Boozer & The Brain

Kon’nichiwa, min’na! Welcome once again to the wonders of Japan; specifically, the wonders of that cosy, feathered little nest we call Hitachino. Today we’re going to be sampling the magnificently-named delights of DaiDai and Anbai, a couple of fruited beers of varying style from these cheeky sake brewing masters (who also quite enjoy brewing delicious beer from time to time when the mood strikes). That’s about all there is to say on that, to be honest, but now it falls upon me to finish with some form of utterly terrible joke… ummm… oh, crap, I’m drawing a blank. Better create a diversion so I can make my escape. Beermander, Drinkachu, I choose you!

How many? 71?! Oh, my… ah. Wait. That’s the name of the brewery. Two actual beers. Ok then. Thank God. So anyway, welcome everyone to another brand new brewery episode! Woohoo! We’re really cranking those out at the moment; well done us. In this episode we’ll be hoping not to hit a sour note with two beers from 71 Brewing’s Fruition series: Blackcurrant Apple Crumble and Rhubarb Punch. They sound pretty delish, right? You’d better tune in then. Go on. I won’t tell anyone. Promise. Cross my heart and hope to die, terrapin stickle me if I lie. And if you got that reference, then… well, there’s no actual prize, per se, but we love you very much. That’s the REAL prize. Hey, how dare you call us cheapskates…!

Into the wild blue Yonder we go! It’s a new brewery episode - hooray! - and what’s more, both of the beers are collabs - hooray! From Somerset’s own Yonder Brewing we present to you Tropical Gose (with show favourites New Bristol) and Ritual Union (with aptly-named coffee grindery, Girls Who Grind Coffee). Right, that’s all the pertinent information out of the way, you’ll be expecting me to finish with a joke, so excuse me for just a moment while I think of a really good one… *hurried fading footsteps*... *slamming door*... *car engine starting*... *tyres screeching*... *aeroplane taking off*... *dial tone*...

There was a cerulean darkness rolling in from the stormifying sea… a lone voice echoed across the mist, screeching out bone-chilling tones of doom as her ethereal form swept, hauntingly glowing, through the gathering night towards the shore… also, she was carrying some beers with her… it was THE WHITE HAAAAAG! Yeah, anyway, so we’ve got three Irish beauties for your aural delectation today: the Púca Dry Hopped Lemon Sour Pineapple, the Spree Series Super Split Orange Ice Cream Ale and the Glas Milkshake IPA Peaches & Cream. Wowzer, you’re getting your five a day with that fruity line-up! Disclaimer: Boozer & the Brain definitely does not condone you attempting to glean your daily vitamin and mineral intake from beer. Wink wink.

Hooray, it’s time to Play! And goodness knows, today we are connecting with our inner children, because this is the Tooth Fairy’s dream: the veritable diabetes-in-a-can that is the Gingerbread & Rainbow Choc Frosted Sugar Vanilla Stout is followed up by the nostalgia-tastic Cereal Milk & Chocolate Marshmallow and Coconut Beer. Who could say no to that?! Well, only grown-ups. Thankfully, there are none of those around here!

NEW BREWERY TIME! Christ, I love these… it gives some meaning to my existence! Today we’re exploring DEYA as they inform us that I Do This All the Time - good for them - and that they are Saturated in Strata. Which sounds like a euphemism. No, bad Brain, no! Naughty! Ugh, ok, fine; I’ll be sensible. Um… wow, struggling to imagine how that works, actually. Beers this week, new brewery, for the podcast not in real life, good nice, much fun everyone, listen please thank you. Goodnight!

Oh no. We’re about to have a puntastic prelude again, aren’t we?! Yes, unfortunately we’re reviewing Staggeringly Good again as we sample their wares: I Didn’t Ask for a Monster (I see - are you alright?), Bloo Goo Roo Wrecker (seriously now, are you ok?!) and Un-Bongo Wrecker (right, well that’s just plagiarism, isn’t it?!). Here we go… *sigh*... brace yourselves… tune in to find out if they are indeed staggeringly good! Ed. Come on now, Brain, you made that exact same joke last time! Let’s vary it up a bit, huh? Jesus, you’re losing your touch. Well, what little you had to begin with, anyway.

