Harbour Brewing Co

Alt Beer (4.6% ABV, bottle)
A beautiful deep amber/red colour, with a light tan head, this smells of toffee, and autumnal red apples and berries. On the palate, it’s a nice balance of bready malt and slightly tart fruit — winter berries with some spiciness. Pretty good, although I drank it six months put of date!
(13th February 2021)

American Pale Ale (5.5% ABV, can, for M&S)
Grassy hops and citrus notes on the nose of this deep golden pour, pouring with a white head that lasts well. On the palate, it’s beautifully balanced, with good malt flavours supporting cirtus hop than manifests itself more in pith and rind notes than juice. There’s a gentle, satisfying bitter finish that really leaves you wanting more. A tin for the beach — or the back garden.
(9th April, 2020)

Arctic Sky Cold IPA (4% ABV, can)
Polished gold with a thick, white, foaming head, this has fruity, grassy hop notes, with a hint of tartness, on the aroma. Really clean and refreshing on the palate, pineapple leads the way, with a herbal kick and some biscuit malt balance. Decent bitterness lasts well and makes this session IPA very moreish.
(15th January, 2021)

Between Land and Sea Porter (6.1% ABV, can)
Coffee bursts out on the aroma of this dark red brew, along with some bitter chocolate. This excellent porter is very lively, with a big, billowing off-white head. It doesn’t get too sweet, going towards stout territory. That coffee’s there, and the bitter choc, along with a nice nuttiness. There’s a hint of smoke, too. Yes, very nice.
(30th January, 2021)

Bunyip Dreaming (5.6% ABV, can)
Hazy straw with a white head, it’s a fruit bowl on the aroma — all citrus and tropical with a little dankness on the side. It’s hopped with Chinook, Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra, and Equinox, while oats and wheat contribute to a beautifully smooth body. On the palate its more tropical fruit — mango, passionfruit, lychee — plus pine, with a little dryness coming in at the end. A cracking IPA!
(28th February, 2021)

Bustin’ Down the Door (6.4% ABV, can)
Another lovely IPA from Harbour. Deep golden with a white head, the aroma is of quite intense tropical fruit, but you get a sense of the good malt balance, too. This is a very satisfying US-style IPA. Big pine flavours hand in hand with intense, juicy, tropical fruit. There’s an excellent body and mouthfeel, too.
(9th March, 2021)

Five Summers American Pale (5% ABV, can)
Pale gold, with a thick, foaming white head. As soon as the can is opened, there’s an aroma burst of orange citrus — juice and pith — and pine. Big and bold. There’s a lovely mouthfell, silk smooth. On the palate, the citrus develops into breakfast grapefruit — really grapefruity. This lingers and makes the beer really moreish. Citrus and pine hang on, too, and there’s a light biscuit malt holding it all together. A very enjoyable pale.
(10th November, 2020)

Imperial Coffee Stout (11.7% ABV, can)
Here’s a gorgeous glass of late-evening warmth. It sells of coffee, it tastes of coffee, but you’re left in no doubt it’s decent coffee, not just any old grounds. The is a collaboration with Origin coffee, and the brew used is called Stronghold. ‘Big and bold’ it says on the can, and they’re not overselling it. The beer has a slight smokiness about it and a rich, almost dried fruit note, as well as that big hit of strong coffee. Really enjoyed this as a nightcap (even though you’re not meant to drink coffee before bed!).
(13th May, 2021)

India Pale Ale (5% ABV, bottle)
I’ve probably drunk more of this with meals in restaurants than on its own, such is its suitability for such a wide range of foods. Bright, clear, and golden, with a white head, it has an aroma of citrus fruit and resinous hops — not too huge, but inviting enough. On the palate, it starts out a little like a traditional English IPA, but almost immediately there’s a kick of New World hops . Lemon, orange, herbal notes, a hint of spiciness, and great malt balance. On this occasion it worked well with a local asparagus and pasta meal.
(18th May, 2020)

IPA (collaboration with Arbor) (7% ABV, can)
Hazy light amber, with a very slightly off-white head that stays well, this has a quite traditional, though very assertive, IPA nose, all rich malt and orange marmalade. There’s an edge of tropical fruit. On the palate, it’s more of a fusion of English and US IPAs, although there is an excellent bready malt profile one expects this side of the Atlantic. There’s deep rich orange, lychee. some stone fruit, and a cracking bitterness on the finish. A beautiful beer!
(2nd March, 2021)

The Last of Summer Lager (5.3% ABV, can)
A collaboration with the Queer Brewing Project. Lovely gold colour with good carbonation and a white head that stays well. There are fresh herbal notes on the aroma, with just a hint of lemon. On the palate, this turns out to be one of those lagers I really like, which have a strong malt focus. It’s dubbed a Vienna lager, so presumably has some of that Vienna malt I love so much. Other ingredients include lemon verbena and pineapple sage, which account for the citrus and herby profile in this refreshing and very moreish brew. One of the nicest lagers I’ve tasted.
(11th January, 2021)

Let’s Be Frank (7.1% ABV, can)
Hazy, rich gold with a tight white head, this is beautifully — yet not overpoweringly — hopped with Chinook, Simcoe, Columbus, and Centennial, giving pine, lemon citrus, grapefruit, and a little gooseberry, against biscuit malt. On the aroma, fresh pine and lemon citrus burst through. With a good body and mouthfeel, there’s a moreish bitterness on the finish. Clean and too drinkable!
(14th June, 2020)

Little Rock IPA (6.3% ABV, can)
One of my favourite Harbour brews, this pours a deep, clear amber/red, with light carbonation and an off-white head that stays well. The inviting aroma is of rich orange and resinous hops. The orange continues onto the palate with lemon pith and rich toffee malt. The condition is fabulous. A great IPA with a decent bitter finish.
(14th June, 2020)

Panda Eyes (5% ABV, bottle)
Hazy, yet bright gold with a thick white head and vigorous carbonation. It’s a tropical fruit bowl on the nose — pineapple, mango, and some lemon pith, too. It’s beautifully refreshing, with lots of tropical fruit on the palate, and a little orange coming through, like a traditional IPA. Frutiy bitterness lasts well into the finish. There’s not a huge amount of malt character, but some light biscuit underpinning the hops.
(21st June, 2020)

Puffin Tears (5% ABV, can)
Deep, bright gold, with a thick white foaming head. The aroma — orange, grapefruit, gooseberry — is very inviting. On the palate, more lemon comes through, lime too — it’s gloriously fruity. Light malt balances, and there’s a zingy bitter finish. Cracking beer.
(24th November, 2020)

Scratching the Surface (collaboration with Thornbridge) (7.5% ABV)
Hazy gold with a good white head, this has beautiful citrus and stone fruit notes on the nose. On the palate, it’s big and juicy: mango, pineapple, and apricot in abundance. Vienna malt and wheat contribute to balance and smoothness, and there’s a good full body. A cracking collaboration!
(4th July, 2021)

Foudre 1 2019 Brett Saison (5.3% ABV, bottle)
A deep straw colour with good carbonation and a strong white head. I take on baord that, yes, it’s sasion, and I really should have drunk it much younger, however it’s still a lovely, lively, refreshing brew. On the aroma it’s quite tart and spicy, with with wild yeast notes. The taste is gloriously fresh, zingy, and clean. There’s lemon juice, grapefruit, some grassy notes, herbs certainly, and a light tartness, all against light malt.
(8th November, 2020)