A beer gifted to my by my wonderful grandparents! This is from Hatherwood Beer Company also known as the name given to Lidl’s own brand beers. Typically these are contract brewed by Shepherd Neame I believe but this time around they’ve openly branded it as a ‘collaboration’ with Stewart Brewing. Being a Scottish brewer this beer is only available in Lidl stores in Scotland. ‘Bright Lights’ is a classic American style IPA weighing in at 5.6% ABV and won a silver award at the 2018 International Beer Challenge.

Looks really good in the glass with a marmalade colour. Forms a lovely white head on top as well. Loads of citrus grapefruit on the nose. The beer is incredibly well carbonated so the flavours are pushed around the inside of your mouth. Super hoppy flavour with a long lasting bitterness on the finish.

A quick note on the bottle art: A rather busy design with skyscrapers and lots of writing. My issue with this design is that the name placement is to the side and written vertically making it hard to read.

Firstly this beer is certainly better than the previous Hatherwood beer I’ve reviewed but I imagine that is likely because it’s been contracted brewed by a craft brewer. The flavour is okay in this beer but the heavy, long lasting bitterness down the throat might but some people off I imagine. Aroma is brilliant citrus and the hops to pop through just nothing incredibly exciting with this beer. It does display clearly that it is vegan friendly however which is always appreciated.

Score: 6/10

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Additional Information:

• Hops: Not Available
• Malt: Not Available
• IBU: Not Available
• ABV: 5.6%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes!
• Purchase Location: Lidl