今週は日本を訪問します! [Konshū wa Nihon o hōmon shimasu!] And in other news, Brain has figured out how to use Google translate and is all excited (other internet search engines are available). In case you hadn’t surmised, we’re making our first foray into the fabulous world of Japanese craft beer, with two brewtiful beers from Hitachino Nest, the beer arm of Kiuchi Brewery. So sit back and wallow in our enjoyment of their Lacto Sweet Stout and Chocolate Berry Ale, and listen with bated breath to find out whether Brain can contain his inner otaku. Probably not, though.

Get ordering your favourite orange Chinese takeaway, because today we’re going sweet and sour! It’s a visit to New Bristol on the cards for us (not old Bristol, or contemporary Bristol, just to be clear), and we’ll be turning the heat back up on our old debate about whether it’s pastry or dessert sours as we sample their Cherry Pie & Vanilla Ice Cream Sour and Blueberry Pancake & Maple Syrup Sour. Yes, we’ve been good boys and eaten up all our greens, so it’s pudding time! We come to - I think - quite an interesting and perhaps slightly unexpected conclusion… find out all by pressing play. Or skip straight to the end for the spoiler if you can’t be bothered with all the fluff. And who can blame you, it’s mostly the Brain talking total flowery bollocks, as usual…

Right. Best behaviour. Definitely no lazy stereotyping this time, definitely. Today, children, we’ll be sampling a couple of double delights from our good friends North Brewing. We’ll be looking for a DIPA understanding of North’s beers, and hoping that Watching Light Move can lead us beyond our Fading Frontiers. In other news, I will once again be consulting with my legal team to make sure the Geneva Convention doesn’t cover puns. Chuffin’ grand beers though, like. Oh, damn and blast!

What’s that coming over the hill? Is it a monster special? Is it a monsteeeeer special? Yes, it is! We have no fewer than - wait for it - EIGHT beers on the menu today, a Boozer and the Brain record, because… well, any guesses? No, actually: it’s our first ever non-alcoholic beer episode! Take five, Boozer. Today we’ll be showcasing a range from non-alc specialists Big Drop, taking in - deep breath - Double Strike Sour, Uptime Craft Lager, Pine Trail Pale Ale, Paradiso Citra IPA, Fieldhopper Golden Ale, Woodcutter Brown Ale, Galactic Milk Stout and Off-Piste Hazelnut Porter! While I hyperventilate from saying that all in one go, why don’t you crack on and have a listen? Go on, you can even listen to this one while driving! Wow, even I think that gag was bad…

We’re back, baby! Yes, our hiatus is over, and your favourite beer-swilling pillocks – sorry, I completely misspelled ‘beer-appreciating connoisseurs’ there, didn’t I! – make their magnificent and eagerly awaited return to the airwaves as the Brain re-joins the waking world (sort of) and Boozer re-joins the drinking world. No, I don’t mean ‘re-joins’, do I? Anyway, we’re back with a bang and some Funky Fluid (dear God, please don’t read too much into that sentence). Today there’s a Modern Polish IPA and some Brown Sugar on the menu, so we’re going to polish them off and ask how come they taste so good… ah, it’s good to be back!

An announcement from Boozer (and not The Brain...)

Uh oh. It’s a brewery with a pun-friendly name. Well, might as well bow before the inevitable Brain outpouring of terribleness. Apologies in advance… right then, what a Goodh time to discover a very Goodh new brewery, wouldn’t you say, Goodh folk? Have you guessed their name yet? Yes, today we intend to have a Pretty F**kin Goodh time with a Strawberry Milkshake, then perhaps follow that up with a cuppa Joe, and round off our heroes’ breakfast by polishing off every last crumb of a Cinnamon Swirl. So, um. Those are the beers. They were made by Cornish brewery Goodh Brewing. Did I bring that across…?

