The Suburban Brew, Sunday, Session Ale

It was a hot Thursday night and I wanted something to lower the temperature. I was a little unsure about drinking a beer that was clearly labelled Sunday, on a Thursday. I used to have socks with days of the week written on the bottom and I tried to wear them on the corresponding day. I usually failed and based on that I took the can out of the fridge and emptied its contents into a glass. 

It was a sight to behold. This was a beautifully clear golden beer with lots of bubbles speeding their way through. It looked refreshing. There was a slight smell of citrus hanging over the top of the beer but nothing significant. 

The beer kept its promises. It tasted slightly bitter and followed that with a sweet aftertaste that contained the merest hint of grapefruit. It had a thinness about it that made it the perfect drink for a hot evening. 

The Suburban Brew, Shake Shake Shake, Superdelic Oat Cream IPA

Maths makes my head hurt and tonight I had to do some maths. I must do the same calculations every month and every month I end up with a similar result: a slightly dazed feeling and a worry that I have somehow got it wrong and that there will be disastrous consequences. There was only one way to quell the fear.  

Having watched a friend being served a beer form the bottom of the barrel at the weekend, the sight of this beer was not comforting. It was straw yellow and opaque; this was not a beer that you could look through in any meaningful way. I suspected the addition of fruit juice to make this one of those orange squash beers. The fruity smell helped to confirm my suspicions.  

It tasted bitter with an aftertaste of grapefruit and not the hideous sweet mix of beer and fruit that I was expected. In fact, it was on the acceptable end of the orange squash beer spectrum. I liked it but I still have no idea what the oat cream was or what it added. 

The Suburban Brew, No 2, Pale Ale

Some evenings are enhanced with a bit of cheese, and by cheese, I mean a cheese platter. Maybe a soft blue and some biscuits and if I am feeling extravagant some slices of carrot and cucumber. Tonight, my platter also included a little bit of pate and some nuts. Sometimes I feel that I deserve to be a little extravagant. Of course, none of these options are complete without a beer.  

I plucked this one out of the fridge and poured it into a glass, inhaling the aroma of mango as I did. A quick glance revealed a glass of beer that was the cloudy yellow end of golden and full of bubbles streaming to the top of the glass.  

After a few bits of cheese, I took a sip. The pleasantly bitter and slightly fruity taste complemented the cheese platter brilliantly, so much so that I finished the platter and another beer. 

The Suburban Brew, Gateway Lager

I had had a slothful Sunday that was full of playing with a small child whilst its mother could catch up on the vital things in life, like sleep. It had been a very pleasant way of passing the afternoon and I felt that the evening should be passing in an equally pleasant way by sampling a beer or two. I decided that a lager would be the best way forward, I decision driven by the fact that there was one in the fridge. 

In my world a larger should be an uncomplicated drink, it should have a sweet aroma that can contain a little citrus, as this one did. Once in the glass it should be clear and golden, which this one was. Ther should be bubbles, lots of them. This one had all my desired attributes.  

This was definitely a summer lager. It was clean, crisp and refreshing, if a little watery. I could drink this in quantity and still find little to fault it.   

The Suburban Brew, Tram Track Stout

There are times when only a stout will do, and this evening was one of them. It had been a long day of activity and decision making that had left me dazed and confused. I needed something to help me restore the equilibrium and this looked just the thing.  

The malty aroma as I poured the black beer into the glass promised that this was going to be a nice stout. It looked think and black with a proper cream coloured head. There was honesty in its appearance.  

The honesty continued with the taste. It was a good solid thick sweet stout with an earthy aftertaste that gave me pleasure with every mouthful. It was the ideal beer to bring me back to ground.   

The Suburban Brew, Flat 5, English Special Bitter

I’d spent the evening making things with plums, I had stewed plums, plum jam. plum paste and a very messy kitchen. It made me think of my home when I was young and that made me think of bitter. I’ve drunk a lot of English bitter, it was my drink of choice for many years so this beer had a lot to live up to. I wanted it to give me a taste of home.

I took it out of the fridge and let it warm up. Anyone will tell you that there is no point drinking bitter ice cold, it just loses all the flavour. This of course doesn’t mean it should be drunk warm. It looked right in the glass. It had a satisfying foamy head and lovely deep brown colour. It looked slightly muddy but I was willing to ignore that.

It tasted wonderful: malty, bitter and an almost toffee after taste. It brought to my mind cosy country pubs and long cold nights that end with eating fish and chips from paper on the way home. This truly was an English Special Bitter and I loved it. I will be seeking out more.