I have sadly missed a couple of days of my October goal: to post everyday this month. An early start at work and a late finish did not leave me time to put out a review. That will not deter me however and despite missing one day I see no reason to not try an post on the rest. So take up for this transgression, today’s blog post is a double review! Williams Brothers from Scotland often have a lot of their beers in Lidl and recently had these two. ‘Joker IPA’ is part of their core range while ‘Double Joker’ is the amped up double IPA version of the orginal clocking in at 8.3% ABV.

The original Joker IPA pours clear amber with a really good, snow white head. In all honesty there is very little of note on the nose. Perhaps a little citrus and sweetness. The body is also equally as sparse of flavour. It’s quite malty, so you have that sweet base but there isn’t that hoppy bitterness I was expecting.

The older brother of the two, Double Joker, pours very similar to the original. Clear amber and a white head. Comparatively, the nose is still sweet but you definitely get more of a hop from the aroma. There is certainly more flavour to this rendition with more citrus hop coming through. It does taste strong but I think it manages to mask the 8% better than expected in all honesty.

A quick note on the bottle arts: I like that while they both feature the image of a jester on the label, ‘Double Joker’ is more abstract than the original. I imagine it’s how your vision would turn after have two or three of them.

On the whole, I have mixed feelings about these beers. I’d say ‘Joker IPA’ is a below average beer. It’s got the tagline ‘Wickedly Hoppy’ and I personally think it went missing entirely. It’s drinks fine it’s just completely forgettable. ‘Double Joker’, on the other hand, is definitely an improvement on the original. While no where near the most exciting double IPA on the planet it has a better degree of complexity to the flavour and a better balance between the malts and the hops. However, I suppose across both beers it’s hard to complain when you consider the price point Lidl offers them at.

‘Joker IPA’ – Score: 4/10

‘Double Joker’ – Score: 6/10

Thanks for taking the time to read! Cheers!

Additional Information (Kiss Kiss)

• Hops: Cascade, Mosaic, Chinook, Citra
• Malt: Pale Malt, Malted Wheat, Oats, Vienna Malt, Pale Rye, Pale Crystal
• IBU: 30
• ABV: 5%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes! (In Bottles)
• Purchase Location: Lidl

Additional Information (Bang Bang)

• Hops: Centennial, Ekuanot, Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy
• Malt: Lager Malt, Vienna Malt, Pale Crystal, Sugar
• IBU: 65
• ABV: 8.3%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes! (In Bottle)
• Purchase Location: Lidl