Haterwood Craft Beer Company
Brewed by Shepherd Neame (For Lidl Hatherwood.)
Wimbledon, Greater London, England
Coming out of Lidl, Hatherwood Craft Beer Company, a name given to Lidl’s own branded beer, but actually brewed by Shepherd Neame, Britain’s oldest brewer. Lidl trying to capitalize on the “craft beer” scene.
Review: small 330ml can of Hatherwood Plunged Orange Pale Ale: 6.0% vol.
“Punchy and refreshing with a tangy orange sharpiness” is the tagline on the can.
Have to say the can looks tiny, I don’t know what the fuck is the point of such a small can, pathetic. Its colourful though, an underwater subterranean, with a man in a deep sea water suit, nice artwork for sure, all very craft beer like.
On the pour I get a golden coloured beer, looks good, a decent sized white frothy head and some nice carbonation going on, lively on the pour. Looks good.
Getting the orange peel straight off on the nose, very strong, kind of like a Fanta, a fizzy orange, not too bad, I like it, nice.
First impressions of the taste is one of great disappointment, finding it difficult to taste all this orange I am meant to be enjoying, where is it?
The orange eventually appears after a few sips, but on the fringes.
Very hoppy, bit too much, also a bit sickly in the taste, which could be the orange flavours. Yuck. Feeling the alcohol as well, bit of a sharp zest to this alright. I guess that’s the “punchy” tag they were going with.
Still for the small can, getting a lot.
I eventually poured it into a bigger glass, giving it more respect that I had with the first can, where I poured it into a very small glass, so shocked I was with the very small can.
Worked, as in the bigger glass it filled out much more, and I started to enjoy it as time went on.
Taste got much better over time, still not as much orange taste as I would prefer, but better than the first can.
By the time I finished I had grown to liking it. Its a hoppy cheap orange soda drink, that’s the best way to describe it I think. Must try again for a better more balanced review. Overall it was ok.
Review: small 330ml can of Hatherwood Twisted Knots American IPA: 5.5% vol.
Another Lidl version of what “craft beer” is supposed to be all about. And again another tiny small can, and another cool logo, this time with a scary looking octopus covering the depths of the oceans. Stands out.
“A grapefruit aroma with note of zesty citrus fruit”, as declared on the can.
On the pour I get a decent sized white frothy head and a deep dark amber colour, looks pretty nice on the eye.
Some nice carbonation going on too, bubbling away. Its a damn pretty beer!
Good lacing left on class. Top marks for the appearance.
The smell is one typically associated with an IPA, fruity, citrusy and hoppy, malts and pine, not too bad on the nose, pleasant enough.
Typical IPA taste, slightly bitter and overly harsh with the hops. Getting citrus, sweet malts, is piney and very hoppy.
Again, like their Orange Pale Ale, getting quite a lot from the oh so small can.
Bit boring, not a whole lot happening with the flavours or tastes, a bad version of an IPA me thinks.
Over hopped on the taste, seeing from their notes they have six varieties of hops in this, no wonder! Overall making it a just above average IPA. Would do if desperate.
So in late 2013 Rye River Brewing Company was established in the small commuter town of Kilcock in Co. Kildare. The company borrows its name from a river that passes through the town. Starting off with 3 they have quickly jumped to about 50 employees, and for one simple reason: Success. They are now considered one of Ireland’s largest and most successful independent craft breweries. They since moved to a larger location in Celbridge and produce exclusive brews for some of Ireland’s biggest retailers, including Lidl, Tesco and Dunnes Stores, as well as selling their own McGargles beers, and seasonal releases under the Rye River name, selling to a wide market at home and exporting to over 20 countries around the globe. 
The McGargle’s Irish Family Beers have been a sight to see in the stalls of shops and off licenses with its unique and striking imagery. A range of small batch beers that include IPA, Irish red ale, lager, stout, pale ale, and wheat beer. Each beer has a story, representing a member of the typical Irish family with its own unique personality and tale to tell. That and the clever tagline “You can’t choose your family but you can choose your beer!” It all looks well great, and definitely stands out. I love this. Usually an Irish beer will play up the stereotype twee shite, the shamrock and all that, but this is something a little bit different. It’s very different, yet still typically Irish, the dysfunctional Irish family that we can all relate to…….Granny is head of the family, the mad uncle, and a hyper daughter amongst the rest. There is one or two in every family, or at least a less extreme version of that.
But apart from their expertise the team have the passion and the love of their craft.
The McGargles Story
Last year (2020) this was awarded the Worlds Best Stout and a Country Winner, at the World Beer Awards, which is some accolade to get, cant get better than that….
Onto the taste then, first impressions is positive, nice early flows on the tongue of a deep and meaningful taste of the chocolate and toffee malt body with a pleasant hoppy aftertaste.
