Hello there my fellow beer lovers,
We are a little late to the Party, but a while back we were lucky enough to get our hands on Full Circles Birthday beer selection from 2025, but its cool to be fashionably late to a party isn’t it?…
To celebrate their 6th birthday, Full Circle have dropped a series of special arcade-themed beer releases.
There are six brews, each one inspired by classic game, this is a line-up built to be collected, tasted, and compared.
We’re going to work our way through all six beers, see which ones level up, and find out which ones are just pressing buttons.
Now lets insert a credit and get suppin’!
Name: Button Bashing ( 6.0% ABV)
- Brewery: Full Circle Brew Co X Newbarns
- Aroma : Faint hoppy sweet fruits on the nose, but little else detectable. (might be a little too cold)
- Appearance : Slightly hazed straw coloured ale with a open white frothy head when poured.
- Body : Quite thin in the mouth, okay carbonation with decent head retention
- Taste : Very well rounded flavour profile, strong citrus notes with a good hoppy backing quite mouth watering and refreshing and at 6% its sessionable.
Overall, Button Bashing was a strong example of the style, delivering a clean, well-rounded flavour profile with bright citrus notes and a solid hoppy backbone. It’s a little thin on the body, but the refreshing mouthwatering character and dank fruity flavours make it easy to enjoy, especially at 6% where it still drinks quite sessionably.
If you’re after a crisp, hop-forward pale with good balance, this one hits the mark.
Our overall rating: 3.8/ 5.0
Name: Barrel Drop
- Brewery: Siren x Full Circle Brew Co
- Aroma : strong scent of sweet minerally Molasses, slight hit of cacao
- Appearance : Opaque deep chocolate brown, with a medium open mocha head when poured.
- Body : This one is full bodied with a good level of carbonation, however the Mocha head did not last long.
- Taste : this one had a upfront slightly treacle/Liquorice flavour which mellowed and morphed into a dark chocolate flavour leaving a dry bitter finish.
This one was a good mix of craft meets traditional, it was a real winter warmer but had minimal burn but at 11% some burn is to be expected. Definitely a sipper not a Quaffer but in this current -2 to 0 degree weather a very welcome tipple by the log burner!
Our overall rating: 4.1/ 5.0
Name: Pew Pew Pew (5% ABV), New Zealand Session IPA
1. Brewery: Gravity well X Full Circle
2. Aroma : Dank hops, fresh fields and lime
3. Appearance : Opaque, light orange with a open white head when poured
4. Body : Light bodied, good level of carbonation but poor head retention
5. Taste : Quite a sharp hop flavour and quite acidic, followed by a dank fruitiness with underlying medicinal herbs culminating in a dry finish.
This one was a bit of a rollercoaster flavour of flavours which is unusual for a session ale. However, despite it being complex but pleasing.
It certainly lived up to its name (Pew, Pew, Pew) hitting us with an array of flavours and I would recommend this to anyone
Our overall rating: 3.4/ 5.0
Name: Chasing Ghosts (4.0% ABV)
1. Brewery: Full Circle Brew Co X Vault City
2. Aroma : Heavy Blackberry hit that makes your mouth water.
3. Appearance : Pale plum colour with a frothy white head when poured
4. Body : A little thin in the mouth with a okay level of carbonation and great head retention.
5. Taste : Quite sour and acidic upfront but this is quickly lost in a wash of Ribena like cordial notes tiny bit of pastry taste at the end but its very minimal.
This one isnt a bad one, but it seems to lack the punch and pucker of other sours especially those that are made by Vault. it certainly is a looker, but on taste is seems to fall short.
However, I am aware that this might be because it was too cold, if I can get my hands on another one, il let you know.
Our overall rating: 3.3/ 5.0
Name: Doopier, DIPA (8% ABV)
1. Brewery: Full Circle Brew Co
2. Aroma : Hoppy and strong notes of Grapefruit on the nose.
3. Appearance : Another beer that’s opaque, lemony orange in colour with a tight white head when poured.
4. Body : Medium bodied, good level of carbonation with poor head retention.
5. Taste : This was quite zesty initially before a hard hitting quite dank wall hit as the super hop forward beer hit hard. it has grapefruit in it but its a little lost in the Hop. This one really leaves your tongue tingling!
Having done a little reading on this one, it appears this is their supercharged take on their flagship beer Looper, and I can definitely see that at its base, but this is certainly supercharged and at 9% its not to be trifled with.
Our overall rating: 3.8 / 5.0
Name: Sonic Boom (6.5% ABV)
1. Brewery: Full Circle Brew Co X Azvex
2. Aroma : Pine needles and Hoppy on the nose
3. Appearance : Opaque / very cloudy orange with a fluffy white head when poured.
4. Body : Medium bodied, good level of carbonation with good head retention.
5. Taste : Dank, quite bitey with a hard pine needle bitterness followed by a good helping of stoned fruit.
SONICBOOM, is definitely the correct name for this punch number, its quite a heavy hitter but lovingly morish, but at 6.5% its quite the dangerous tipple.
It was a little to bitter for me at first but this mellowed as I got used to it, and it and it was a big hit with the guys as I had a few of these ones.
Our overall rating: 4.1/ 5.0
The|Eternal|Hoptimitsts 