By Jeff Evans, chair of The International Beer Challenge

Jiddler’s Tipple All Day Pale Ale, 0.5%

As much as the quality of alcohol-free and low-alcohol beers has improved in recent times, some examples remain considerably more impressive than others. This beer from London is undoubtedly one of the better ones. It pours a bright white-golden colour and presents a fulsome aroma of citrus fruit and floral notes. The palate is thin and dry, much as expected, but delivers plenty of fresh flavours from the Citra, Amarillo and Mosaic hops, suggestive of elderflower, a squeeze of lemon and some subtle orange. The finish is dry, gentle and pleasantly hoppy, with lemon and bitter floral notes lasting longest. It’s all very nicely done, light and delicate yet clean and tasty. A nice spritzy drink for the summer. Vegan-friendly and low in gluten too.

Vocation Incognito, 7.6%

Double IPAs can be quite messy. Packing so many hops into a beer calls for considerable skill and there are numerous potential pitfalls. If the malt base is not substantial enough then the hops will simply over-dominate; if there’s too much malt then the beer may turn out too syrupy or strong and unwanted alcohol notes can detract from the hop profile. The choice and blend of hops make a big difference too. Thankfully, Vocation Brewery in Yorkshire has got everything just about right with this new beer. In a sense it’s quite a simple DIPA – not overly complex or fruity and not too aggressive. Bitter, zesty oranges and floral notes from the American hops, a little background warmth and some sappy pine notes are the main features with good supportive sweetness from the malt. Importantly, the texture is light, making it dangerously quaffable for the strength.

Hall & Woodhouse Frank’s Integrity, 7%

This is the third beer in the annual Founder’s Day series from Hall & Woodhouse and is named after Frank Woodhouse, who became its chairman in 1916. Unusually for the Dorset brewery, it’s a bottle-conditioned beer and all the better for that. Robust and softly warming, this complex ale is seasoned with three varieties of English hops. More obvious initially, however, is the combination of malts – pale, crystal and chocolate – that provide the rich ruby colour and the smooth, biscuity base, with suggestions of chocolate and caramel throughout. But this is not a particularly sweet beer as the hops provide an almost liquorice-like bitterness as well as a hint of orange and some winey berry flavours. Biscuity malt continues into the finish, but an assertive bitterness eventually dominates. The sort of beer to buy a couple of bottles of – one for drinking now and another to see how it mellows over a few months.

Siren Pils, 4.8%

Berkshire’s Siren Brewery is well known for its big hoppy pale ales and rich dark stouts, but shows it can turn its hand to lager too with this successful new release. This is a pils broadly in the German style, attractively glowing pale and greenish-golden in the glass. The key to a good pils is to cleverly combine sweet cereal notes with a clean hoppy sharpness. Siren’s done just that here, from the aroma, with its
peppery lemon and herb notes, through the mostly bitter, floral, hoppy taste, with more lemon and herbs, to the very dry and bitter finish where those tangy hops linger on and on. Gluten-free and acceptable to vegans, it’s a crisp, full-flavoured, rather intense beer, packing plenty of punch for the strength.