Mat Hocking

Iris (2016) Hocking

Lovely harmony with more fruity nuance than I recall

Årh Hvad?! / Hva Såå!? Hocking

2015 bottle. Nicely fruity aroma. Nicely developed flavours, deep fruity orangey resonance with a light bitter prickle.

Spontandryhop Centennial Hocking

Super prickly acetic grapefruit. 6 or 7 years old definitely some pokey age to it.

Raison D'Être Hocking

LCI: 22nd February 2013, New York

2-year Unblended Oude Lambiek Foeder #83 Hocking

A bit flat unfortunately, could be fresher, colder, spritzier.. lambic sweetness is there but comes across lifeless.

Chaaarge Nitro Dry Stout Hocking

Not a nitro fan.. can see the appeal but not for me im afraid.. very light and silky

Kokomo Hocking

Mar 21. 440ml can. Sharp sour edge was a bit of a shock, albeit a pleasant one. Gently lactic. Cacao nibs step forward on the finish, though very mildly. Harmonious blend, interesting and different. Mild chocolate presence works. Lovely.

Riesling People Hocking

Mar 21. 330ml bottle. Aroma of pear, quince, white grape. Taste sees the grape juice really shine, integrated wondrously into the hazy IPA mould with a gentle sweetness coursing throughout.

Liquid Confidence BA Rum (2020 Edition) Hocking

Sweeeeett

Chiral Hocking

Sep 2020. 440ml can. Aroma of pineapple and grapefruit. Super light and fluffy on the palate, moderately sweet, some gentle malt grain, pleasantly fruity not too complex or stonefruity.

Drink'in The Sun (0.3%) Hocking

Light sour prickle, a bit herbal. Is this not the Berliner version? Bit sour for a wheat beer.

Heated Seats Hocking

Aug 20. 330ml can. Lemon citrus aroma. Continues to taste. Nicely rounded. Great drinkability. Nice session IPA.

Scour Scandinavia Berliner Weisse Hocking

Excellent crisp clarity of flavour, lovely seabuckthorn expression. Is it really 3.7%?

The Beer Traveler Hocking

May 19. 75cl bottle. Smooth, moderately sweet caramel, dried fruit, dark malt.. simply lacks the punch and intense candy sugar sweetness of Westmalle or any other dark Belgian beers and comes across a bit deflated.

Oude Geuze Boon à l'Ancienne - VAT 92 Mono Blend Hocking

Oct 18. 375ml bottle. Misty gold. Vibrant fresh floral bretty lambic funk on the nose. Crisp nettley notes on the palate, nice wild floral elements, lemon hints with a splintered woody bitterness. Excellent gueuze.

Dankwood Hocking

Sep 18. Keg @ Kilder, Birmingham. Pours a hazed reddish ruby, small creamy off-white head. Gorgeous aroma encompassing Christmas cake and dried dark fruits. Taste builds on this with moist fruit cake, some additional caramel, and modest vanilla.

08 IPA Hocking

330ml bottle @ Tilt during the Brum Bimble, August '18. Thanks to @richthevillan for sharing this! Pours a misty yellow, thin white crown. Pithy piney grapefruit and light assorted fleshy stonefruit. Quite an interesting blend of fruity hop flavours

It Is What It Is Hocking

July 18. Keg @ Tilt. Pours murky yellow, small white head. Aroma presents soft exotics. Light fluffy exotic fruit to taste, some pint, juicy pineapple / papaya elements. Drying close. Fairly light with good drinkability.

There Is Always Grain In the Brawnana Stand Hocking

July 18. Keg @ Tilt, Birmingham. Pours hazed yellow. Aroma of light citric fruit. Taste presents similar notes, very light airy citrus, light lemon and grapefruit. Drying close.

Motherblood Hocking

July 18. 330ml bottle @ Chez Sophie. Pours a generally clear gold. Aroma has pleasant berry fruits, sweet malt. Taste continues along a similar vein, exceptionally well balanced, some ribena and marmalade sweetness. Very enjoyable.

A Peeling Pale Hocking

July 18. 330ml can @ Chez Sophie. Pours a hazed amber. Aroma has a light citric fruitiness. Taste is fairly light, drying, orange peel seems a little subdued, a nice citra presence, but generally a little thin.

Dry Stout Hocking

July 18. 500ml can @ monthly tasting, Chez Sophie, July 18, courtesy of Simon. Pours dark with frothy pale tan head. Aroma presents gentle roast. Taste is gentle dark roasted malt, some distant liquorice, light nuttiness, drying bitter close. S'ok.