Do you hear them? Do you hear them calling to you? We do - the Sirens have got us! They’re luring us into the Bubbling Bubbles, taking us on a Granola Coaster and drawing us into the dark abyss of a Midnight Stack. Ok, that felt a bit dramatic, but we don’t want these to be dull. You may have gleaned from context that this week we’re reviewing three beers from Siren Craft Brew, a mutually well-liked and amply-sampled brewery for us who somehow managed to escape an appearance in season 1. Unfortunately for them, we’re now putting that right.

Heeeyyyyy, dudes and dudettes, we’re gettin’ down and funky to a groovy new beat from New Bristol Brewery this week, so peace out! *Ahem*... goodness me, I do apologise, not sure where that came from; however, it’s true that there’s something of a chilled out, musical vibe to these three pales: Wonderland New England Pale, The Boogie Below Milkshake IPA and Mello Yello IPA. We’re very much hoping that last one is referring to the song, it must be said. So disco on down to the Brizzle of the boogie the beat and dig this happenin’ scene, maaan.

So many… nerdy jokes… can’t choose…! Oh, never mind, let’s just keep this one straightforward. This week we’re returning to Ireland’s greatest export that’s called The White Hag: The White Hag! Specifically, four exciting pastry stouts from their Dark Druid series (seriously, so many nerdy jokes!) - Salted Caramel, Chocolate Orange, Black Forest and Mexican Hot Chocolate. Why, it’s a veritable smörgåsbord, except with desserts instead of open sandwiches and other delightful hot and cold hors d’oeuvres. Sours month is over and it’s back to the sweets again, huzzah! So, dust off that sugar addiction and join us down in yummy town!

Well, heaven knows we like to stick to a theme, and this week we’ve gone sour again. Not us, just the beers. Call it beervangelism if you like; we’re on a mission to get everyone to love sours as much as we do, because they’re great (sweet treats will be back soon, kids, don’t worry)! This week, though, we’re broadening things out by visiting three different breweries – yes, it’s another multi- brewery special! Hooray! We’ll be taking in the sights, sounds, smells and flavours of Signature Brew’s Pink Vinyl, Double-Barrelled’s Billy Don’t You Run So Fast and Amundsen’s Tropical Rush Rider, so hop onto our beer bus, find a good seat, and enjoy the ride! No refunds.

Can you guess in which cardinal direction our beer compass is pointing this week? We’ll give you a clue: it’s where the polar bears live. And much like the polar bears, this brewery is brilliant; yes, it’s North Brewing! They’re back again with a couple of sour offerings this time: a collab beer with Bundobust, Salted Lemon Sour, and Take Down Your Art, a sour IPA. A gold star to Boozer for securing these lovelies from North’s own taproom while we were in Harrogate last year. And a gold star to the Brain for finally getting through a blurb for a Yorkshire-based brewery episode without resorting to broad stereotypes. Oh aye.

We don’t know about you, but we love dinosaurs. And we love beer (but you’d probably already guessed that). So any brewery that combines the two ought to be alright with us! Today it’s another new entry into our stable as we endeavour to find out if two beers can live up to a name that makes big promises: will the Souropod Blood Orange, Apricot & Star Anise Fruited Sour and Dawn Stealer Noire IPA from Staggeringly Good Brewery be just that? We like confidence. Let’s see where these take us; will they be totally Triassic, jubilantly Jurassic, or comprehensively Cretaceous?!

Apparently the festive spirit is still lingering within us, because we felt the need for some sweet treats this week, and they don’t come much sweeter: enter regular appearance-makers Tiny Rebel, to whom we are perennially paeanistic. It’s not our fault they make so many amazing beers! This week it’s a fabulous four pack of special Stay Pufts, all Imperial Marshmallow Porters encompassing flavours of Coconut Crème, Espresso Martini, Praline, and Waffle & Candied Bacon (yes, you read that correctly). Find that last bit of leftover Christmas chocolate, put your feet up and join us for a drink, because our January isn’t going to be the least bit dry!

Déjà brew! Our second episode of season two sees us return to a brewery we first visited way back in season one in just our third ever episode: our wonderful friends at UnBarred! We’re excited as always to have their beers back on the show, and today it’s three of their top pales: Joosy, Granola NEIPA, and 3Bs. Come and enjoy these Brighton beauties with us – ok, so January might not be the best time to visit the seaside, but who cares when the beer on offer is this good?! Anyway, this could easily be considered barbecue weather. In Alaska.

