It’s been a while since I reviewed one of Lidl’s own brand beers. It was ‘Plunged Orange’ last time which is, funnily enough, the most popular review on my blog. A comment on my Instagram of that review (@lorenzobeerreviews if you want to check it out) told me to try this as it was supposedly better. ‘Twisted Knots’ is an American IPA by Hatherwood Craft Beer Company which is Lidl’s own brand beers and contract brewed by Shepherd Neame. I go into with a little trepidation.

Visually the beer is a woody sort of red-brown. The aroma of the beer is very reminiscent of a marmalade, with heavy citrus and a touch of the tropics. The beer is well carbonated pushing the flavours around the mouth. A blood orange and grapefruit like taste to the body. A nice light hop to this beer with a decent bitter finish. In all honesty rather refreshing overall.

A quick note on the can art: Not the biggest fan of these. Feels a bit thrown together but the colours are diverse enough that it stands out on the shelves.

I always like to be honest with these reviews and while I thought ‘Plunged Orange’ was pretty bad, this is genuinely fairly solid. I was expecting another halfhearted attempt at a craft beer but this has more depth to the flavour than anticipated. At such a cheap price this isn’t a half bad fridge filler, with solid citrus flavours and a good carbonation level that pairs well. Despite listing 7 hops and several malts I do not feel you get the level of complexity expected from using that many. However, I can see myself picking these up to have with a summer BBQ.

Score 6/10

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Additional Information:

• Hops: Herkules, Columbus, Chinook, Cascade, Citra, Centennial, Amarillo
• Malt: Pale, Medium and Dark Crystal, Caramalt, Munich, Rye Pale
• IBU: 46
• ABV: 5.5%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes!
• Purchase Price: £1
• Purchase Location: Lidl