Double Citra IPA – ABV 8.2%

Juicy tropical notes the bold and juicy Citra hops – then doubled. This DIPA has an earthy backbone punctuated with spice and a sweet rich maltiness.

Look: Pours a golden, hazy light brown with a small white head with a nice level of carbonation slow-dancing up the glass

Aroma: Pineapple, passionfruit and caramel with those sharp bold Citra hops

Taste: Adding to the citrus you get mango, lime, pine and gooseberry with a slight sweetness and a little more malt than you’d usually expect with these juicy flavours.

Verdict: Refreshing and dangerously drinkable for such a strong malty, sugary beer. This is a big beer with a juicy charcter. To quote Simon Martin Real Ale Craft Beer YouTube: “Boom”.

Food Pairing: This beer works well with the tangs of South East Asia. Try it with a Thai red curry for a spicy, herby flavour festival.

Centurion DIPA – ABV 8.5%

Eight Arch marked their 100th brew with this hazy and light citrus DIPA, with loads of American hops and crisp bitterness and a surprisingly full body.

Look: It pours a slightly hazy golden brown.

Aroma: Lots of pine and citrus the American hops.

Taste: You get the sharpness of grapefruit with the bitterness of pine needles and a impressively full mouthfeel.

Food Pairing: This is a really great beer for drinking with curry. Try it with the sharp, lemony-sour notes of a Dansak and you won’t go too far wrong.

Verdict: You know the alcohol is there, but it doesn’t dominate the beautiful citrus flavours which end with a nice clean, yet bitter finish.

Double Rye IPA – ABV 8%

Double the rye and hugely hoppy – in this case with American hops such as Citra and Cascade – this dry-hopped IPA is somehow full, bitter and incredibly creamy.

Look: Clear and golden-orange with minimal carbonation.

Aroma: Huge rye notes (duh) plus citrusy hops including grapefruit and orange zest and some sourness. Surprisingly complex layers including an incredibly creamy finish.

Taste: Grapefruit-driven for sweet and sourness with a medium bitter finish. 

Verdict: Amazingly creamy and satisfying with loads of layers to explore. All those in favour say “Rye”… “Rye!”

Frick & Frack Smoked Barley Wine – ABV 11.3%

Thick, syrupy sweet, smokey and malty – this Kees and de Molen collab is smooth and enjoyable – just like a Swiss ice skater.

Look: Pours dark mahogany brown, with a gently foaming off-white head.

Aroma: Sticky syrup and fruit like figs with sweet malt base with orange accents.

Taste: More dark fruit, thick and rich toffee and caramel with some smokiness in the background. Good boozy burn.

Verdict: Lovely smooth, enjoyable stuff – just like ‘Frick’ (Werner Groebli) and ‘Frack’ (Hansruedi Mauch), the Swiss skaters, themselves.

Verdeel & Heers Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Brett – ABV 9.8%

‘Divide and Conquer’, with Amarillo and Simcoe hops and late-hopped with Saaz, comes packed with Brett and chocolate and caramel malts for an intense BA stout.

Look: Jet black colour with a small beige-tan head that lasts nicely.

Aroma: Sweet forest fruits – plums, figs and berries – plus bitter dark chocolate and some peated whiskey notes.

Taste: Intense, yeasty and complex the Bretting, with loads more fruit plus banana and raisins on a bed of rich malts and syrupy boozy sweetness. Really full-bodied with roasted coffee beans and chocolate bitterness in the close.

Verdict: The almost leathery effects of the Brett will become stronger with age. This may Divide its drinkers into lovers and haters but our hearts have been Conquered yet again by de Molen – we love it.

Tripel Karmeliet – ABV 8.4%

Refined and complex, this tripel has bold, creamy banana tones Bosteel’s house yeast and three cereals: wheat, oats and barley, plus crisp Styrian hops.

Look: Pale golden-bronze with a foamy, creamy head and loads of carbonation.

Aroma: Big hints of vanilla and oats thanks to the yeast, accented with citrus zings including zesty orange.

Taste: Creamy vanilla, banana and toffee with some orange and lemon zest hints and spiciness including cloves. Light and crisp refreshing start and a warm finish.

Verdict: Classic Belgian brewing: light and fresh the wheat, but creamy and smooth the oats. the beers is allegedly based on a recipe 1679; why would you change it.

Gumball – ABV 9.4%

BB date: 26/12/2017 but still tastes great!

Centennial, Motueka and Galaxy hops bundle together to make a big-hitting hoppy aromas, a fruity and boozy taste and a finishing floral flourish.

Look: Hazy orange amber, good pale cream colour head and moderate carbonation.

Aroma: Hops left, right and centre with some pine, zesty lemon and orange and candied fruits.

Taste: The taste is much creamier than the accented aroma might suggest, with smooth malts and a creamy mouthfeel. Still plenty of fruit and spice going on with floral notes to end.

Verdict: Packed full of hops, floral fruit and has bags of character. Bold, sweet and colourful – just like a gumball, really…

Unfourseen Consequences Quadrupel – ABV 9.7%

One-off Quadrupel made in collaboration with Weird Beard that has been ‘dry-nibbed’ with cacao.

Look: Deepest brown, with a white head that quickly reduces to nil.

Aroma: Salted caramel, raisins and milk chocolate.   

Taste: Creamy, toffee-rich decadence with a unashamedly boozy finish.

Verdict: Booze-soaked Tiramasu loaded with dried fruit and caramel. Get one while you can.   

M Strong Ale – ABV 8.5%

14/03 Tripel Ella 750ml 9.5%

For their third Tripel, BBNo returned to using hops the southern hemisphere, this time using Australian hop Ella, noted for its pronounced floral and juicy fruit character.

The indulgently fruity nose evokes peach and apple blossom, pineapple cocktails and tropical fruit sundaes, whilst that crucially smooth and slick Tripel body all but glides across the palate, with just a prickle of gentle spicing coriander and orange peel to balance the beer’s yeast character.