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Sometimes you impulse buy. This is so true for me with beer. We went to the store to buy dried fruits and vegetables and then I saw the fridge with the beers in them. I also saw that it was one of the beers that I have been wanting to try now for a while! I year or so ago, I saw that Bomb Squad released their pilsner, and at the time that they released it, I reviewed the Lager. Now, I had the pilsner in hand. I also bought another Cape Collective beer, the pale ale.

In some sense, this is a strange combination: pale ale and pilsner. But I am someone who does not discriminate between beers (unless it is watered down and tastes like nothing). I even enjoy and sometimes prefer commercial beers over craft beers, as some of them has nostalgia linked to them, but also because on price point, they cannot be beaten.

I digress. So, I went to the store to buy something totally different, and I walked out with these beers in hand. The second reason why these beers were impulse buy was because I had to prepare for a dinner party with my fiancé and her parents who were meeting my parents (not for the first time though), so we had other drinks planned. Yet my curiosity took over and I just had to drink them.

As a reminder, these beers are brewed by what I would consider purely capitalist interest, and people with no real love for the craft except that they want to make something good. I am saying this not as an insult or critique, but rather as something I wonder about. The Bomb Squad beer is made I think by one of my favourite breweries, so it is quality stuff. In fact, I think both beers are brewed at the same brewery… But the first one is owned by two ex-springbok rugby players, and the second is brewed by wine makers. So, their first passions are not for the love of craft beer, but alas this is just some of my thinking.

But even though I say these things, these beers were still perfect, and I enjoyed them thoroughly. I mean, what can beat a good pint or two on a hot summer day?

Without further ado, here are my tasting notes.

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Bomb Squad Pilsner

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Pilsner | 5% ABV | ?? IBUs

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The smell is very nice and hoppy but there is slight malt notes. There is also nice acidity on the nose (maybe some yeast as well).

The first taste was very hoppy, almost like a pale ale. I also got some grassy notes specific hops.

This was a very refreshing and good beer; but just like my previous write up about the lager it is very expensive and I cannot justify drinking this as an everyday beer.

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Cape Collective Pale Ale

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Pale Ale | 4.5 % ABV | ?? IBUs

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The beer had a beautiful first smell as I opened the can and started pouring. Hints of citrus pine but caramel malt undertones that lingered. It was a classic ale leaning towards session IPA.

The first taste was nice and full bodied, but not as strong taste as the smell. It was very balanced light and refreshing; or peachy as the can says!

Alas, I think these types of beers, especially when they are made for or by wine makers are always too clean and too close to the standard. I like when brewers experiment a bit…

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Postscriptum, or Cheers!

Alas, a cold beer on a hot afternoon with friends and family is always a winner.

Life cannot get better than that. I would prefer nothing else than a beer, it does not matter if it is an IPA or Lager.

But I will always grab the IPA first though.

For now, happy drinking and keep well!

All of the musings and writings are my own, albeit written by my drunken self. The photographs are my own, taken with my Nikond D300.