Saint Lamvinus Hocking

July 18. 75cl bottle (2016), cracked just prior to England vs Colombia. Pours a deep rosy pink. Aroma has nice fruity merlot grapes. Taste is initially crisp, sharp sour on the palate that teases out some nice woody red wine notes

Raw Power Hocking

June 18. 330ml btl. dank, piney, citrusy with a relatively light body, medium bitterness and thankfully no hop burn for once. Extremely satisfying, fresh DIPA. Went well with Raw Power the band, though the others wouldn't let me play more than one track.

Mangalore Hocking

May 18. 330ml bottle. Pours smoothie orange with the thinnest white head. Aroma has mango, citruc orange. Taste is crisp with pithy pulpy clementine, apricot, citric fruit juice, mango stone rounded off with a pithy bitterness.

Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru (2010) Hocking

May 18. 75cl bottle. Aroma of varnish, oak, cooking apples. Watery palate w very low carbonation, taste brings apple, chestnuts and a strange bitterness, oaky funk. Unflattering lambic flavours made worse by a lifeless carbonation. Really not good at all.

Dank & Juicy Hocking

May 18. 330ml bottle @ Chez Sophie. Pours hazed golden orange in appearance, minimal head. Aroma has vibrant fruity exotics. Taste is indeed a little dank and quite juicy, lots of exotics with excellent balance. Very dinkable.

Mosaic Promise Hocking

Mar 18. 355ml bottle @ Chez Sophie. Pours yellow with a light mist, good white head. Vibrant mosaic on the nose, a touch dank. Taste is fresh, citrussy, medium-bodied with pleasant floral, dank pine and pineapple notes.

UW Hocking

Mar 18. 330ml bottle, hazy gold, good white head. Aroma has nice smoothie-like aromatics, passionfruit, mango etc.. Taste continues along these lines, remaining light, smooth and fruity throughout with a subtle bitterness lurking underneath.

Oude Geuze Boon à l'Ancienne - VAT 110 Mono Blend Hocking

Mar 18. 375ml. Misty gold, small white bubbles. Aroma has some beautifully fruity funk. Taste similarly is brilliantly fruity, floral w an enticing sweetness, almost BA-like, w cognac echoes and additional lemon and grapefruit notes. Wonderfully complex

Oude Geuze Boon à l'Ancienne - VAT 109 Mono Blend Hocking

Oct 17. 375ml bottle. Aroma of fruity funk. Some coarse woodiness on the palate, extremely tart and tangy with pithy lemon, sharp marmalade, some cognac echoes, Wonderfully complex, fruity, woody, tangy gueuze.

Blå Spøgelse Hocking

75cl bottle @ Chez Sophie tasting, Dec 2016. Pours a very deep, dark purple. small pink head. Aroma of vibrant blueberries, bristling sour. Taste is crisp, not overly sour, but plenty of the promised juicy blueberries alongside a tame lactic expression.

Black Hocking

Apr 28 2017. 330ml can. Sour nose with a green apple acidity, and mild roast. Definitely does not smell like a 16% imperial stout. Harsh taste &more sour than expected, clean and sharp rather than sweet and unctious. Some bitter coffee roast, apple

Single Hop Mosaic IPA Hocking

Jan 19 2017. 330ml can @ Chez Sophie. Uunclear deep amber. Aroma is fresh mosaic citrus. Taste is herbal pine, grapefruit, citrus, pithy bitterness with a fair malt presence contributing to a full bodied character. Good Mosaic IPA.

Final Frontier DIPA Hocking

Oct 23 2016. 330ml bottle @ Chez Sophie, Shrewsbury. Pours a misty gold with a fervent off-white head. Aroma can be slotted in the category of exotic fruits. Taste is hefty sweet malt, with pine echoes and additional peach and mango shades. Good DIPA

Santa's Little Helper (2016) Hocking

Nov 10 2016. Great Belgian quad, nicely balanced, hints of spice here and there, smooth with whispers of sweetness. A good winter warmer.

Cream Ale Hocking

Sep 8 2016. 330ml bottle. Pours hazy yellow, good white head. Aroma is lightly sweet malts. Taste is smooth with a prominent but well-integrated hop presence. Has a welcome underlying sweetness here and a low bitterness. Nice example of a Cream Ale.

Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weisse Cherry Hocking

June 29 2016. 500ml can @ Chez Sophie, Shrewsbury. Pours hazy blood red, good white head. Aroma is more cherry than expected compared to the peach. Indeed, taste, has more vibrant cherry with a nice tart funky berliner character. Uber refreshing.

MAD4 - Refshaleøen Sour Hocking

Jan 28 2016. Pours hazy amber, fruity funky aroma. Taste presents a lightly sour character, with murky plummy berries coming through. I liked it but felt the intention was something more.

Spontancassis Hocking

Dec 20 2015. 375ml bottle. Aroma is light blackberries, some thorns. Taste is good sour blackberries with a nice thorny bitterness on the finish. Would’ve liked more berry fruitiness but it’s still a great spontan.

