Ok, let's say your partner is like the two of us, an insufferable beer snob, but you're doing the big shop and you want to pick up a few cans of something they might enjoy, but you have no idea where to start. Have no fear, One for the Road is here!
This series of posts is going to be all about the beers that are readily available in British supermarkets. We are talking Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury, Lidl, Aldi and Waitrose. If you walk into the beer aisle and don't know where to start, we are here for you. These reviews will let you know what is out there, the occasions they are suited to and how good they are in terms of value for money.
Tr-hop-ical
Style - Double Dry Hopped Pale Ale
Brewer - Vocation Brewery
Hops - HBC-630
ABV - 5.7%
Where to buy it - Tesco
Price - £2.40
What to expect
The old adage about books and covers holds equally true for craft beer. Oftentimes breweries seem to rely on extremely eye-catching can art to shift product, rather than making an amazing product to begin with, DEYA's Road Soda springs to mind here! However, can art can be an opportunity for brewers to establish their identity and also to highlight the work of talented graphic designers - Northern Monk's Patron Series showcases the work of a different artist with each new instalment. Exciting can art can also obviously make a beer jump out at you from the many others on the shelf and give you an idea of what to expect once you crack that ring pull.
Vocation Brewery have absolutely nailed the can design for Tr-Hop-ical. Its Matisse cut out aesthetic and Gaugin colour palette let you know you are in for a fun, playful beer with hints of the tropics. The question is though, is the beer inside the can worthy of the design?
On the nose Tr-Hop-ical definitely delivers bags of tropical promise with big doses of citrus and melon hitting the nose. Tr-Hop-ical pours a little thin, but not surprisingly so for a beer clocking in at 5.7% ABV, and this is a pale ale after all. Tr-Hop-ical doesn't hold it's head for very long but the beer itself settles into a beautiful hazy yellow, think sunrise on a misty Yorkshire morning or maybe a good cloudy apple juice.
The flavours I get off Tr-Hop-ical are predominantly of green melon and grapefruit which work very well together without one overpowering the other. After I had a few sips, and had convinced myself that these were the only flavours I was getting, I thought I would check the can and see what Vocation reckon I should be getting. They say sweet fruits and berries, citrus, cherries and banana. Well, I certainly don't detect any berry flavours but you could make the argument that there is some cherry on the finish, if only very slightly. Banana though, I am afraid not, well actually I am not afraid, I am actually pleased as hell that I don't pick up banana, I don't think its flavour that would sit well here at all.
Vocation's Tr-Hop-ical feels a lot thicker in the mouth than I thought it would on the pour and the further you get into the can, the more a pleasant, tingly bitterness develops. The bitterness continues developing all the way through, outstripping the more subtle tropical notes Tr-Hop-ical is carrying, but this is no bad thing, it stops Tr-Hop-ical from being a one-dimensional drinking experience that, while not the most complex beer I have ever had (for £2.40 you wouldn't expect it to be), it has enough going on to keep it interesting.
When to drink it
Vocation's Tr-Hop-ical, it will come as no surprise, would be a great beer for sunny days. The light fizzy notes of citrus and melon would be a welcome embellishment to a day at the beach or to an afternoon lazing in the park.
I would not recommend Vocation's Tr-Hop-ical as a BBQ beer, well certainly not to accompany the actual food at the BBQ - if you want a taste of the tropics before you start mainlining greasy pork and beef, go ahead, I encourage you, but the strong melon and citrus notes, to my mind would not mingle well with the meat. Full disclosure, I tested this hypothesis with a pork pie, maybe sausages and steaks may be better, but I think it unlikely.
That being said, Vocation Brewery have put together a nice, extremely drinkable pale ale here that has plenty going for it. If you, or whoever you are buying for, like your beers a bit more fruity or a bit more bitter than the standard - without going crazy - then it would be a good idea to pop a Tr-Hop-ical or two in your basket next time you're doing the big shop.
Value for money
You bet your ass it is! £2.40 for a nice, tropical pale ale? It doesn't really get much better value than that!
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