We’re back, baby! Happy New Year; It’s 2022, and you know what our resolution is? To do another year’s worth of episodes of our most excellent podcast for you. Sound good? Right, we’ll crack on then! And in fact we’re cracking on with a brand new brewery (well, not in that sense, only in that we haven’t featured them before!): Totally Brewed. Dude. We’ll be sampling their Papa Jangles Chocolate Orange Stout and Smoochie Boochies Pear Tart Tatin Sour. Right, settle in. Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin…

So, here it is. Merry Christmas. Everybody’s having fun. Well, we certainly are, because boy have we got a treat in store for you: for our last episode of the year we’ve done a great big bumper Christmas special! Six - yes, you read that correctly, SIX - beers are in our sights today, starting with To Øl’s Blizzard (in a Beer Mug), then moving onto the White Hag’s Noël Eggnog Christmas Ale, taking in Leffe’s Bière d’Hiver and Gordon Xmas Ale, before finishing strong with Tiny Rebel’s Stay Puft Imperial Eggnog Marshmallow White Porter and De Huyghe’s Delirium Christmas! Wow, this is going to be good. And even more incoherent than usual, probably! The merriest of Christmases, happiest of Hanukkahs, coolest of Kwanzaas, outstandingest of Ōmisokas, silliest of Saturnalias and wonderfulest of whatever other celebrations you may be having to you all. And a drunken new year. Cheers!

Well, well, well. We made it, everyone! Just in time for Christmas, we’ve made our way through all of Tiny Rebel’s 9th birthday special release beers! Hooray! Stay tuned for the 10th birthday beer series, presumably taking place between 2022 and 2025. Who says we don’t keep bang up to date?! It’s a damn fine photo finish though, with Bump ‘n’ Grind, Cosmic Surfin’, Black Cherry C.R.E.A.M and Slush Dawg giving us a phantasmagorical way to end series 1 of our humble podcast (not including the Christmas special next week, oops did I just let that slip, THERE’S A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL NEXT WEEK). It all gets a bit giddy and silly in our latest paean to Tiny Rebel, so tune in and set your eyebrows to maximum cringe.

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a New Bristol fo-o-o-or us… and we’re feeling good! Today we have a twisted Fire Strata, we’ll be drinking Forever Ever Ever and are smarting from being a-Salted Chocolate Bigger Cinder Toffee Stout. In other news, the Brain is on his final warning about the dreadful puns. Seriously though, you don’t want to miss our final new brewery episode of the year, because New Bristol Brewery is fabulous and fascinating and make some damn good beers, damn it. And don’t take our word for it… oh no, wait… TAKE our word for it!

Let’s take a walk on the wild (beer) side… and while Boozer investigates whether the Geneva Conventions cover the torturing of puns, I’ll tell you a bit about this week’s episode! The Wild Beer Co are our guests, or rather four of their lovely beers are: Wild IPA, Fruitbooter, Mon Cherry and Trillionaire, a widely varying assortment from this fascinating brewery who specialise in the mysterious arts of barrel-ageing and blending. Tune in to find out whether these masters of the truly alchemical side of beer have managed to conjure up some gold. SPOILER ALERT: yes.

What a treat we have for you this week. Seriously, like nothing else you’ve ever seen heard. I’ll be straight with you: we have some truly astounding beers from Poland, a true showcase of the creativity and quality of Polish craft brewing, from Funky Fluid and their collaborators, Nepomucen. Strap in for numbers 1 and 3 (listen on for an explanation of why it was those ones) from their Classic with a Twist series: #1 Quadrupel with figs, raisins, dates, vanilla & orange zest, and #3 Double Rauchbock with cranberry and smoked cheese “oscypek”. Yes, you read that correctly! This is not a drill, folks; prepare yourselves, because things are about to get gushy! That line sounded better in my head...

