Fullers and Friends
I don't recall where I first heard about the Fuller's and Friends collaboration but I was keen to try these beers. My wish was fulfilled at Christmas when I was gifted a boxset by my parents.
Galleon is a dry hopped lager brewed with Fourpure. As you can see from the photo it is a light golden beer with a thin, and short lived, head. The flavour is crisp and clean; compared to a mainstream lager it is floral and fruity with notes of peach in both the aroma and the flavour.
I'm not much of a lager drinker, and my lager preference is for dunkel or Vienna styles. However, this is perfectly acceptable and would go very well with a summer barbecue.
Untappd rating - 3.5
With the Rebirth being based on an old recipe for ESB I thought that I really ought to compare the two, especially as I have never actually had the ESB before. By contrast the ESB is just a shade darker in colour and weighs in at 5.9% compared to 6% for Rebirth. More significantly the ESB is a smoother fruit cake flavour with less bitterness than the Rebirth, probably because of the American hops in the Rebirth.
Altogether I have to say that this was a good value box of beers. There wasn't one of them that I didn't enjoy enough to justify the price of £2 a bottle. One thing that I would say about all of the beers was that the head was short lived. In fact this was also the case with the ESB so perhaps it is a Fullers thing. A lasting head with lacing down the glass would be nice.
As I am finishing this post I am listening to the latest Hopinions podcast and there was s suggestion that this Fullers and Friends project might be repeated. I have to say that, on the strength of this box I would definitely be keen to buy a similar box next year.
Peat Souper
Peat Souper is brewed in collaboration with Hardknott. I have heard a fair deal about this brewery but I haven't had the pleasure of sampling their beers up to now.
This beer pours a deep ruby, almost black, with a loose milky coffee coloured head, which sadly doesn't last terribly long.
At 7% I might have expected some alcohol burn but I didn't detect any. The aroma and flavour were of campfire smoke, earthiness and hedgerow fruits.
At 7% I might have expected some alcohol burn but I didn't detect any. The aroma and flavour were of campfire smoke, earthiness and hedgerow fruits.
This is a beer that I would definitely drink again.
Untappd rating - 4
Untappd rating - 4
Galleon
Galleon is a dry hopped lager brewed with Fourpure. As you can see from the photo it is a light golden beer with a thin, and short lived, head. The flavour is crisp and clean; compared to a mainstream lager it is floral and fruity with notes of peach in both the aroma and the flavour. I'm not much of a lager drinker, and my lager preference is for dunkel or Vienna styles. However, this is perfectly acceptable and would go very well with a summer barbecue.
Untappd rating - 3.5
Matariki New Zealand Saison
Matariki is a saison featuring New Zealand hops brewed with Marble. I haven't drunk many saisons and every one that I have had has seemed very different from the rest, so I don't know that I know what a saison is supposed to be.
There is a slight haze in the glass and loose, fluffy, shortlived head. The aroma is of an undefined fruit and Belgian yeast. The fruitiness continues through into the flavour and is joined by a pepperiness, either from the yeast or the rye in the grist. It starts out sightly sweet before finishing with a pleasantly dry aftertaste.
Untappd rating - 3.75
New England IPA
New England IPA is, surprisingly enough, a New England IPA brewed with Cloudwater. If I don't know what a saison is, then I have even less idea about NEIPAs - having only drunk two of them. This has a slight haze, but less than I have imagined would be typical of a NEIPA. The aroma is of bitter oranges which also come through in the aftertaste. At the front of the flavour is a pineyness which is no surprise as Chinook hops are featured. Overall it is a decent beer. Perhaps I was a little underwhelmed simply because of the, possibly over-hyped, reputation of Cloudwater giving me particularly high expectations.
Untappd rating - 3.5
Flora & the Griffin
Flora & the Griffin is a red rye ale brewed with Thornbridge. I rather like rye beers as a rule so I was certainly looking forward to this one. It has a sweet toffee flavour up front followed by a pleasant bit of pepper from the rye and a fruity finish, maybe cherries.
Untappd rating - 3.75
Rebirth
Rebirth has been brewed with Moor Beer Company and is based on the original 1971 recipe for Fullers ESB. It has been brewed with hops from Britain, Australia, Slovenia and the USA.
Rebirth has a fruity aroma. The flavour is of almost burnt toast and bitter marmalade, which lingers on the tongue for a good while. The alcohol warmth also develops as the beer goes down.
Untappd rating - 3.75
With the Rebirth being based on an old recipe for ESB I thought that I really ought to compare the two, especially as I have never actually had the ESB before. By contrast the ESB is just a shade darker in colour and weighs in at 5.9% compared to 6% for Rebirth. More significantly the ESB is a smoother fruit cake flavour with less bitterness than the Rebirth, probably because of the American hops in the Rebirth.
Altogether I have to say that this was a good value box of beers. There wasn't one of them that I didn't enjoy enough to justify the price of £2 a bottle. One thing that I would say about all of the beers was that the head was short lived. In fact this was also the case with the ESB so perhaps it is a Fullers thing. A lasting head with lacing down the glass would be nice.
As I am finishing this post I am listening to the latest Hopinions podcast and there was s suggestion that this Fullers and Friends project might be repeated. I have to say that, on the strength of this box I would definitely be keen to buy a similar box next year.
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