Brewdog: Hello My Name Is Mette Marit (Scotland: IIPA: 8.2%)
Visual: Dark golden peach. Moderate off white head.
Nose: Tart berries. Musty grapes. Slight traditional lemonade. Blue berry. Creamy bitterness. Malt biscuits. Apricot.
Body: Good hops. Sour berries. Gooseberry. Good bitterness. Grapefruit. Lemon sponge and cream. Pineapple. Creamy texture. Strawberry. Custard sweetness.
Finish: Bitter. Slightly cloying lemon curd and musty lemon pancakes. Growling bitterness. Apricot. Strawberry. Pepper.
Conclusion: Hmm, does the berries used enhance or detract on this one? Hard to say and really depends on what point of drink you are at. Let’s take a look.
I’ve never had lingonberry before but from the flavor I would have guessed it as a bright yellow berry, roughly the same color as yellow pepper. It just tastes yellow if that makes sense. Anyway, wiki shows them as being red so what do I know? The flavor here seems slightly lemony in various varieties, both musty and tart.
In the main body this flavor comes in as quite a delight, mixing with the well balanced hop bitterness and NZ tart fruitiness with aplomb. In the finish however I find it a bit clinging, like cloying lemon curd. Here in the finish it lasts too long which seems to weaken the whole package. However, when you sip the beer again that main body returns, golden once more. The tartness goes against the bitterness great, and it is by far the most evident berry use of any of the three “Hello My Name Is” beers so far.
From the open and roaming aroma to the body it is great, great hops and huge fruit with solid malt sweetness and sharp citrus needling you. It is only that clinging finish with the musty berries that really lets it down. The thing is it is that element that sticks around the longest and will be the last thing you will taste and remember.
So, weak at the end and it really draws the beer down, but everything up to there is a delight. Now I preferred “Hello My Name Is Beastie” myself, but I seem to be in the minority in that one. This is a beer that, with a bit of tweaking, could be great, as is it has its points but isn’t a favorite.
Background: AKA “Hello My Name Is Censored”. I wondered why and did a quick google search to find out Mette Marit is apparently the crown princess of Norway. Who says beer stunts learning eh? Anyway, the latest in the hello my name is line, this one made with lingonberry, which I have never tried, or even heard of before this beer. As always I am not an unbiased actor on Brewdog beers.