Beers I’ve Enjoyed - February 2024
Hey beer lovers! February was a quiet beer month for me. As an Events Manager in my day job, I’m about to get very busy with festivals, conferences and beer events. So while I could spend time at home, I did! But that doesn’t mean I didn’t drink any delicious beers. Since we’ve been able to go back to bars and pubs after the lockdowns, I have tried to visit new and favourite places as often as possible, but sometimes you just need to be at home. Let’s take a look at my favourite beers that I did get in this month.
Number of beers tried this month: 54
Beer styles tried: 16
If you’d like to see all the beers I try, come find me here on Untappd!
Marzen by 360 Brewing
Style: Marzen
I am very critical of Marzens. When Oktoberfest and autumn come around, breweries put out ‘Oktoberfest’ beers or brews they call a Marzen, or even a Festbier. But most of the time they aren’t quite right for the style. If you are making a Marzen, please make sure it is a richly malty, slightly caramelly Marzen, or don’t bother (or at least call it a Festbier). I will die on that hill. It is one of my favourite styles, when it is done right.
Now this one from 360 Brewing was done right! It’s malty, toasty, caramelly and rich, but still very drinkable.
My thoughts:
Bright clear dark amber with a thick foamy beige head. Toasty malt aroma, touch of caramel and marmalade. Lightly carbonated, toasty, bready, touch of caramel and marmalade.
You should try this if: You want a rich, full-bodied lager and can’t get the proper German stuff.
Trois Pistoles by Unibroue
Style: Dark strong Belgian ale
This is from the stash and I grabbed it while I was in Paris last year from a small shop next door to the BapBap taproom. The shop was called Hop Malt Market on the Rue Saint-Maur and had local French beers, but also some from Quebec in Canada. Quebec is in the French-speaking region of Canada, so it made sense that these would appear in a beer shop in France. I haven’t drunk beers from Unibroue since my cruise ship days, so I snagged a couple on sight!
This is a super complex beer, just as you would expect from a Belgian style. There are notes of dried fruits, chocolate, tobacco and candi sugar and you need to sit and sip this to really appreciate it.
My thoughts:
Clear chestnut red with a lingering beige head and streaming carbonation bubbles. Dried fruits on the aroma - figs, cherry, spices, touch of chocolate and tobacco. Moderately carbonated, dark candi sugar, dried fruits, lightly spiced, chocolate, a lighter body compared to the complex flavours, making it drinkable.
You should try this if: You want to test your tasting skills and really sit and appreciate a beer, maybe in a warm room while it rains outside - so cozy!
The Magician by Northern Monk
Style: Cherry and hibiscus fruited sour
I had to grab this beer because of the name and label. I’m really enjoying pairing my two loves of beer and tarot over on my Instagram here. Tarot has beautiful artwork and insights that can hone your understanding of the world around you and about yourself. It’s super fun to read a card and find a beer that is represented by that card, or makes me think in a different way because I’ve paired it in an interesting way.
The Magician is about lessons, manifestation, power and inspired action. I was definitely inspired to take action and buy this beer!
My thoughts:
Hazed cherry red with a pink foamy head. Sour cherries and almost coconut cream, floral. Lightly carbonated, full body for a sour, sour cherry sweets, creamy coconut, floral from the hibiscus, dry finish.
You should try this if: Sour cherry sweets are your thing - this is definitely one for the fruited sour lovers as it has layers of flavour to pick apart and a very dry finish. Not for the beginner sour tasters.
Classic Wicked Whoopie by Rising Tide Brewery
Style: Chocolate whoopie pie stout
My wonderful beer wife, Tori, grabbed this for me while she visited Maine during her trip home to the US at Christmas. I’d been waiting to try it for a moment where I could really savour it as a chocolate whoopie pie stout just sounded decedent. And it was! I feel like the Americans do the best job of putting weird and wonderful flavours into their beers. Their openness to trying crazy flavour combos is exciting and sometimes a little scary! This one isn’t scary though, it’s just delicious!
My thoughts:
Black with a brown gold highlight and a low beige head. Dark chocolate, cake and vanilla aroma. Lightly carbonated, full, chocolate, cake, touch of vanilla, touch of booze. Rich.
You should try this if: You want a properly cakey stout that is rich and decedent!
Starhammer & Bergamot Crusher by Holy Goat
Style: Fruited Sours
We were lucky enough to have Johnny from Holy Goat visit us on the podcast this month, and two of the beers we drank during that interview were so good, I had to have both of them in this lineup.
Listen to the interview with Johnny on A Woman’s Brew here.
I wondered if Bergamot Crusher might be too perfumy, or incensey when I read the name. But Holy Goat know how to balance flavours to truly make them shine. You get the herbal Bergamot note, but there is also juicy orange and a touch of funk that all works together in harmony to create a beer that you want to be sipping in the sun, maybe in an orange grove.
My thoughts:
Hazed yellow with a fizzy white head. The aroma bursts out of the bottle - herbal, perfumy bergamot, juicy orange, touch of funk. Tart and lightly carbonated, orange juice, herbal, perfumy bergamot, cleaning light bitterness.
I was excited to try Starhammer as it was made with starfruit. I don’t think I’ve ever actually eaten starfruit, so it is obviously difficult to know exactly what its flavours are and if I could taste them in the beer. That’s just another reason to try and smell all the things to expand your tasting palate! Looking at different sources, it’s supposed to be like ripe pear, green grapes, orange and pineapple, so to me that came across as tropical. That goes really well in a sour, obviously!
My thoughts:
Lightly hazed yellow with a foamy white head. Tropical fruit and wheat aroma. Lightly carbonated, full body, tart with juicy tropical fruit flavours, slightly creamy.
You should try this if: Basically you should try everything from Holy Goat because their beers are fantastic! But they are also a sour brewery, so be prepared for the styles they put out. These two have levels of flavours that are fun to pick apart and add to your tasting palate.
March is going to be a busy month for beer with conferences and festivals happening along with International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day. Make sure you are following me on Instagram to see where I end up! And let me know your favourite beer from February in the comments.
