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Pompelmocello IPA – ABV 6.0%

The team at Siren say their objective with Pompelmocello was to make a beer as grapefruit tasting as possible. We think they nailed it; beers just don’t come more citrusy than this.

Aroma: Sharp, nonintoxicating sweet and naturally bursting with citrus

Taste: It delivers on extremes of sour and sharp, yet is so drinkable you could almost overlook the alcohol content and swap it out for a morning breakfast juice.

Verdict: Interested in sour beers but don’t know where to start? Start here.

Food Pairing: The sharp, sour flavours go perfectly with salty fried food. Drink it with a bag of good quality pork scratchings or crisps.

Bastard Brag Black IPA – ABV 7.2%

Taking its name a version of poker, this light-bodied Black IPA is drinkable and balanced with roasted dark malts and citrusy Simcoe and Centennial hops.

Look: Clear and dark with nice amount of lacing with a creamy beige head.

Aroma: Roasted malt well balanced with light citrus interludes

Taste: Malt, charcoal, grapefruit and pine, combined well in an easy drinking beer with a nice dry finish.

Food Pairing: This beer works well with smoky, spicy flavours. Try it with Mexican food, or a paella made with chorizo.

Verdict: Bastard Brag’s full back story includes being initially brewed as batch 333, inspired by the version of poker favoured at the By The Horns brewery – in which three 3’s is the strongest hand – and this is a full house of an IPA.

Brave New World IPA – ABV 7.0%

This is everything we love in a good IPA; lots of pithy grapefruit and pine on the nose, followed by big bittersweetness balanced out with tropical fruit flavour and and that classic pine-resin note, finished off with a long hit of pine bitterness.

Return to Madness Imperial IPA – ABV 11%

Terrific for sipping on the sofa – just be careful when you stand up again. Fruity esters, tropical hops and yeast forces join for a no-holds-barred IPA.

Look: It is thick pouring with a hazy golden colour and a long lasting head.

Aroma: Tropical fruit, pine resin and sweet yeastiness combine in a complex dance  – it’s amazingly easy-going for an 11 percenter. Now that’s madness.

Taste: Sweet, chewy and boozy with fruity esters the yeast, you get a massive hop hit of Aramillo, Vic’s Secret, Centennial and Columbus.

Food pairing: The sweet and heavily hopped flavour is a good match for the salty tang of strong cheese. Try it with a mature cheddar sourdough toastie.

Syd Strongs Black IPA – ABV 7.1%

Originally a collab with Brewdog, this full-bodied Black IPA hits hard with the spiciness of rye plus citrus pine notes, but manages to keep an almost porter-like smoothness.

Look: This full-bodied Black IPA pours with a thick tan head.

Aroma: Roasted malt combined with citrus and pine the hops.

Taste: It has the smooth mouthfeel of a porter, but with lots of spiciness the rye. Spice eventually gives way to a nice velvety finish and thirst-quenching bitterness the hops.

Verdict: Totally delicious and very moreish – a fitting memorial to Syd Strongs, a long-gone hairdresser’s on Camden High Street.

Carbon Black IPA – ABV 6.8%

Light-bodied, herby and refreshing, this is a great example of a Black IPA a brewery that is growing in reputation.

Look: Fixed Wheel Carbon Black pours with a nice tan head.

Aroma: Big juicy scents of grapefruit and pine.

Taste: Roasted malt to balance out the pine and citrus, and a nice bitter finish with just a hint of herbs.

Food Pairing: This is a terrific beer for pairing with fatty meats. Try drinking it with a plate of sticky sweet BBQ ribs.

Verdict: Plant Earth needs carbon to survive. Say no more.

Ride it Like You Stole It DIPA – ABV 8.5%

This classic double IPA was made after Fixed Wheel “robbed a hop bank” and has stolen our heart: bitter orange and pine freshness ride on a bike of treacle.

Look: Ride it Like You Stole It pours dark orange with a small white head.

Aromas: Sweet notes of peach and mango combine with the bitterness of orange zest.

Taste: A lovely freshness with a big hit of pine and a twist of marmalade against a body of caramel. Totally delicious.

Food pairing: This beer pairs well with salty and fried foods. Try drinking it with a plate of gammon and chips.

Verdict: Fresh yet caramelly, hoppy and treacley – a world cycling champion.

Root of All Evil Beetroot Hefeweizen – ABV 8%

Sweet and nicely spiced, with herbal earthy notes the yeast and beetroot, this bright pink Hefeweizen beer has to be tasted to be understood.

Look: Best served chilled, the beer pours pinkish in the glass with a big foamy head.

Aroma: It has massive aromas of beetroot (duh) with just a hint of forest fruit.

Taste: Sweet with the unmistakable earthiness of beetroot present but never overpowering, and nicely balanced with spiciness the yeast.

Food Pairing: Pair this beer with the salty sharpness of sheep or goat’s cheese. We think it’s the ideal beery accompaniment for a Greek salad.

Verdict: Beetroot. Love it or loathe it, you have to try this sweet, earthy unique brew Time & Tide. It’s like no beer you’ve tasted before.

Amarillo DIPA-ish – ABV 9.3%

The way to Amarillo is lined with Saaz Hops reminiscent of a Pilsner, accompanied with orange, grapefruit pine and strong alcohol warmth.

Look: Clear in the bottle, it pours slightly hazy with a long lasting white head.

Aroma: The Saaz Hops initially put you in mind of a Czech Pilsner, but with an almost equal amount of citrus and pine; and these are the flavours that become more dominant in the taste.

Taste: Bursting with orange, grapefruit and the warmth of alcohol it becomes increasingly DIPA-like on the palette. It is everything a double IPA ought to be, and a little bit more besides.

Food pairing: This beer works really well with Indian food. Try it with the fresh green chillies of a Jalfrezi.

Fresh Prince of Norway DIPA – ABV 9%

Expect a fresh, floral, piney and progressive double IPA this award-winning brewery. Expect it to be very, very good.

Look: On the pour Fresh Prince of Norway Bandwagon Bier Member Berry DIPA v37 (to give it its full title) is clearly unfiltered and unfined – you can tell its natural haze.

Aroma: Smooth floral and citrus notes with pine and tropical fruit.

Taste: All the above fruitiness plus a subtle nuttiness, Naked Oats in the grain bill.

Food pairing: Pair this beer with the flavours of Vietnam. Try it alongside a green papaya salad with loads of chilli and lime.