Well, I survived the work's Christmas do, hopefully without disgracing myself entirely (I will find out tomorrow at any rate). The meal was pretty good and the company even better but the crowning glory was the three pints in Dynamo with some mates before heading into the fray. If you are ever in Dundee, it is definitely worth a visit.
Being slightly less than clear headed this morning , Christmas shopping to finish up in Edinburgh, dog walking to do and freezing bloody cold to deal with, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I have been hanging out for a good beer. Thankfully today's number looks just the ticket.
11
Style - Session IPA
Brewer - Brew by Numbers
Hops - Mosaic
ABV - 4.2%
The beer
I'm no stranger to BBno - I'm sure Dan and I had one or two of their beers on our Instagram Live sessions over lockdown. While I do like a lot of their beers, I can't say that I've ever been totally blown away by them. But then again I'm comparing them here to brewers like Verdant, DEYA or Overtone, and that's probably like comparing a Mercedes station wagon to a Ferrari or something like that. What I mean is, Mercedes make a damn fine car, but there are different levels of fineness.
11 is a hazy little proposition, the colour of fresh straw with just a touch of head lingering around. So far so good really, and I mean, come on, it's hopped with mosaic, so even if it looked like old dish water, I'd still be champing at the bit to get this down my neck.
I don't really like it when people ask and answer their own questions, but I'm going to do it here anyway. Do I get much on the nose from 11? I do not. That's not a negative point per se, this is a beer not a bowl of potpourri. There is a bready, yeastiness there, but I'm not picking up much else. Maybe a very light hint of grapefruit, but that I mean super light.
Don't let the lack of discernible aromas deter you. Get this in you mouth and it is a different story all together. This zips and tingles on the tongue, fizzing and popping with tart citric notes (a vague descriptor because I can't nail it down exactly). Don't be confused by talk of fizzing and popping, 11 is carbonated with a deft touch - not too much, not too little, the fizzing and popping comes from staggered waves of flavour. There's a bit of bitterness here too, but not a lot. This isn't that kind of IPA. This is not a big muscly Ferrari of a beer, growling with the bitterness of hellfire and brimstone. But nor is it a Mercedes station wagon, plodding along and doing the job elegantly but comfortably.
No, 11 is more like an old school Fiat 500 - quirky, cheeky and full of excitement. But not full of power (by which I mean the ABV is a modest 4.3%). So you can have a bit of fun with it without worrying about getting ticket (absolutely wasted).
Clearly this car metaphor has run out of gas (that was painful to type, but I am also a bit proud of it). 11 is a good session IPA, if I was at a Summer festival and they had something like this, I would probably fill my pockets with cans and be very pleased with myself and my life choices. I hope this has made sense on some level, but if not I will boil it down for you - 11 is good, drink it and enjoy.
Score - 4.5/5
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