Iceberg, dead ahead !!

Tasting a bottle of Iceberg tonight, produced by the Titanic brewery in Burslem, Stoke on Trent.
 I am always keen to try any new Titanic brewery beers I see, as they seem to cater for my tastes.

Iceberg comes in a clear bottle, has a pale-yellow to golden colour and a slight haze (I had left this to settle in a cool dark place, and the bottle had a visible yeast sediment.  I therefore think the haze is due to wheat proteins in the beer).  The head once poured was quite open and granular and had a perfect white colour.  A thin head stayed on the beer all the way down the glass.

There was a gentle aroma from the beer, but nothing crazy.  Just a mild vanilla toffee smell.

Titanic brewery class this as a light wheat beer, and it certainly didn't disappoint.  Hop and malt were in perfect balance for my taste, I prefer a bitter beer but your mileage may vary.  Some may say that the malt sweetness isn't enough and the hoppy citrus bitterness dominates.

I didn't see it coming!

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale:

My first taste of an American pale ale, This is supposed to be one of the best examples.  The website suggests the following stats:

• 5.6% ABV
• 37 IBU
• Magnum and Pearle bittering Hops
• Cascade aroma Hops
• Pale and Caramel malts

Appearance gives a light amber colour with a full off-white head with good retention.  The 350ml bottle I had had a visible sediment in the bottom confirming it had been bottle conditioned.  The carbonation was lively and visible, and I was expecting a gassy drink, but it was surprisingly light, just enough CO2 to enhance the flavour.

A great bitter hoppy taste, really pulls in your cheeks with it's astringency, Plenty of citrus fruit and it lasts for while after tasting.  The beer isn't too malty but it may just be competing against the hops in this instance. I would say a gentle sweetness.

A clean citrusy aroma was noticeable when pouring and this stayed for the duration of drinking.  The aroma helped to accentuate the bitterness and cleanness of the taste.

I think I will be keeping an eye out for other examples of this style, as I am intrigued to see whether it indeed is true to style and whether it survives the importing process well. Purchased at Tesco supermarket for approx £1.70

First post

just a quick hello for now, currently working hard to bring content over from my other site craftbeeruk.

On another note, I have tried a nice bottle recently, "Jack Frost" by Fullers brewery in Chiswick.  A balanced, fruity, winter warmer, with a very light blackberries taste (hardly noticeable).  Rich full bodied Malt, balanced by a hardly noticeable earthy Hop finish.  It's £1.99 in Sainsburys at the moment.  I think it's exclusive to them.  I highly recommend you give it a try