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Taproom Dovestone IPA Beer Review

10/1/2021

9 Comments

 
I picked up this beer on a rare visit to Home Bargains in Lincoln, and at less than one pound for the can it felt like it would have been rude not to. Dovestone IPA is brewed by Taproom in the Pennines, and no I've never heard of them either, but if this ones any good I'll do some more digging, especially if all their beers are this cheap. It's always nice to find a surprisingly cheap beer, and this day and age anything under £2 let alone £1 has to be considered a bit of a bargain. The only caveat to this is I can't help but wonder if the beer is this cheap what's wrong with it? Well time to find out. 
Taproom Dovestone IPA Beer Review
Dovestone IPA comes in a really nice looking 330ml can, usually I moan about 330ml beers as I feel like I'm been ripped off, but for the price you really can't complain at all. There's a reasonably healthy 4.8% alcohol content, so they've not really skimped on the strength to knock the price down, which has to be a good thing. The beer pours a light gold with a reasonable enough head, there's certainly nothing in the appearance to make me think this isn't going to be decent. Maybe I've actually found a really cheap decent ale, now that would be good.
The aroma is a little concerning. It's quite weak, and the only obvious smells coming through are malts, and maybe some grapefruit, they don't seem to mix together very well though, so it smells a bit rough. What this most certainly doesn't smell like is a good IPA, it actually smells like a bad English bitter, like a John Smiths only worse. I'm starting to get a bit of a sinking feeling that as with most things in life you usually end up getting what you've paid for, and ultimately I've paid very little for this can of beer.
The texture is quite grainy and the initial taste manages to be both bland and unpleasant at the same time, which if you think about it is quite an achievement. I'd say there's quite a malty taste, but not a good one, like a biscuit that has been left out too long and gone a bit soggy. Fortunately the more I drink the more my taste buds adjusted. While this didn't make Dovestone IPA pleasant it made it bearable and sure enough I got through the can. I'm going to give Dovestone IPA from Taproom 2.5 out of 10. Firstly the can is quite pretty, and secondly it is dirt cheap so if you just want to drink for the sake of drinking, and don't want to get a cheap pack of something like Carlsberg I guess this is a decent alternative. What I would say though is if this had been in the £1.50-£2 range it would have only scored 1.5.
9 Comments
Mal
10/9/2021 08:23:16 pm

"the initial taste manages to be both bland and unpleasant at the same time, which if you think about it is quite an achievement." -- that's exactly what I thought. However, unlike you, I couldn't get past three sips of incredulity before throwing the stuff down the sink. I have never done that before. It's a weird drink by any standards.

Reply
Doug
27/9/2021 10:04:57 am

Agree totally with Mal. The can looked good and it is brewed quite close to where I live so I bought 4 to try. I have been drinking bitter and craft ales for over 50 years, and have never tasted one so unpleasant. It looked and tasted like something that had been dredged from the bottom of Dovestones Reservoir. then strained through a well used sock. 2.5 was far too generous a score for this. I didn't finish the first can, the rest are for the bin as I wouldn't inflict them on anyone else.

Reply
David
29/9/2021 09:36:09 pm

Like Doug I am seasoned drinker of ale, this is close to the worst beer I have tasted! That accolade went to a can of Crazy Ed’s chilli beer, I was bought as a joke some 35 years ago. Will not buy more and no one else should.

Reply
Mark Peters
30/10/2021 07:13:40 pm

I’ve just come online to find if anyone else has tried this beer after I took the same leap of faith in the 99p can from Home Bargains.

I thought the beer was off when I opened it and caught the aroma. Then after pouring and seeing the head disappear almost instantly, I was met with a pretty stark hazy beer. One sip and it went down the sink.

I opened the second can thinking my experience was a bit of bad luck, a bad can, a bad batch, I tried to rationalise any excuse; it was as disgusting as the first can.

0.5/10 for me. The 0.5 point was for the can and branding, which convinced me to part with £2.

Reply
William Taylor
13/12/2021 10:31:40 pm

I agree with every single word of this review. I feel cheated by this disgusting excuse for a beer (assuming it even is a beer)!

Reply
Stu
13/12/2021 09:45:07 pm

Oh, how I wish I had read these reviews before also thinking "hmm, it's as nice can, it's under a quid, worth a try - how bad can it be?"

I think it is quite possibly the worst thing I have drank in many, many years - I'm struggling to think of anything less appealing than this.

A sour, almost vomit-like hit up front that thankfully fades quickly, but leaves an aftertaste of old dirt and a waft of blocked drains - utterly rank. A second sip confirmed the first, and that was that - the second can will be emptied straight down the grid outside. Horrendous stuff.

Reply
Gill
14/2/2022 08:53:20 pm

A Home Bargains flop of massive proportions!
This beer is absolutely rank. The first can when poured had no head, had white bits floating in it & tasted sour, as though it had gone off. Thinking it was a bad can, a second one was opened but, you’ve guessed, it was just the same! Both lots went straight down the sink.
Having taken photos, I’m taking the empty cans back to Home Bargains & will ask for a refund.

Reply
Walker
19/2/2022 08:49:18 pm

Bought a can attend Home Bargains and thought that as it’s a local beer, I’ll try it.
Nice can but everything else is rank. Opened, poured and immediately lost its head and very cloudy. One sip and that was enough. Very nasty weak, dish water taste

Reply
Mike Barlow
10/4/2022 07:51:01 pm

Thank the lord it's not just me. Bought s couple of these thinking they were worth a try. How wrong can you be. My wife was stunned. In 49 years of marriage she:d never seen me pour a glass of beer down the sink.
Was going to let my son try it but he was too clever and looked at the comments on Google.
He didn't try it but is taking it to sample with his brother-in-law on a visit next week. I always thought they got on well. Really putrid

Reply



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