Today, we’re being patronised! Wait, no, that came out wrong... um... we’re projecting our powerfully playful paean to potent potation onto the Patrons Project! Yes, that’ll do. This week, we have just three of the myriad extraordinary concoctions devised by Northern Monk and their many creative patrons as part of this ongoing series (theirs, not ours - well, also ours!). Join us in enjoyment of 18.05 North Sea Sessions IPL (with Sandy Kerr and Donzoko Brewing), 15.06 Go Easy Coconut & Kiwi Sour IPA (with Lucy Ketchin) and 32.01 Culinary Concepts 2.0 Imperial Banana Cronut Stout (with Saint Croissants and Emperor’s Brewery); phew! That was - and they were - a mouthful, so wrap your earholes around our voice noises and hold on for dear life!

The bell has gone, it’s Play time! Yes, we’re showcasing a brand new brewery once again (well, brand new on this show, not IRL), and today Play Brew Co. are the ones occupying the hot seat. By which I mean we’re sampling a couple of their beers, not asking them trivia questions. Just to clear up any confusion that may have arisen there. Aaaanyway, we’ll be drinking Juicy Lucy and Baby Blue, which I’m sure sounds intriguing - to find out exactly what secrets those charming names are hiding, you’ll have to listen on, won’t you? WON’T YOU?! Sorry, that was uncalled for; press play please, wonderful person.

It’s off to Norway again, for our latest panegyric on Amundsen Bryggeri; this time, it’s the In Cafruits series, an exciting batch of pastry sours. Today we’ll be taking you through numbers 1-3: the Triple Berry & Maple Smoothie, the Mango, Peach & Chocolate Creamsicle Pastry Sour, and the Double Berry & Citrus Smoothie. Warning: the brilliance of this episode’s beers may cause an excitement overload, leading to critical cases of mind-blowing. You have been warned.

Hi everyone. Remember that promise we made in episode 2 about not doing dessert beers every week? Well, we’ve mostly kept it; but they’re back with a vengeance today, because it’s a long-awaited return for the fine Sussex Small Batch Brewery! Today we’re having a nice tranquil coffee and cake morning with an inverted theme, as we sample their White Mocha Stout and Banoffee White Stout. More beer, vicar?

Eeeeee, by gum...pteenth time Boozer has told me off for using overly broad regional stereotypes, we’re off to Yorkshire again! Today’s offerings are t’Piñata and t’Sea of the Curve from t’North Brewing Co., and these particular cans are fresh and direct from t’North Bar in Harrogate, no less! Yes, there are no lengths to which we won’t go in our commitment to secure the best beers for your aural delectation, dear listeners. So yeh’d better chuffin’ well appreciate it, I’ll tell yer that fer nowt!

Oh my God! Tiny Rebel killed Lotus, Sabro, Cashmere & Motueka! You b****rds! This week, we’re continuing our ongoing attempt to get through all of Tiny Rebel’s 9th birthday beers before their 10th birthday. For those of you unfamiliar with said selection, today’s feature is the ‘Oh My God, They Killed’ four pack, a single-hop IPA mini-series exploring four fabulously  fascinating varieties of hop: Lotus, Sabro, Cashmere and Motueka. Strap in for some trademark Brain waffle, because this week’s theme has given him licence to get technical with a series of ‘interesting’ (his word) mini-lectures on hops. You can always fast forward those bits. At least he’s happy, bless him…

This week, Radon Diplodocus is back! No, wait, damn it-... Neon Raptor! Sorry! For this week’s delectation, we have a couple of supremely interesting beers from our very favourite noble gaseous dinosaur, as we dive into their Vanilla Weisse: Orange & Apricot followed by Clusters. Listen out for a rather rare occurrence that we think may well be a series first...

Start spreading the news. We’re beering today. You’ll want to be a part of it: Brew York, Brew York! It’s truly exciting stuff this week as we discover what happens when a top craft brewery teams up with cutting edge hop breeding company Yakima Chief Hops to revolutionise brewing with their new blend, Cryo PopTM! Plus, it’s a wrestling theme for the Survivor Series as we work our way through Big Poppa Pump, Sweet Chinook Music, Scotty Too Hoppy and The Thundertaker - yes, that’s right, it’s a FOUR BEER EPISODE! You don’t want to miss this. So, you know… don’t.

