Twisted Knots American IPA
Stewart Brewing Ltd

Canned in a crafty craft can and brewed under the hatherwood label for Lidl
pours a barley coloured body with good white head
cream of bicarb and grapefruit aroma
hops and malt in that bre, that will do, not far off

 

Lidl’s craftsbeer, let’s give it a try. 330ml printed can for 1.27€, the design is good, comes from an English brewery.

Top: forms an inch of rich head, lasts over 5 minutes, light cream in colour, nice lacing.

Colour: filtered dark amber, nearly red. In fairness, the overall look is spot on, but I expected a slight haziness, hence 4.5

Smell: they’ve listed 7 different hops on the can, yet it doesn’t show much complexity. That being said, it has several tones, just very hard to identify them. Sweet malts and bread plus a whole fruit basket, if you keep your nose long enough in the glass. It’s actually quite pleasant, but could be more intense. But then again, it’s dirt cheap.

Taste: well carbonated, smooth mouthfeel, medium- body, despite being 5.5% ABV. Moderated, but well definable bitterness without the stickiness generally found in cheaper brews.
Mostly malty aftertaste, semi-dry finish.

Summary: it’s surprisingly good for this price from a budget chain. I mean, it costs half of what I normally give for branded American IPAs, but not half as good.

If you’re stuck for a beer, it will do perfectly fine, a much better choice than a mass produced lager for the same price. Cheap and cheerful, I like it. Great entry level choice. For this price I think it would deserve a Best Buy sticker.

330ml Can from Lidl, N. Ireland (£1.19):
Dark, almost caramel amber with a thin, foamy white head. Its had a mild hop bitterness on the nose with subdued citrus, earthy malts & a strange sweetness at the end. The taste is more bitter with caramel malts, pine & citrus hops with a touch of grapefruit too. It's medium bodied, bitter & well-carbonated but the nose was a little light.

Floral / Grapefruit aroma and pours a thin head.

 

L- Deep amber, pours with very thin white head now lacing.
S- A basket of fruits. melon, strawberry and so on.
T- Quite hoppy-dry but not OTT. There a mild sourness to it, toasty into the finish, with almost a perfumed tang.
F- I blind-tasted it and guessed 4.8%, but it's 5.5%. My low-ball perhaps because there isn't much richness to carry it through.
O- Too much going on for me, but interesting to try. It is quite refreshing but too hops-forward and lacking body as a result.

Brewed under the 'Hatherwood Craft Beer Company' name for Lidl.
BB: 30/09/19

Clear amber color. Small off-white head with a bit of lace.
Not much aroma. Some citrus fruit.
Grapefruit and orange taste, a little caramel.
Medium-bodied, not a bad beer.