If you’ve followed the blog for a bit now you’ll know that while I love trying and reviewing the fancier side of craft beer I also enjoy testing out some of the supermarket own-brand concoctions. I recently found out that Aldi’s craft beer brand ‘The Hop Foundry’ added some new beers to their range. Today’s brew is ‘Sharp Tongue’, it’s a Grapefruit Pale Ale at 4% ABV. I have, on occasion, been pleasantly surprised by supermarket beer and I was hoping this would be on the positive end.

The beer pours a clear amber colour with a crisp, dense white head. That is about the extent of the positives unfortunately. The initial smell reminded me of soapy dishwater in all honesty. The first sip was insanely sharp before tapering off into artificial grapefruit bitterness. Certainly no hoppiness that you’d expect from a pale ale. It tastes sort of like someone added loads of lime cordial to a really crap lager. There was also a lingering aftertaste for me that was the complete opposite of moreish…

A quick note on the can art: Fairly simple but not an unpleasant design. A slightly retro, pop art grapefruit graphic with bright citrus colours.

I don’t think the beer is entirely undrinkable but personally I thought it was absolutely awful. I think it’s almost insulting to brand this as craft beer or a pale ale because for me it barely resembles either. I understand that these beers are contract brewed, in this case by Hogs Back Brewery, on a very tight budget so I’m not expecting something exceptional. However, when I’ve previously had beers from Aldi that have been decent this seems like a massive cop out. Overly bitter, with little to no flavour and an unappetising nose. I’m sure the actual brewers do not want to be even remotely associated with this. Even at the £1.49 price point I seriously don’t believe this is worth the money. I’ve had much better beer at that price, but perhaps it is to someones taste. Hopefully the others from Aldi will be better and if not, I hope I can entertain you with a few more rants at least!

Score: 1.5/10

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Additional Information:

• Hops: Not Available
• Malt: Not Available
• IBU: Not Available
• ABV: 4%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes!
• Purchase Location: ALDI
• Purchase Price: £1.49