though, Tuesday morning raised it's head and it wasn't too ugly.

Got my few jobs done, made my way to Wicklow, borrowed a dog and walked up a thirst.

Brew by Numbers comes highly recommended, it's one of the newest breweries on the Irish market in 2015 and if this is the standard we've to look forward to, it'll see the consumption of craft beer in Ireland continue to climb steadily.
So all those cynics that think craft is all label, no substance, get in, take a punt on €3.79 and prepare to be embarrassed by your prejudice and shown up by your palate.

I started with the BBNO Witbier, orange and lemon...














I hear you say 'What's so different about a Witbier that has orange and lemon...? Sure even Hoegaarden has that...'
Well pal, I challenge you to spot the difference.

Firstly, it's lighter, sometimes Witbiers can have a heavy mouth feel, too creamy and some solid sediment floating about. This doesn't, it's light, spritely, creamy but also kind of lemonade-y.

Coriander and orange peel with lemonade-y lemon tones on the nose.
Thankfully the coriander doesn't feature on the palate, instead this is replaced with lemon tart lemon, orange peel and a nice round palate which finishes fresh.
Not far off what you'd imagine an unsweetened liquid lemon meringue pie to taste like.

We finished that off and started on the BBNO Saison...


















I'm a fan of Saison as a style, I drink quite a lot of Saison Dupont and many deem that as the benchmark.
This is quite different. To start with, even though there's always a funkiness about a Saison, naturally, this is more prominent than a traditional Belgium farmhouse beer.

The nose is funky, yeasty with lovely floral tones.

The palate is grassy, zingy and the finishing flavour is definitely grapefruit but I struggle to taste the ginger.
There is a spiciness but, would I detect it if I hadn't read the front label...? Nope!
In saying that though, I don't think it misses it.
The wild greenness on the palate, spritely acidity, light carbonation and grapefruit finish makes it a really good beer and definitely something to look forward to with longer jacket-less days.

Drop in, the whole range is available and they're worth the few quid.
Ruth.