North East Beer Review

Donzoko is based in Ouseburn, just outside of Newcastle city centre. It has quite reputation in the North East and very much across the nation for its carefully brewed and well crafted beers. Ranging from lagers to west coast IPAs they can do it all. So conveniently, this review is one of their very best west coast IPAs called Saloon Doors. A resinous and bitter reminder to the classic days of Sierra Nevada, what did I think? To find out I will cover the history of this beer and brewery, the pour, the taste and aroma and finally my verdict. Cheers

Top notch North East craft beer

Donzoko Brewing Company was founded in 2017 by brewer Reece Hugill. Reece had aimed to bring together fermentation traditions from Germany with the modern creativity of UK and US based beers. The name Donzoko comes from the Japanese word meaning rock bottom which could indicate the down to earth nature. The brewery began life in Hartlepool, then spent some time in Edinburgh, and has since settled with a permanent brewery and taproom in Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Donzoko is known for its Northern spin on German style lagers such as the Northern Helles and the Big Foam Rustic lager which is immense. This involves cold fermentation and a crisp and clean character. Donzoko has also explored a wide range of styles such as Wheat beers, IPAs and also many collaborations with breweries such as Fell Brewery. Donzoko aims to combine respect for tradition with modern day craft beer inspired inspiration.

Donzoko Saloon Doors is a 7% West Coast IPA which is described as being citrusy, bitter and resinous. This appears to be Donzoko tapping into the classic IPA which was made popular by brewers such as Stone Brewing and Sierra Nevada. Creating a sharper and more bitter, this moves away from the juicy new england IPA styles popular today. This fits Donzokos range of clean fermentation, brilliant complexity and balance.

A classic pour

Donzoko Saloon Doors pours a golden to slightly amber colour. The ever so slight haze and bright nature brilliantly showcases classic West Coast IPA clarity. This beer is lively and has a constant and consistent stream of bubbles present. The head although small left a foamy white cap through the drinking experience, leaving a fine ring of lacing down the glass. Overall, this is a clean and crisp looking which looks especially inviting in these sunny days.

“Citrusy, bitter and resinous”

Aroma

Saloon Doors opens with bright and hoppy aroma. Flavours of citrus and pine dominate with particular flavours of lemon and resin. There is a subtle tropical edge beneath this, perhaps mango, which is present but not dominating. Furthermore, the hop forward nature sits above a bready and light malt backbone which helps round off and balance the aromatics. Overall, the aroma of this beer is fresh, deep and citrusy.

Taste

When it comes to the taste of this Donzoko west coast IPA, it delivers an immediate piney bitterness which is typical of a decent west coast IPA. This is also followed by citrus notes such as grapefruit and lemon which adds to the resinous bite. A gentle tropical note of mango is also present. The malt profile allows for bready and light nature which is restrained which allows for hop dominance to shine. The malt profile makes the beer more drinkable rather than actually altering the taste as much. The finish is crisp and dry which leaves an inviting citrus bitterness. The mouthfeel was light and smooth. Overall, the description of citrusy, bitter and resinous is a perfect summary of this beer which does incredibly well to still remain drinkable. This has a deep flavour and remains very refreshing.

Time for my verdict

Overall, Donzoko has never failed to deliver whenever I have had a try. I have now tried about a dozen Donzoko beers and this maybe up there with the best. It was tasted incredibly good with a deep resinous bite allowing for this beer to incredibly refreshing during the sunny spring days. Saloon Doors offers a citrusy and pine experience which was extremely well balanced, which I certainly recommend. Overall, I rate this beer a brilliant 4.75 out of 5. Cheers

Where did I purchase this beer?

I bought this beer directly from the Donzoko taproom. If you ever in Newcastle I recommend taking a 20 minute walk to the taproom.

Thanks for reading my beer review. If you enjoyed my review you will love my review of Donzoko Heartwood.