Samba King

Bottle at Craig’s. Pours hazy amber, nose is curry, lemongrass, lime, taste is dry toffee, a little more curry, light lime.

bottle at home .. golden amber ... thin white lacing .. soft sweet lime .. juicy lime nose ... soft fruits .. zezty lime juice .. soft fruit ...light thai green curry tones .. ok

The first beer of the evening is By the Horns Samba King. This World Cup-inspired beer is a "rye blonde ale brewed with Brazilian lime and lemongrass". That’s a fairly ambitious ingredient list, but I’m happy to say that the brewers pulled off a very nice beer.

The lime and lemongrass really carry the beer from beginning to end. The aroma has a lot of lime zest, a bit of lemon rind and some grassy, citrusy hops. It’s not overly sweet but there is a nice doughy, biscuity sweetness that serves as a decent base of operations for the exotic additions. The bitterness is mostly grassy but you also get some juicy citrus aspects as well. The body is light and the carbonation massages. The beer has a grassy finish with oily citrus, light zippy lemon-lime, and some further pale bread sugars.

The lime and lemongrass could perhaps be scaled back slightly so that they are more like accents than the main attraction, but that’s just a minor qualm. Overall it’s a nicely refreshing and well crafted beer. (Score: 3.6/5.0)

Bottle at the brewery. It pours hazy golden with a decent off-white head. The nose is doughy, spice, perfumed, big lime, lemongrass, hopsack and grass. The taste is crisp, bitter, doughy, spicy, fresh lime, lemongrass, straw and lemon cheesecake with a dry finish. Medium body and moderate carbonation. Punchy and juicy. Pretty nice.

Bottle 330ml. @ home in garden. [ As By The Horns Samba King ].Unclear medium matt - golden orange color with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, white head. Aroma is moderate malty, bread, ginger bread - cookie, caramel, pale malt, lemon grass , lime, moderate to heavy lemon grass, spices. Flavour is moderate sweet and bitter with a average to long duration, ginger bread - cookie, lemon grass, dry, sweet cookie, rye notes. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20140723]

330ml bottle. Clear, orangey golden colour with average to huge, frothy, half-way lasting, slightly lacing, off-white head. Spicy, fruity, intensely floral, herbal, slightly perfumed aroma, really intense flowery scent, notes of lime, hints of ginger and lemongrass. Taste has caipirinha resemblance, hints of lime and lemongrass, an artful spicy note from the rye, a less intense floral touch; a soapy ginger touch is present in the finish. Unusual, not bad, not everyman’s taste for sure.

Bottle from Beer Central, Sheffield. Hazy gold. Thin, lasting, white head. Lemon. Sweet malt. Soap. Taste is dry. Light bitter. Palate is soapy. Finishes dry.

Gravity dispense at the LBA fest at Le Gothique, 24/07/14. Murky orange with a moderate light beige swirl and edgework, Nose is lemon rind, spice, bitter orange, light herbal presence. Taste comprises earthy hop, floral tones, zingy lemon, key lime pie, tarte citric notes. Medium bodied, moderate carbonation, semi drying close. Ok.

Cask gravity at the Wandsworth summer beer fest. Really sharp lemon, surbert, floral pollen, chemical. Clouded orange, loose white head. Flavour is really floral sharp lemon urinal cake, lemon juice. Palate is crisp slight acidic. Good stuff.