Ice Breaker
Greene King / Morland Brewery

 

 

unique beer here in a style space that can present as samey sometimes, the server called this one citrusy, and i suppose it is a little bit, especially for an english pale, a little more dry hoppy to me than most of them are, although also not without its bitterness, and the hops are not common in this style, citra and simcoe, unexpected over here, cool! its a malty looking pour, they just cant help themselves, fully amber in color, nice puffy pure white head on it, looks unfiltered without looking messy in any way. aroma of bitter grapefruit and its pith, definitely the simcoe, not crazy fresh but its effective here and its bold enough to punch through all this malt, modest sweetness working well in here, less from the citra, a little orange and also a little catty, a bit nutty on the grain side, still very english even with the american hop varietals. the flavor is right there with the nose, somewhat herbal but grapefruit and zest come through, less sweet and overtly malty than it smells, english on the grain side but its back a bit, more body than anything, and again i am sort of taken by how much texture is packed into such a low alcohol beer in these parts, i love it, this is almost fibrous. some bitterness permeating in the back half, generic citrus stays too, a little yeast character only as it warms, some oils there, its pleasant but with somewhat odd proportions for an american palate. solid for one, but i wasnt in a rush for a second. i love exploring the beer and bar culture in the uk, so much to choose from wherever you go!

Copenhagen 12/7 2020. 33 cl bottle from Meny, Rotunden, Hellerup. White and light blue label with an anchor.

Pours slightly unclear, golden yellow with a small white head. Settles as thin, patchy layer of foam unable to cover the surface of the beer. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is medium intense with sweet, malty odor and some lighter citric notes. Pale, sweet malts, caramel, cooked vegetables. Citrus and lime.

Medium carbonation. Thin, watery, tingling texture.

Flavor is medium intense with a medium strong sweetness followed by and balanced by a medium strong bitterness. Aftertaste is lightly bitter with a sweet undercurrent. Finish is dry.

Quite malty but supplemented with a little rough bitterness.

 

This one was pretty solid.

L: Hazy amber colour, some head
S: Spices, fudge, herbs
T: Cough syrup, citrus zest, herbs, biscuits
F: Medium-bodied, balanced carbonation if a bit on the stronger side

O: 4.25

Thin head that dissipates quicker than a budvar. Fruity hop, tangy bitterness on initial taste. Very drinkable, pleasantly smooth finish.

 

 

L- Mid to deep amber, clear, pours with 2mm white head.
S- Citrus and guava, all a bit of a fruit cocktail.
T- Citrus on the front, some grapefruit, + some perfumed fruit - passionfruit. The grapefruit note reminds me of pomelo, a SE Asian fruit that looks like a large yellow/green grapefruit, and tastes like a mild even somewhat watery grapefruit.
F- Well it's clearly in hipster/fruit+perfume territory, but it's not blunt as many a 'hipster hop-bomb; can be...
O- ... and then I realise I've spent most of the sipping and this typing talking about exotic fruit. Which to me isn't really what I look for in a beer. Interesting to try, a hipster-profile beer for those who wish to still have their sense of taste functioning afterwards!
Bought from Waitrose/London. 330ml bottle. On offer reduced to £1.50. BB: Laser-etched at neck but this one is hard to read... '2021' is all I can make out.