Launched in 1995, Dutch Gold is a low-cost, imported, pilsner lager beer sold exclusively to Ireland. Its damn popular, ranked as the third best selling beer in the country in canned form, after Budweiser and Heineken. Mainly due to its very cheap asking price, about a Euro a can, or traditionally “4 for 5” in a pack. Popular amongst students, the lower classes, and layabouts. Not a slight, I drink it myself, lol! 
The packaging on the cans have changed since the old days where it was pretty simple, now its all jazzed up but they kept the Iconic image of a Dutch man carrying a barrel on a blue can, mostly a bigger picture now and less gold. “Old Duchie”, what a beast of a man! 
Golden coloured beer, not a bad head, nice, white and frothy. For a cheap lager it looks pretty damn good. Some small carbonation on the go. Good lacing. Looks fine. 
Red Horse Beer is an extra-strong lager brewed by the San Miguel Brewery from Manila in the Philippines. 
Now I am sure you are thinking you drank plenty of San Miguel on a beach in sunny Spain. Yes there is a relationship between this brand and the one in Espana. 
The alcohol by volume differs depending on region, with the export version for international drinkers coming out at a high 8%, while it is 6.9%. for the home market. Either way its marketed as “Extra Strong”
Established in 2012, The 5 lamps Brewery is the brainchild of Brian Fagan along with William Harvey, the master brewer and a former Guinness Brewer with over 27 years of experience in the beer industry. 
A nice black bottle all the same, with the iconic 5 lamps imagery of Victorian Dublin. Lovely. 
The area he choose for his enterprise was to be in the village of St. Peter South Elmham, near Bungay, in former traditional agricultural buildings alongside the moated St. Peter’s Hall, deep in the picturesque Suffolk countryside, East Anglia, on the east coast of England. The location is ideal for its excellent water quality used in the brewing process – all beers brewed at St. Peter’s Brewery use water filtered through chalk deep beneath the brewery, obtained from their own deep bore-hole.
Other than their range of ‘traditional’ ales, such as Best Bitter and Gatekeeper Golden Ale, St Peters also produce some more unusual beers, such as Honey Porter, Plum Porter and Citrus Beer that replicate traditional pre-nineteenth century practice of adding honey and fruit to create special seasonal brews. Also most recent developments are contemporary session ales such as Stateside Pale Ale, Revival Pilsner and White Raven. And of course for the non alcoholic drinker they created a range of true 0.0% alcohol free beers. St Peter’s Brewery beers are thriving both at home and further afield, exporting to more than 20 countries around the world.
Getting a real porter smell on the nose, but its very faintish and not much to smell at all. Smoky and peaty, roasted malts, milk chocolate all noted but light, very light. On their site they called it an aromatic beer, but hell I didn’t detect a whole lot. Disappointing start. 
Based in the heart of Stockport for over 181-years, owning a collection of around 260 pubs, inns and hotels across the North West of England and North Wales
Coming in a very cool looking black bottle with a very nice logo of a ginger cat. Very easy to buy with that lovely presentation. 
Kind of like a strong cola with ginger. It is very interesting drink and has a deep tasting English ale style to it. A vodka and coke with a touch of ginger. I like it. I even shock myself in saying that!
North American craft beer scene implanted in Switzerland, that is what Kitchen Brew are all about. Fabian Ehinger, brewer and founder of Kitchen Brew, inspired by the craft beer revolution in the USA, drinking imports from the States made his mind wander……what if!
In 2013, a Cascade Amber Ale was their first real foray onto the scene. The initial beer got off to a great start, proving very popular amongst the great Swiss drinking public, and also going on to win numerous awards for its taste and quality. After that came other beers, Kölsch style brews, wheat beers with Belgian yeasts, the usual IPA’s that the connoisseurs oh so love, a variety of beers but all well balanced and pleasant to drink. 
Liking the aroma, very nice and pleasant on the nose. Getting the hops, faint but there to sniff about.
The Eichbaum Brewery was founded way, way back in 1679 by Jean du Chaine (Chêne) from Southern Belgium, originally as a small brewpub, and while the exact location changed, its home and heart has always been in the city of Mannheim, a southern German city touching the Rhine. The name Eichbaum came from the translation of his family name, .du Chêne, which means “Oak tree”, or “Eichbaum” in German.
Since the 70’s the brewery has changed ownership many times but nowadays it is operated as a private brewery, Eichbaum GmbH & Co KG.
On pour get a lot of carbonation, mad alive, resulting in a big creamy white head and an amber coloured beer. When it all settles down, the result is a fantastic looking beer. Great head on it, and it looks very delicious, very inviting. Lovely on the eye.
The history of Trekhgornoe Beer began in 1875. Then Trekhgornoe Brewing Partnership was founded and The Three Hills Factory was built in the suburbs of Moscow. Today it is still part of Moscow life, in the district of Krasnaya Presnya.
Multiple award winner at the World Beer Awards, taking gold three times as Country Winner in 2015, 2017 and in 2019. Not bad.