We’re venturing back into the murky mists of time today as we return to die historische Rauchbierbrauerei Schlenkerla; Bambergs Feinste! For today’s tipples we’re investigating the myriad delights of their Helles Lagerbier (Special Unfiltered Edition) and the Fastenbier (or Lentbeer) 2021. Join us as we make sure the fire is well fed and stoked, because these beers are, in the immortal words of Ace Ventura: SSSSMMMMMMMOKIN’!

We’re visiting an old favourite again! Yes, it’s time once again for us to brave the fury of the White Hag! Today it’s a selection of Pale Ales and IPAs from their wonderful 2021 St. Patrick’s Day Celebration box, namely: Phantom Hazy IPA, Ninth Wave New World Pale Ale, Atlantean New England IPA and Bran & Sceolan Irish IPA. We’re delving into Irish beer and Irish legend, and we LOVE it! Sláinte!

It’s time for us to break out our shearers and dust off our crooks, because we’re going shepherding with Pastore Brewing! Ok, that was tenuous even for us (or, more accurately, for the Brain). We are sampling a couple of their beers though, specifically two of their Waterbeach Weisses: Watermelon & Guava, and Blackcurrant. A fabulously experimental brewery from Cambridgeshire specialising in wild & mixed-ferm beers, let’s see if their sours hit any sour notes (we reckon that’s pretty unlikely). Here’s hoping neither of us cries wolf...

It’s time for a special again! Today, for your aural delight, we’ve donned our very best excited trousers and taken a road trip down to Brighton to spend the day with the amazing team at UnBarred Brewery. You do not want to miss this special episode spectacular as we interview star guest Jordan Mower, Founder and Head Brewer of UnBarred, about all things bright and beertiful, before enjoying a round table tasting of the fantastic NEIPA #07.21, Mango Sour, Sticky Toffee Pudding White Stout and Imperial Bueno Shake. It’s a tough job, but we’re willing to do it… and what a day we had!

Time for some Hoptown Funk! We’re off on our travels again, this time to Warsaw, Poland with Funky Fluid. The Brain has been quite excited about this, and today we hit a sour note - in a good way! - with their Blackcurrant Sour and Sour Grapes: Seyval Blanc. So join us as we sample this Funky Stuff while trying not to get Overpowered by Funk, because We Got the Funk and It’s Funky Enough. And when the episode is over, try not to fall into a… state of melancholy.

The boys are back in town; the tallboys, that is! It’s time for another birthday party with Tiny Rebel, as we share with you two more delights from their enormous 9th birthday release: Shimmy Shimmy and Tropical Fruit Bubblicious. We’re definitely getting through them all before their 10th birthday, we promise! So set your tastebuds to ‘yum’ and prepare for some fruity frolics...

...ssionfruit, Coconut & Marshmallow (x North Brewing), Mocha Coconut & Vanilla Macaroons Imperial Pastry Stout (x Wylam), and Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter & Toffee Sundae Imperial White Pastry Stout (x Lervig); wow, it’s a mouthful just naming them all! And yes - they are ALL collaborations, all done virtually during one of 2020’s many lockdowns, hence the series name. Set your faces to stunned, everyone… this is serious!

Hei fra Norge! It’s time once again to visit the good folk of Amundsen Bryggeri, and this time we’re entering the Grid to find ourselves in a brave new Virtual Reality. Now, hold onto your heads, everyone, because they may be about to explode; this is a TWO PART episode! That’s right! A whole weekend of us to enjoy! We’re working our way through Double Thick Blueberry & Coconut Milkshake IPA (x Northern Monk), Sticky Maple & Banana French Toast Imperial Pastry Stout (x Finback), Triple Fruited Smootie with Mango, Guava, Pa-...

Questa settimana: birre Italiane! You join us as we virtually visit Ora Brewing, an Italian brewery based in north London. We have some fun sampling their Limoncello and Lola Pop, and we lay down the gauntlet to you all to test your 80s knowledge with our little pop quiz… so harden your heart, swallow your beers and message us on our Instagram page (Boozerandthebrain) with your final answers!