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Red Eye Flight Mocha Porter – ABV 7.4%

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Made with Brazilian coffee beans for an espresso-kick aroma, but with silky chocolate and red fruit notes to create a balanced and very drinkable Porter.

Look: The beer pours jet black with a lovely coffee coloured head.

Aroma: Red Eye Flight is made with Brazilian coffee beans and that’s exactly what you get along with a little caramel and cocoa.

Taste: Again full of coffee, but with a velvety chocolate finish and just a hint of forest fruits.

Verdict: Just the right level of bitterness the hops makes this an exceptionally well balanced and drinkable Porter. Never a bad beer Tempest.

Double Shuck Oyster Stout – ABV 11%

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Only slight saltiness two hundred fresh Lindisfarne oysters is backed up by amazing depth of flavour including paprika, Tabasco, roasted malt and molasses.

Look: The beer pours jet black in the glass with a small beige head.

Aroma: Rich roasted malt, cocoa and molasses and a breeze of fresh air.

Taste: You get a thick smooth mouthfeel with soft carbonation, huge depth of flavour the roasted malt, some chocolate and then at the end a slight saltiness the oysters (but that’s as far as the fishiness goes).

Food Pairing: The beer is made with Oysters, and is made to be drunk with Oysters. Just make sure you do all your shucking before you start on the drinking.

Verdict: Prepare yourself for a shucking treat; it drinks so smoothly you’ll need to keep reminding yourself of the alcohol content. More genius brewing the team at Tempest.

Marmalade on Rye DIPA – ABV 9%

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Bittersweet orange combines beautifully with the spiciness of rye, plus Amarillo and Waimean hops, for a cracking dry-hopped and fruity breakfast beer.

Look: The beer pours a lovely hazy, coppery orange colour with a small white head.

Aroma: Orange zest, tropical fruit and cinnamon spice

Taste: Big flavours of bitter orange marmalade with the spiciness of rye and ginger against a caramel malt body. Totally delicious and a lot stronger than the minimal alcohol warmth portrays.

Food pairing: All this talk of marmalade and we can’t help thinking of hot buttered toast. Prefer a bit more cooking? The bitter orange and spice will also work well with bread and butter pudding.

In the Dark we Live Black IPA – ABV 7.2%

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A pitch-black pour moves through a blackberry and dark chocolate aroma to a fig taste and a summery pine finish – this beer isn’t dark at all; it’s a rainbow.

Look: This beer lives up to its name: it pours pitch black in the glass with a thin beige head.dark chocolate

Aroma: Intense pine with some grapefruit and some berries those Mosaic, Columbus and Simcoe hops.

Taste: Full bodied and comple, the taste is malt, coffee and  before the fruit comes through with blackberry and fig plus a big resinous finish the hops.

Food Pairing: Black IPAs are versatile when it comes to pairing with food; try pairing this with a charcoal grilled steak and salty triple cooked chips.

Verdict: A quite brilliant example of a beer in this style. We want to live in the dark, too.

Something Something Dark Side Double India Stout – ABV 9.2%

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A bang-on Double India Stout with Gem, Citra, Simcoe hops for DIPA-style citrus aromas, plus chocolate, caramel and liquorice the molasses sugar.

Look: The beer pours pitch black in the glass with a tan head.

Aroma: As soon as you smell it you know why they called it a Double India Stout.
Pacific Gem, Citra, Simcoe and Columbus hops combine to give the intense pine and citrus aromas of a double IPA.

Taste: All the above floral hints plus roasted malts, chocolate, liquorice and the sweetness of caramel the addition of molasses and honey.

Verdict: The complexity of all those flavours makes this a top-notch Double India Stout. This is a Dark Side we want to join forces with.

Master of Nuggets Brown Ale – ABV 7.2%

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A complex, layered brown ale, Master of Nuggets has sweet red fruit tones Nottingham yeast and spicy pepperiness of American Nugget hops.

Look: The beer pours dark chestnut brown with a decent beige head

Aroma: Slightly nutty thanks to Special B malt with just a little spice and hint of orange

Taste: Slightly sweet with caramel and dried fruit to remind us of a fruit loaf. Overall the sweetness is nicely balanced with bitterness the hops and medium carbonation to make this a refreshing ale.

Food Pairing: Try this beer with a butternut squash and feta pizza. The salty sharpness of the feta is the perfect foil for those sweet nutty flavours, and the bitterness of the hops prevents it all becoming too cloying.

Ryesing Tides Rye IPA – ABV 7%

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Citrus and tropical fruit, including grapefruit and tangerine American hops, zing over the top of spicy rye and a malty toffee base in this seasonal IPA.

Look: Pours gold and hazy with a thin white head that quickly vanishes.

Aroma:  Pineapple, grapefruit and peach with just a hint of spice the rye.

Taste: There is a velvety smooth mouthfeel and an explosion of pine, grapefruit and tangerine against a toffee caramel body – again with an accent of spice the rye.

Food pairing: Try pairing this beer with a scotch egg. The tropical hop profile works really well with the salty crispy outer, and the spice of the rye is a lovely contrast with the creaminess of the egg.

Primal Cut Smoked Porter – ABV 8.8%

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Siren’s Head Brewer, inspired by blackcurrant purée, created this concept beer with smoked malts, barley and oats, for a coffee and soft fruit finish.

Look: The beer pours jet black in the glass

Aroma: Coffee, smoke and blackcurrant.

Taste: Roasted malt with coffee, chocolate and a definite meatiness. The alcohol is extremely well hidden in the rich soft body and the fruit subtle but becoming more noticeable toward the end.

Food Pairing: We think this BBQ sauce-style beer goes perfectly with a roast meat. Try it with beef and Yorkshire pudding for winning Sunday roast.

Verdict: Siren describe this as a high concept beer, and its definitely that. We don’t think you’ll have tasted anything quite like it.

Anniversary #2 Quadrupel with Walnut – ABV 11.3%

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What a treat; almost nougat-like sweetness with nice levels of carbonation and nutty undertones – a delicious beer to sip and savour.

Look: The #2 Anniversary of Kees’ quad pours a deep walnut brown in the glass.

Aroma: Sweet, nutty and boozy with a nougat-like quality. The taste is classic Quadrupel with high carbonation, lots of dried fruit and esters the yeast along with the occasional flash of waxy nuttiness the walnuts.

Taste: It doesn’t scream walnuts, but it doesn’t need to. The flavours are in perfect balance which makes it a really delicious beer to sip and savour.

Food Pairing: The fruit and nut flavours of this beer pair really well with cheese. Try it with some shavings of Old Amsterdam for a match made in heaven.

Caramel Fudge Stout – ABV 11.5%

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Boozy and oozing with rich caramel, this complex and sumptuous dessert beer with Summit and Cascade hops has had rave reviews, and it’s just gained another.

Look: It pours an inky-black in the glass with a small mid-brown head

Aroma: Enrapturing sweet caramel.

Taste: Thick, complex rich and boozy and overflowing with fudge and caramel richness

Food Pairing: We think these flavours are best enjoyed all by themselves, but if you feel the need and you have a sweet tooth that knows no bounds then a slice of chocolate cake will work well.

Verdict: If there’s a more perfect dessert beer then we haven’t tasted it. It’s even better than Yellow Belly and Noa.