Hello and welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists,
It’s time once again for another low alcohol review, this time its Brooklyn Brewery’s hoppy lager named Special Effects.
The blurb on the bottle states that this is a hoppy lager with an unexpected piney aroma and pleasantly bitter finish. It tastes just like a regular beer, but there lies the special effect. Let’s see if this lives up to what is promised.
1. Name : Special Effects
2. Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery AV Carlsberg (Sweden)
3. Hops : Not stated
4. Grain : Barley, malt & Yeast
5. Aroma : Pleasant slightly piney hop aroma with a malt presence evident on the nose
6. Appearance : Pours a deep amber/bordering on brown with a two finger dissipating white head
7. Body : Light to medium body with an easy drinking mouthfeel
8. Taste : Certainly a malty brew that has a pretty decent piney yet sweet hop presence. The flavour profile works well on this making it quite a tasty low alcohol alternative.
Special Effects poured much darker than I expected and had quite a pleasant aroma that had me thinking that the blub on the bottle might not be far off, especially as the aroma was quite piney yet also had quite a strong malt presence. This translated quite well into the flavour leading to a solid low alcohol beer.
I will be honest in saying that I approached this one thinking that it might just be another of those low alcohol beers that are soon forgotten but what I got was a pleasant surprise as I quite enjoyed what I drank. Special Effects is certainly worth checking out if you are looking to cut back or if you are fancying trying something a little different and if you are a designated driver keep an eye out for this in your local pub as it is certainly an improvement on many low alcohol alternatives.
Our overall rating: 3.3/ 5.0
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