What beers have you tried for Tryanuary?
Dry January, Veganuary….. but what about Tryanuary? This is my favourite trend for January as it gives me an excuse to buy more beer (like I need it!). Seriously though, this is a great time to support new breweries, bottleshops and tap rooms (where possible). Tori and I both have lists of breweries we want to try in 2021, and we have smashed it! So much so, that we have had to split this episode into two parts!
The first of our Tryanuary selection!
Tori and I selected 4 breweries each that we wanted to try, but ended up with one crossover in Donzoko. In this first part of the podcast we tried Dig Brew Co, Braybrooke Brewing, Play Brew Co and Brew By Numbers.
Oh No It’s Crimefighter DIPA by Dig Brew Co
Dig Brew Co was Tori’s first pick and she took great pleasure in getting me to drink a DIPA, which is not one of my favourite styles!
I was interested in trying a brew from Dig, however as they were quite sort after around the beginning of 2020. We were a little disappointed that we could only get a can of theirs, rather than the very good looking stubby bottles with the glow in the dark wax seals!
Despite this being a DIPA, I did enjoy it! It uses sabro and cryo sabro hops - a concentrated version of the hop that allows brewers to get intense flavours and aromas without adding astringency. I do love sabro though - the combination of coconut and pineapple that comes from this hop, when used well, is delicious. As it is a DIPA there is a high bitterness and an alcohol burn, which puts me off, but fans of DIPAs will love the balance in this. It is well crafted so I would definitely try Dig again with a different style.
Black Lager by Braybrooke Brewing
My first pick was Braybrooke Brewery. They are a British brewery that brews lagers using traditional German techniques and ingredients. I have seen lots of positive posts about them but hadn’t had chance to grab any yet. I’m also on a mission to expand my lager bier tasting so this was a no brainer - also black lager! What’s not to like?!
A black lager is in the schwarzbier family and generally uses smoked malts. But, setting it apart from stouts and porters is it’s clean, light body. This example was no exception. The lager yeast used to ferment it gave it a lovey crisp, clean finish with a roasty, lightly smoky taste. The perfect combination of crispy boi and dark, malty flavour. I’m a big fan and will be getting more Braybrooke beers for sure!
Blackberry & Raspberry & Cherry Pastry Sour by Play Brew Co
Another pick of mine was Play Brew Co. It was a hard choice between the Blackberry & Raspberry & Cherry Pastry Sour or the Maple & Pecan Milk Stout - both sound delicious, but I convinced Tori to go for the raspberry - as you may know, I love raspberry!
This beer is a gorgeous colour! A hazy cherry red that seeps into the frothy head. You really get the cherry and blackberry in the aroma, but the raspberry was a bit lost. In taste, you really only get a berry mingle, but this isn’t a bad thing. It’s not puckeringly sour and would be a good entry sour for a beer friend you may want to introduce to sour beers.
Tori and I both enjoyed this and, as with the other choices so far, Play Brew Co will be on my to buy list more often.
08 Canadian Breakfast by Brew By Numbers
My final pick, and the last in this part of the episode is from Brew By Numbers. I have had a few from BBNO before, but I feel like I have overlooked them and need to rectify this! We selected a stout so that we had a variety of styles in our Tryanuary picks as well as different breweries - maybe your Tryanuary could include picking up some new styles?
A breakfast stout gets its name by including coffee and oats - like you would have for breakfast. Canadian Breakfast has lashings of coffee in the aroma and flavour, bolstered by the addition of smoked malts in the malt bill. I enjoy that the BBNO cans have a wealth of information on the back - I want more cans and bottles with more information please!
The can art promises lots of sticky, runny maple. I found this lacking from what I expected, but that wasn’t a bad thing! If it had more maple in it (it shows up as the stout warms) it would be too cloying. Instead this has a lovely balance. Highly recommended!
So far we haven’t had a bad beer in our Tryanuary selection! More to come in part 2 of the podcast which will be out next week.
What have you tried for Tryanuary? Let us know in the comments below. And if you enjoyed this episode you can listen to more of our episodes here. Or watch us here on You Tube. You can also find it on all the big podcast platforms or ask your smart speaker to play A Woman’s Brew: The Podcast.
