I’ve been looking forward to this.
Having just made the three hour drive home from Norfolk I knew I had this beer waiting for me in the fridge ( sometimes there’s nothing better than planning ahead) and I couldn’t wait to try it.
And so, with my lunch of ham and cheese toastie with lashings of Worcester Sauce I opened a bottle of Freedom Brewery’s newest beer, Pioneer.
It is, as you might expect, a lager.
But this is a heavily hopped lager.
The malts are spiced toffee, bursting with honey and a lovely burned madeira sugar at the back.
But it’s the hops that are the real star here, and Freedom have wrung out every last drop of hoppy goodness for Pioneer.
They first grab you when you stick your nose in the glass, coming on all green and leafy.
Then as you drink you get a stinging nettle freshness with popping pepper and a superb lemon and coriander bite and a long crisp and very dry finish.
Who says lager can’t be fantastic?