• ABV: 4.6%, Style: US Porter
• Best before April 2013
• Brewed in Buxton, UK
• Served: 500ml bottle poured into a festival imperial pint shaker
• http://www.buxtonbrewery.co.uk/

I’m a big fan of Buxton beer and I’d not heard of this brew so I had to pick it up although I’m not entirely sure what a US Style Porter is. I would assume that that means a hoppy dark beer. Although that’s getting dangerously close to a Black IPA and Buxton already do one of those called Black Rocks. I’m pretty sure I’ve not tried that.

Not sure if this is a Dark Knight/Batman tribute beer. Either way, please read the following review in the style of Christian Bale.

Look: Deep, murky brown beer. Not much in the way of head, but what there is is tan. Lots of sediment in the final inch, floats as though curdling. I’m sure it’s not curdling, but it was very odd looking when I poured it into a different glass.

Aroma: Toffee and ash, some dark fruit. A touch meaty.

Taste: Bitter throughout, malt comes through strongly as coffee, resinous hops. Aggressive bitter coffee finish.

Mouthfeel: Quite watery considering the depth of the flavour and length of finish.

Overall: Not really a beer for me. I guess I should know better than to go for porters, as I’m not a fan of the style. I prefer my dark beers to be a bit more creamy but I guess that typically pushes into stout territory. So good work Buxton for making a deep, assertive brown ale, but not one I’ll be reaching for again. 3/5

- 4th September 2012, Sustainable Alcoholic

• ABV: 9.5%, Style: Imperial Stout
• Best before March 2014
• Brewed in Buxton, UK
• Served: 330ml bottle poured into a BrewDog tulip
• http://www.buxtonbrewery.co.uk/

This bottle was provided following by the brewers themselves after a Meet The Brewer event at Port Street Beer House. I’ve been looking forward to it and putting it off. A 9.5% IPA just seems like so much more of a light proposition to a 9.5% stout. However, today I’ve taken the plunge.

Look: Very dark beer, no light passing through. Head is a nice, dense mocha at about two fingers deep.

Aroma: Bitter mollases, coffee. It’s a bit dusty too.

Taste: Very big beer, lots of malt and rich dark chocolate. Big, bitter, coffee finish with a tang of iron about it. Alcohol is totally hidden.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, mild carbonation.

Overall: Another intense imperial stout. Sadly, I don’t think I enjoyed this one as much as I did the Bearded Lady. The fruity tang at the end hints at sweetness that lingered more than I wanted it to. This affected my overall enjoyment of this beer. Worth trying if you see it, but I don’t think I’ll be seeking it out to buy another bottle. 3.5/5

- 8th July 2012, Sustainable Alcoholic

• ABV: 6.8%, Style: Double IPA
• Best before November 2012
• Brewed in Buxton, UK
• Served: 500ml bottle poured into an Abstrakt snifter
• http://www.buxtonbrewery.co.uk/

I had this beer once before at Port Street and developed a slight obsession with it, so much so that I contacted the brewery bullying them to supply it to my local beer shop. Turned out that they were all out so even that didn’t help.

I was very happy to see it at High Peak Beer Co the other week and so here’s a review. I forgot to take a picture of the bottle, so the above banner is taken from the Beer Ritz site without permission. Thanks guys - hope the link counts as payment!

Aroma: Boozy lemon sherbert.

Taste: Loads of citrus but Long bitter grapefruit finish, just like I like.

Mouthfeel: Quite soft on the mouth, moderate carbonation.

Overall: While not quite a crisp feeling as some American numbers I think this is a great US style IPA. Perhaps a bit too rich and perhaps a little too low on the ABV to really be thought of as a double, but a very nice pint indeed. Highly recommended. 4.5/5

- 22nd April 2012, Sustainable Alcoholic

• ABV: 5.7%, Style: IPA
• Best before April 2013
• Brewed in Buxton, UK
• Served: 500ml bottle poured into an Odell shaker
• http://www.buxtonbrewery.co.uk/

My computer has a virus so I’m depressed. I’ve got full virus protection and I’m not a dick who downloads just anything so this should not be happening to me. I’m not impressed. Therefore it’s beer time.

Wild Boar IPA is named after the village of Wildboarclough near Buxton. I’m pretty sure this is one of those country villages where if you pronounce it as “Wild Boar Clough” they know you’re not a local. As far as I recall, it’s pronounced Wilburcluff and so I’ll be referring to this brew as Wilbur.

Aroma: Hops and booziness. Sweet tropical fruits. There’s something a little sickly about it.

Taste: More tropical fruits, hint of sweatiness that’s not so pleasant, grapefruit and citrus towards the end. Medium finish that’s not particularly bitter.

Mouthfeel: Very low carbonation, but not at all watery. Tastes pretty creamy and looks it too. Despite not being a wheat beer, I think there’s been a substantial wheat addition.

Overall: Not as adorable as my memory of their double IPA - Axe Edge, but I’ve got a bottle of that in the cupboard for tasting another time so I’ll find out if that’s just in my brain later. It’s not got the IPA flavours I really like and I’m not sure that creaminess of the mouthfeel really works for me. I think the taste is rather nice though so I’ll give it 4/5

- 12th April 2012, Sustainable Alcoholic