Looking forward to baron rating Beer Hawk ales

Beer mail order company Beer Hawk started up at the end of last year with the aim of 'only stocking the good stuff' - they have over two hundred different bottled beers as well as mixed cases and a beer club.

Chris France (joint director along with Mark Roberts) got in touch recently asking if there were any beers on their website that I'd like to try... let's just say I was like a kid in a sweet shop (or a bull in a china shop - you take your pick!). This is what they very kindly sent through for review:

• Anchor Old Foghorn - 9.4% barley wine style ale, the perfect balanced of malty sweetness, estery fruitiness and equisite hop character
• BrewDog Libertine Black Ale - 7.2% dark hop bomb combining the hop awesomeness of an IPA, the decadent and indulgent malt flavours of a stout with an insatiable drinkability
• BrewDog #MashTag - 7.4% crowd-sourced brown ale from start to finish
• Durhum Cloister - 4.5% thirst quenching pale golden, premium bitter. A unique blend of English, American and Czech hops give an aroma of citrus grapefruit with mild pepper and citrus orange notes throughout
• Durham Magus - 3.8% light bitter, simple pale malts provide a base for a complex blend of hops. Colour is very pale with lemon citrus and floral flavours, progressing to a spicy mouthfeel and a clean earthy bitterness in the finsh

• Flying Dog Horn Dog - 10.2% barley wine style ale (no further description on bottle) RateBeer says: "Big malty flavors, including licorice and chocolate, are balanced with a moderate hop profile. Brewed with copious amounts of prized malts and flaked oats, the Barley Wine is so strong that it has to be aged for several months before we can bottle it"
• Ilkley Joshua Jane - 3.7% rich nut-brown Yorkshire ale,smooth with hints of caramel rising to a lingering and pleasant bitterness BUT characterised by the use of hops sourced from the USA and New Zealand
• Nogne O Imperial Brown Ale - 7.5% unique ale due to the use of rich English malts and generous use of hops, particularly American varieties. Unfiltered and unpasteurised and it will age well
• Nogne O Imperial Stout - 9% very rich, creamy and completely black ale with flavours of coffee, chocolate, leather and dried fruits
• Rochefort 10 - 11.3% ? (no description on bottle) RateBeer says: "The top product from the Rochefort Trappist brewery. Dark color, full and very impressive taste. Strong plum, raisin, and black currant palate, with ascending notes of vinousness and other complexities"
• Rogue Dead Guy Ale - ? (no description on bottle) RateBeer says: "6.6% German-style Maibock made with Rogue’s proprietary "PacMan" ale yeast. It is deep honey in color with a malty aroma, rich hearty flavor and a well balanced finish. Dead Guy is created from Northwest Harrington, Klages, Maier Munich and Carastan malts, along with Perle and Saaz Hops"

• Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen - 5.1% rauchbier, selected barley is malted at the brewery and kilned over a fire of beechwood  logs. A dark, bottom fermented beer with an intense smoky aroma and flavour
• Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen - 5.2% unusual sibling of the classic Marzen. Only the barley malt is smoked over beechwood logs while the wheat malt remains unsmoked. The light smokiness is coupled with complex notes of banana and clove
• Sierra Nevada Bigfoot - barley wine style ale (no further description on bottle) RateBeer says: "boasts a dense, fruity bouquet; an extremely rich, intense, bittersweet palate; and a deep, reddish-brown color. This ale is superbly balanced between an almost overpowering maltiness and a wonderfully bittersweet hoppiness"
• Sierra Nevada Hoptimum -10.4% whole-cone imperial IPA, the biggest whole-cone IPA we have ever produced - a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurricane of flavour. Aggressively hopped, dry-hopped AND torpedoed, Hoptimum delivers ultra-intense flavours to hop fanatics everywhere
• Thornbridge Halcyon -7.4% intensely flavoured imperial IPA, heavily hopped giving tropical fruit, mango and summer berry characteristics with a touch of caramel and biscuit sweetness. Perfumed hops in the mouth balanced with a warming, bitter finish
• Thornbridge Reverend & The Makers - 4.8% summer ale, brewed in collaboration with Ed Cosens, a classic example of its style; pale golden colour, light-bodied and easy drinking. The ale's highly fragrant floral and spicy flavours are the result of the generous use of the best hops from Australia, USA and England including Cascade, Amarillo, Galaxy and Fuggles

What an awesome selection, I'm finding it hard not to just dive in and start opening them! (must wait for Chris, must wait for Chris...).

I really liked the 'welcome sheet' that arrived at the top of the box (the first thing that you see when opening the box). A nicely branded 'thank you' on one side and then pouring and tasting tips on the other, really like the different pouring tips for the different beer styles - a really nice touch.

Look out for 'baron ratings' of these beers soon, and a big thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending these through to me!

Buy all these beers from Beer Hawk and get 10% off if you use my discount code "BARON" at checkout!