March was a big month for stouts – we battled some well-known English stouts, sampled various stouts from Guinness as part of our St Patrick’s Day celebrations, and discovered some exceptional barrel-aged stouts from Yorkshire-based breweries. We also battled some light beers from Ilkley Brewery and attended the Craft and Crust Festival in Leeds. We’ve certainly had a busy beer month with plenty of new brews and new breweries.
This month’s top five new brews
Here’s a rundown of our favourite new brews for March 2024.
Shipwrecked by Northern Monk (Leeds, UK)
Piña Colada IPA 7%
This was a great beer to try out our new limited edition 10th anniversary Northern Monk glasses. But then, Northern Monk beers rarely disappoint.
This Piña Colada twist on NM’s Transient was excellent. It had pineapple and coconut flavours and barely any bitterness.
My only criticism of Northern Monk is their lack of product descriptions. I guess at least with Piña Colada, you can kind of figure out what you’re going to get.
Brewer’s note: None.
Brewer’s website: Northern Monk
Passion Fruit Martine by Double-Barrelled (Reading, UK)
Kettle Sour 5.%%
This was one of the beers we tried at the Craft and Crust Festival.
We’d had our eye on it from the start, but we wanted to save the bigger flavours for last.
It was worth the wait. Very tart – the kind of sour that makes your mouth water – but lovely flavours of passionfruit came through too. This was our favourite beer of the day.
Brewer’s note: Filled to the brim with juicy passionfruit, with hints of lime and vanilla, and complemented by a “shot” of white grapes, this is a tangy, juicy and delicious kettle sour. Designed to replicate the classic cocktail and brewed by some of the awesome ladies in our team to celebrate International Women’s Day!
Brewer’s website: Double-Barrelled Brewery
Barrel Aged Mint Chocolate Stout by Vocation (Hebden Bridge, UK)
Barrel Aged Mint Chocolate Stout 12.2%
This 12.2% Barrel Aged Mint Chocolate Stout from Vocation was delicious!
We had a bottle each, but if it wasn’t so strong, we’d have happily guzzled a few more. The mint was strong on the aroma, but subtle on the taste. And despite being over 12%, it didn’t taste too boozy. So creamy and decadent – this is definitely a treat beer.
Brewer’s note: Luxurious minty and bitter-sweet flavours give way to a sophisticated after-dinner style dark chocolate. Enhanced by barrel ageing over 9 months in bourbon.
Brewer’s website: Vocation Brewery
Whiskey Barrel Aged Stout with Coffee by North (Leeds, UK)
Whiskey Barrel Aged Stout with Coffee 11%
We’d have happily put the mint stout as our favourite stout of the month if we hadn’t snuck this one in right at the end.
North are one of our favourite local breweries. And this stout was exceptional.
It had coffee and whiskey flavours without either of them being overpowering. It was so silky smooth in the mouth. Definitely one of the best stouts we’ve tasted and it only just missed out on our beer of the month.
Brewer’s note: Our latest Field Recordings release – an Irish coffee of monstrous proportions. A rich and decadent whiskey barrel-aged stout brewed with Bay’s award-winning Sumatran coffee.
Brewer’s website: North Brewing Co Online Shop
Bay Coffee: Bay Coffee Roasters
* BEER OF THE MONTH *
Pauwel Kwak by Brouwerij Bosteels (Belgium)
Amber Beer 8.4%
We had a lot of excellent beers in March so it was a close competition for our beer of the month, but this Belgian beauty just pipped it.
If I had to describe it in one sentence I’d go with “caramel in a glass” – it was so good. But I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised since Belgium is famed for its excellent beers.
Brewer’s note: Kwak is recognisable by its deep bright amber colour and a dense, creamy coloured head. You will smell a mellow, fruity and malty aroma with a slightly spicy character (coriander, hops). Additional earthy and very subtle aromas of banana and perhaps also a whiff of pineapple or mango in the background. Discover a very mellow, fruity attack, a nougat-like solidity, and a slightly spicy character with hints of liquorice passing into a warm finish that reminds you of caramelised banana. The bitterness always remains in the background but in the end, emerges delicately.
Brewer’s website: Bosteels Brewery
Honourable mention
These new brews didn’t quite make it into our top five, but we still feel they are worth a mention.
Milk Stout by Black Sheep Brewery (Masham, Yorkshire, UK)
Milk Stout 4.4%
In the run-up to St. Patrick’s Day, we decided to see if English stouts were as good as Irish stouts so we battled four from well-known breweries.
Of the four, the Black Sheep Milk Stout just had the edge (and we aren’t just saying that because it’s from Yorkshire). The more it warmed up, the creamier and sweeter it became – delicious.
Brewer’s note: Our award-winning Milk Stout beer is made with roasted malts that are topped with lactose to provide sweetness and a creamy texture. The milk sugar perfectly tempers the bitter bite of the hops and makes the stout smoother and distinctively rich. The stout beer carries creamy coffee and rich chocolate notes on the palate to a dry but mouth-coating finish. It’s a balanced brew that’s infinitely drinkable. Milk Stout is proudly partnered with the Human Milk Foundation who are working to help more families feed their babies with donated breastmilk.
Brewer’s website: Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire
Revisited
Not a new brew but a beer we’ve revisited recently because it’s one of our favourites.
West Indies Porter by Guinness (Ireland)
Porter 6%
We’ve actually visited the Guinness brewery in Dublin, but despite being very familiar with their beers, we decided St Patrick’s Day wouldn’t be complete without at least one (we had a fair few).
One bottle of Guinness Original went in my Irish stew – the rest were consumed throughout the afternoon. Technically, the only new brew of our St Patrick’s Day selection was the Guinness 0.0 as we’ve tried the others before.
They are all decent beers, but we both agree that the West Indies Porter comes out on top.
Brewer’s note:A style with origins from our brewers’ diaries dating back to 1801, West Indies Porter is complex yet mellow, hoppy with notes of toffee and chocolate.
Brewer’s website: The World of Guinness: Beers, Experiences & More | Guinness®
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