Marston's Old Empire India Pale Ale

A delicious India Pale Ale (IPA) from Marston's. Lovely Brown colour, this ale is 5.7% by vol. Marston's claim that all their beers are bottled in Amber glass to avoid deterioration and ensure quality. You can really taste the quality, I would give it a strong 8 out of 10. Aroma is strong too, but not as impressive as the taste, 7/10. It is also very drinkable, so it tops it off with a 9, giving a very respectable 24 out of 30, highly recommended.

Newcastle Brown Ale Very drinkable

Newcastle Brown Ale is a quintessential, English beer, sometimes called 'Newky Brown'. It is
4.7% and has been brewed since 1927. Very drinkable, I would give it 8 out of 10. It has a pleasant, sweet aroma, which I would give 7. However, the taste is not very strong and almost verging on bland, so I would give it a 4. This gives a decent, but not outstanding 19 out of 30.

Founders 2009 IPA

Founders have produced this exquisite India pale ale, called 2009. I would give it 9 for aroma, 9 for taste and 8 for drinkability. This gives an overall score of 26 out of 30 for this tasty IPA. Founders have been brewing since 1854

Mac's Black Mac Dark Beer

Another local New Zealand brewed beer. A smooth, dark beer, reminiscent to stout. Not much aroma, but tasty and drinkable. I would give 5 for aroma, 7 for taste and 7 for drinkability. Overall 19/30. macs dark beer

Monteiths Original Ale, NZ Beer is Ace!

Sorry for the 4 year gap in this blog, but I moved to Switzerland and there wasn't much awesome ale there to post. I have now relocated my family again, this time to Auckland, New Zealand. Check out this delicious ale I tasted yesterday and just had to share. It's from the Monteiths brewery in New Zealand.

Nice aroma - 8, taste - 8, drinkability - 8. Giving an overall score of 24/30. Try it! monteiths original ale

Fuller's Organic Honey Dew

It looked like a fantastic combination; honey beer that was also organic. So you can imagine my disappointment when I tasted this rancid beer. The bottle was a 500ml quantity and it's 5% by vol.

The aroma was ok and seemed promising, I would give it a 7. The taste however, was another story. I regret to say that the beer was not nice at all. There was no honey taste and no malt favours. It was almost like a bad lager. I would give the flavour a 3 out of 10 and the drinkability a 4.

This gives Fuller's honey dew beer a disappointing 14 out of 30.

In summation then, I would advise you to avoid this beer at all costs, unless you ate looking to have a bad experience to help you give up drinking.

Old Tom Original Strong Ale - The World's Best Ale?

When I saw this on the shelf of my local supermarket I was intrigued, not only due to the distinctive bottle and design, but also because written on the label were the words 'voted world's best ale' at the world beer awards. It comes in a 330ml bottle with a cat on it and is 8.5%.

The aroma was divine matching the colour, I would give it 9.

The taste was smooth and did not taste too strong, good crisp after taste; 8.

The drinkability was good to firm - 8.

Overall score of 25, maybe not the world's best, but Old Toms Original Strong Ale is definitely an experience everyone should have.

Cheers, John!