Firebrand Brewing

Black Stuff (5% ABV, can)
The Black Stuff: usually a reference to a brew that has dominated bars for years, originating in 1759. The beer with which no St Patrick’s Day would be complete. This one, though, is nice and local to me and is a super sessionable stout. I enjoyed it with sausage and mash. Big notes of dark bitter chocolate, coffee, and aniseed, with some nuttiness, too, and a little vanilla coming through on the finish. Wheat has contiributed to good, rich head retention, and there’s a pleasing, smooth mouthfeel. Would be interesting to see what this was like on draught via a keg.
(25th April, 2020)

Beast of Bodmin (5%, can)
Hazy amber/ruby with a cream coloured head and an aroma of rich malt and dark fruit. I hadn’t had this since it was a Penpont cask brand and didn’t expect it to be so hazy. Tastes good, though. Rich, plummy, berry fruit, some blood orange, with a nice rich bitterness. Bready malt and some caramel to balance.
(1st August, 2021)

Bourbon Barrel Aged Impy Stout (9.5% ABV, can)
Smooth, rich, and satisfying — I really like this. It’s black as night, with a tan head that stays well. Fiery bourbon notes over a molasses sweetness. Some coffee, too, a hint of black coffee, and woodiness. Oh, and a suggestion of smoke. The aroma — bourbon, smokiness, a little wood — is not as strong as I was expecting.
(10th March, 2021)

Citra Simcoe NEIPA (6% ABV, can)
Sunshine seems to be locked into this delightful brew, a hazy gold/amber in colour. Grassy and resinous hops on the nose are very inviting. There’s a hint of sourness, too. Lemon rind and dankness on the palate, with grapefruit, lychees, and goosebeeries coming through, and even a hint of a lactose flavour. Perhaps something to do with the oats in the brewm contributing to a great mouthfeel.
(19th April, 2020)

Coffee Stout (6% ABV, can)
Very dark with a red tinge and a think, well-packed, beige head. There are big bitter coffee notes on tehe aroma, and a hint of powedered chocolate. Very pleasant on the palate — coffee coming through, of course, some smokiness, and cocoa. Very smooth with a good mouthfeel. Another cracker from Firebrand.
(20th May, 2020)

Hop Symphony (7.5% ABV, can)
There’s been a lot of praise for this limited batch brew, and rightly so. It’s a joyous double-dry-hopped IPA that lifts you away from lockdown for a while to craft beer bar, maybe not so far away, which this might have been on draught. There’s mango and pineapple on the nose, with some resinous hops. Add grapefruit and kiwi into the mix on the palate, along with gooseberry ad red apple skin – tastes like there could be oats, too, but they’re not listed. Wheat is, though, which accounts for the good head retention and winderful lacing in my glass.
(2nd May, 2020)

Orange and Cocoa Collaboration Dubbel (7% ABV, can)
This collaboration with Beers of Europe does pretty much what it says on the tin. An initial hit of orange citrus, followed by a sweet layer of chocolate. It pours black, with the faintest edge of red. The head is very effervescent, reminiscent of cola. There’s just a hint of orange on the nose. Remaining quite effervescent on the tongue, it’s interesting, if a little thin for 7%.
(23rd November, 2020)

Patchwork Rocket (4% ABV, cask)
Clear gold with a white head, this offers an aroma of grassy hop and lemon that carries through to the palate. There are hints of white grape and lemon rind, too. Decent bitterness on the finish. Enjoyable and very sessionable.
(30th July, 2020)

Pink Lemonade Sour (6% ABV, can)
Salmon pink in colour with a head that dies down almost immediately. The aroma is rapsberries and the palate rapberries and lemons. Tastes very much like an alcopop to me. There was another sour sent in this package — Apricot and Rosemary. I’m afraid sours just aren’t me.
(15th March, 2022)