What better way to show someone you love them than to share some beautiful beer with them this Valentine’s.
But don’t bother about the wee bottles, declare your love with something that has a bit more oomph. Get your hands on a 660ml bomber or two-litre growler; big bottles that, despite the aggressive-sounding monikers, are perfect for couples who want to share their love of beer (though all beer tastes better when shared).
An increasing number of breweries and specialist shops – both online and in the real world – are stocking these bold beers in big bottles, with a few even hosting their own tap so you can fill your own growler.
Six great beers for sharing
Basil and Citrus Sharp by Pilot (6.6%)
The Leith magicians do it again with this weirdly wonderful saison.
This beer reeks of fresh basil, as if you’d a plant in front of you, though that sweet tangy saison scent creeps in under the cover of soft citrus.
It’s simply gorgeous.
Taste it though, and you’re wheiched away to some remote rural Italian villa, lying back on the warm grass beneath the shade of a lemon tree, aromas of a herb garden, soft leather and the old wooden doors of the barn carried along by the gentle breeze.
The beauty continues with some bold bittering that relaxes into a long flavour of basil that stays in your tastebuds’ memory. Comes in 660ml bombers.
Sublime Stout by Fyne Ales (6.8%)
This is a big-hearted stout with heaps of sweet malt flavours and lush hop aroma and bittering.
Made predominately with American hops, there’s heaps of fruitiness here, as well as some liquorice and big doses of roasted malts adding a touch of tannin bitterness. Comes in 750 ml bottles.
Sorry not sorry IPA by Stone (9%)
A big blast of apricot in this bruising 9% hop bomber from craft beer pioneers Stone.
There’s plenty of fruity sweetness here, but this imperial IPA is unapolgetically all about the hops with good grapefruit and pine flavours complementing the stonefruit sweetness and bicep-curling bitterness.
Pours clear and golden, and comes in US-style bombers.
Blackstone Porter (6%) by Driftwood
Canadian superstar brewery Driftwood arrived in the UK late last year, their bomber style bottles sharing shelf space with their US rivals.
If you’re looking for something to complement the candles, open fire and comfy couch, try the Blackstone Porter. It’s rich in chocolate and coffee flavours, easy to drink, with an understated tartness, with roasted flavours and a gentle bittering smouldering in the finish. Comes in 650ml bottles
Chimay Grande Reserve (9%)
For fans of Belgian beers, push the boat out and get a magnum of Chimay Grande Reserve.
Wee bottles of the Blue are more easily available, but given that this is one of the world’s best Belgian abbey beers, the 1.5 litre magnum will definitely impress.
Fall in love with the aroma of rich, sweet roasted malt and syrup-coated fruit, and a taste that is slick, sexy and complex.
Like the best relationships, this dark beer grows with you, improves as you and it get to know each other.
Jack’s Rye Smile by Weird Beard and Hanging Bat (11%)
A stunning collaboration between Weird Beard of London and the smashing Edinburgh brewpub. This barrel-aged beer is a bigger, badder and bolder version of their other collaboration, Rye Smile.
It’s a barley wine, with a nose of sweet syrups, big alcoholic aroma and rich caramel malts, and it’ll have you smacking those lips with intense flavours of bourbon, orange, toffee and booze-soaked fruits all seeping out, before a big bitter finish.
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