Hop Horizons

This brewery kind of crept up on me. I didn't find many up until a few years ago, but now I'm coming across many - they've become quite prolific. Mostly cans, and lots of IPAs and pales. My favourite was the 2021 batch of American Barleywine (large bottle). Consistently good quite beers, and good american hops.

This is my local - as local as it can get being at the top of my road. They have a good selection of craft beers on tap, with enough new ones each time to remain interesting. It's also great they have two cask pumps on. There's also a decent fridge stock - maybe not as plentiful as in their newer Rose Lane branch, but still good.

It's a very popular bar, although this and the quiz and other events can make it very loud sometimes. During the daytime it's actually really nice and quiet.

They have a food menu, but it's from next door - a collaboration.

It's been so long since I've been there, but it's such a beautiful city. I remember looking out over the canals in awe at the beauty at night one evening, after leaving an incredible pub with so many not-so-common traditional Belgian bottled beers. There were also a couple of a craft beer pubs on a canal/lake while I was there. Such a good time!

A classic kriek that's been around just about forever. Nothing amazing, but good for one of the original fruit beers, before the scourge of the proliferation of modern fruit beers took hold. This beer is pure cherry, very juicy and sweet, and red in colour, sometimes with a decent head.

A full bodied IPA, with taste of orangey hops but some raw barley grain - surprising for an Azvex. It has similar aroma of orange barley and citrus, with again a surprisingly raw barley mouthfeel and body. Nice orange citrus hops though. Really good head of phone and medium golden - quite cloudy.

Taste is tropical smoothie with lots of mango and passionfruit (maybe other tropical fruits). Aroma is very creamy mango smoothie again and sweet-smelling. Body is just pure smoothie, very thick and tropical fruit. Seriously opaque - one of the most I've ever seen! Interesting beer, but dumping so much fruit into a beer - hmm!

When I was backpacking around Australia many years ago, I bought a bike and cycling up and deep into the hills, to many surrounding villages. One was Hahndorf, a real rural community, and I found this brewpub. It's nothing flashy, but they had five beers they'd brewed right there, and it's such a good memory. Good traditional place, but sadly it seems they might have since closed down. (I'm happy to be corrected.)

I've been finding new Tiny Rebel beers since soon after the brewery was established, and they've become extremely prolific. I find they're best at flavoured beers. Some of the pales and IPAs are really good, and there are some classics, but they're one of the few breweries (in my opinion) that do flavoured beers very well.

This is a classic. Okay, by modern standards, it's not the best dark beer in the world, as it's long been mass-produced, but it's an excellent go-to for a tasty dark beer that has some reasonable strength to it. The flavour is quite a chocolate malt, and sometimes I've even got berries or dried fruit from it.

As of writing, it's been a while since I've been to Chester, but it's actually not far away. The last time I went there, the best pub was the Cellar, pretty much the only craft beer bar, with several real ale pubs around too, mainly in the city centre. I know the craft beer scene has since exploded though. Well worth a visit.

Red-black with a tan ring as poured, not lasting (possibly wrong shaped glass?) Milk chocolate coffee aroma, developing vanilla, woody bourbon, caramel... Similar taste and after, which doesn't really do it justice - so complex, it cycles through about 20 different profiles, tried to capture an average in my score.

Lots of spearmint, and this pure mintyness lasts throughout. Basic, but fresh, however there's an artificial quality to it. It's refreshing though. In appearance, the head is really good, and it's light gold in colour. A basic summer beer.

Black. Large dark tan head on pour, with good surface and halo retention and OK lacing. Dryish, cocoa, Nutella aroma. Hefty, boozy, Pain au Chocolat taste and after.

Just so very thick, and brimming with cocoa! (Or maybe cacao - who knows.) The name is apt, as it's a demon of an imperial stout. Not the easiest of beers to drink, but I just had to score it high, as it's such a serious beer. I'm not sure if it's better than the first Cacaodemon, but I remember liking that one more.

I've been to Amsterdam for the craft beer scene many times since 2000 and earlier, and I have very fond memories. I need to go again, but honestly it just got better and better for the beers and craft pubs. There are of course still the absolute classics, like Wildemann. I love Amsterdam so much!!

One of the best pubs in Liverpool, located on Dale Street. I've been going there since my late teens and have had probably at least a couple of thousand beers from there.

They've kept up the quality and range over the decades and have a very wide range of real ales and craft beers. They have local, national and international beers. The prices are decent. They also have a good range of craft bottles and can to have in or take out. The seating is ample, and it's one of those places with various different compartments within the large pub area to sit. Amazing place!

I've been having their beers since the days of Loka Polly and the Kernel-style beer name, with mainly the hops names. I've since had probably almost 500 of their beers. The very high quality and authentic American style IPAs and pales is astounding. They do delve into some stouts and fruit sours now and again. For their birthday, they released some very strong imperial stouts, and I wish they'd do this more often, but their IPAs are simply amazing.

Pours hazy amber-gold with a creamy head that hangs around just long enough to say hi. Taste is a mix of malty sweetness, spicy Belgian yeast and a many some zippy orange zest in the back. Aroma’s not the loudest, mellow caramel and yeast vibes, but it works. Body’s smooth and balanced, with just enough dryness. Cheers, my Matilda!

First sip and BAM, it’s like getting slapped in the face by a peach in the best way possible! Tangy, funky little number with peach, white wine and just enough sour zing. The aroma’s got that barnyard funk (Brett, baby!), and the golden glow is stunning. Almost too pretty to drink (almost). Aged in wine barrels? Fancy stuff, but it pays off.

Just a very standard and very average bitter.