Monk's Elixir Hocking

RB backup. Jul 28 2015. Pours deep mahogany with beige head. Aroma is sweet dark fruits. Taste verges a bit far on the sweet side of a Belgian Dark Ale initially, but settles into familiar Chimay Bleu territory soon enough. Decent effort.

KBS Hocking

RB backup. July 15 2015. Strong sweet bourbon aroma. Taste is sharp and clear with defined vanilla and bourbon. Espresso and dried fruits coming in but really it’s all about that sharp bourbon. Justifies the hype.

Kriek Mariage Parfait Hocking

RB backup. May 3 2015. Pours a deep red with lovely big foamy pink head. Light cherry sherbet nose. Soft sweet sour front with nice, luscious cherry creeping up on the finish. Incredible blend.

George! Barrel Aged Bourbon Hocking

RB backup. Mar 2 2015. 330ml bottle @ Chez Sophie, Shrewsbury. Due to a mix-up at the brewery some of these bottles found their way here. Rich port-like flavours emerge prominently from this oily cocoa character, with a deep comforting sweetness. Intense.

Gueuze 100% Lambic Bio Hocking

RB backup. Sep 29 2014. 375ml bottle from Chez Sophie. Pours light gold with slight haze. Aroma is bright and colourful, taste is hugely complex with berries, spice, vanilla, sour and a constantly evolving sweetness with a dry finish. Mesmerising gueuze.

1000 IBU Hocking

RB backup. Aug 30 2014. 330ml bottle from Beermoth. Pours amber with big frothy white head. Massive citrus and pine aroma. Taste is jarring and hugely bitter of course, but perhaps more drinkable and sweeter than expected due to a big pine DIPA character.

Imperial Jule Porter Hocking

RB Backup. Aug 25 2014. 500ml @ Midlands Bottle Share at Richies Hop Palace. Pours very dark brown with thin beige head. Aroma of chocolate, dark malts and faint coffee. Taste follows with some additional plump fruitiness coming through

Koppi Tomahawk x Guji Natural Coffee IPA Hocking

RB backup. Aug 3 2014. Keg @ Birmingham Beer Bash. Hope this is the right one, had it written down as something else. Horrible rotten vegetal taste. Not sure what went wrong here but definitely did not taste right. And couldn’t get much coffee.

Hop Series Galena Hocking

RB Backup. Sep 16 2013. Keg @ Brewdog, Shoreditch. Lovely biscuit aroma with a refreshing tropical fruit taste and a touch of caramel bitterness. Personally one of my favourites of the single hop series.

Single Hop Centennial IPA Hocking

RB backup. Aug 15 2013. 330ml bottle as part of a 5 bottle tasting. Fairly heavy on the grapefruit and pine with an earthy bitterness on the finish.

Single Hop Warrior IPA Hocking

RB backup. Aug 15 2013. 330ml bottle as part of a 5 bottle tasting. Another citrussy hop with pineapple and a hint of caramel, allowing a dry and sharp bitterness to come in on the finish.

Hop Series Palisade Hocking

RB backup. Aug 2 2013. Part of a 5 bottle tasting. Has a floral aroma, caramel, grassy hops, bitterness of grapefruit. Worked well with chicken and coriander.

Hop Series Sorachi Ace Hocking

RB backup. Aug 2 2013. Part of a 5 bottle tasting. Seems a colourful one this, and possibly a little confused. Some definite bubblegum, tropical fruits and a moderate bitterness. Perfect with spicy Asian finger food.

Foodball Solstice Saison Hocking

RB BACKUP. July 20 2013. Bottle at The Clapton Hart, North London. Great artwork once again. Pours reddish brown with an inviting floral berries aroma. Not as flavoursome as I hoped.. some hoppy bitterness poking its nose in. Not one of the better Mikkell

HORAL's Oude Geuze Mega Blend (2021) Hocking

Fascinating blend. Perfect Christmas Day lambic 🎅

Passion Pool Non Alc Shallow Hocking

AF fruit beers are the future. Huge levels of passionfruit. Tart, pulpy, smoothie like sweetness, lightly tangy.. Exceptionally fruity. Mental

Oude Geuze White Vermouth Foeders Hocking

Good stuff. Usual Boon quality.

Oude Geuze Boon Black Label Edition N°5 Hocking

Remarkable. Cracked open to use the dregs in our Salopian lambic

Game of Thrones - Iron Anniversary IPA Hocking

Great NEIPA, good balance, smooth stonefruit notes.

HORAL's Oude Geuze Mega Blend 2011 Hocking

Aroma is like the leather wallet of a cider apple picker. Prickly dry, leafy fruit, lacks a nice vibrancy and carbonation. Not aged as well as hoped but still a nice sipper.