North East Beer Review

Beer Riff and Courier Brewing are two breweries that have their very own regional styles and brewing philosophies. With Friends Courier Brew Co is a Hazy IPA brewed using hops from down under. This adds to the massive list of beers that have been born from a friendship between two breweries from completely different regions of the United Kingdom. Personally both of these breweries are new to me so during the course of this review I learn about these breweries as I cover the history of both the brewers and beer itself, as well as the pour, taste and aroma and finally my verdict. Cheers

A friendship between two nations in the UK

The first brewery to cover is Courier Brewing Co which was founded in June 2021 and is based in Manchester, England. The identity of Courier is rooted in the punk culture which is very pronounced in the area, with the brewery being influenced from punk music and grass root art. The brewery appears to embrace sustainable and small scale practices.

Courier Brewing focuses on flavour forward and collaborative efforts with other small scale independent craft breweries to create brews such as With Friends Courier Brew Co. In terms of styles, Courier branches into the hazy pales to sour beers.

Beer Riff Brewing Co is a microbrewery from Swansea in Wales. Founded in 2018, Beer Riff specialises in hop forward and small batch beers. The brewery aims to create beers which are fresh, experimental, unfiltered and vegan beers.

They brew a lot of different styles such as lagers, sours and amber ales all brewed with high quality growers from around the world and Swansea water. Beer Riff currently operate a taproom which overlooks the Swansea marina and contains 15 taps, all of which is brewed onsite.

With Friends… Courier Brew Co is IPA which tailored more towards the New England IPA style. It carries an ABV of 6% and is hopped with Nectaron, Cryo Nectaron, NZH106 and Galaxy Abstrax. This brew aims to represent craft brewing worlds shared ideas, techniques and friendships between breweries. This sort of collaboration helps gain exposure for both small scale brewers.

A modern appearance

When poured, With Friends presents a hazy golden appearance with a slightly orange hue. This is topped with a tight and foamy white head which is retained and leaves a good amount of lacing. This opaque drink looks almost like a pineapple or mango smoothie which signifies a soft and smooth appearance. Overall, this is a textbook hazy pour which almost indicates that the flavour is going to be tropical.

Bright, tropical and hop forward

Aroma

When it comes to the aromatics, the collaboration beer smacks you with immense tropical flavours such as pineapple or mango. This also has a citrus and stone fruit edge. This has an extremely hop forward aroma with is aided by a resinous and pine undertone. Overall, this is an extremely juicy and earthy pour.

Taste

With Friends Courier Brew Co is a bold and hop forward beer. This leans heavily on the tropical side which similarly has flavours of mango and pineapple. There an edge of citrus gives it a moderate but pleasant bitterness. The addition of Nectaron, NZH106 and Galaxy brings a piney edge along with a stonefruit and passionfruit depth. In terms of mouthfeel this a soft and smooth drinker. Overall, With Friends allows the tropical fruit dominated without it becoming too overpowering. This is absolutely packed with flavour and immensely juicy.

Time for my verdict

Overall, the story is of the brewing of this beer is always a good one. A collaboration between brewers is a win-win, greater exposure, greater support and an even greater drinking experience. Beer Riff and Courier Brewing Co have absolutely smashed this, a perfectly weighted beer which allows for the perfect amount of each flavour to present itself. Certainly, a massively positive experience in my opinion from these two breweries. Overall, I rate this an impressive 4.75 out of 5. Cheers

Where did I purchase this beer?

I bought this beer from Cheers Wine Merchants. I bought this alongside my Tiny Rebel 28 Years Later 2 IPA.

Thanks for reading my beer review. If you enjoyed this review, you will love my review of Northern Monkey Brewery.