Mad Giant's Killer Hop - A "Fresh" Pale Ale From the Brewery - A BeerSaturday Review

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Mad Giant Pale Ale | 5% ABV | 34 IBUs


As I walked into a local shop, I saw a new stand being erected. They placed a couple of familiar-looking bottles onto the stand. In a previous review post, I reviewed another Mad Giant beer. They bottle their beer in these "Fresh" bottles, a unique idea or maybe just a capitalist word game.

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Either way, they call these beers "Fresh" from the brewery, and you can collect a return fee if you bring them back the bottles, which is not something you see with Craft Breweries in South Africa.

Even with the deposit for the bottle (yes, you the paying customer need to pay extra for the beer because it comes in a returnable bottle), the beer was reasonably priced. I have had some beers by Mad Giant, and all of them are great. So I did not hesitate to buy this one.

The labelling is minimal. The only indication of what beer you are actually buying is the small print on the neck of the bottle (see the photograph below). You can easily take the wrong beer if you are not careful! But I like the minimal design look. The minimal aesthetic works well with the clean and crisp beer that they produce.

And I like the fact that they are "pint" size, or 500ml. (I never really understand the 440ml beers, but I am sure there is a reason for that.)

(Even though I like the minimal design, I also miss the unique edge that each beer gets if they took that route.)

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Back to the Killer Hop.

The beer has a beautiful clear colour. As always, these hoppy beers hit your nose almost before the visual indication of the colour. I love opening a hoppy beer. But the dark golden colour presented a nice contrast to the white and foamy head.

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The smell coming from the glass intoxicated me. I asked my girlfriend to help me with the pouring. She loves to pour the beer, but she does not like to drink it that much (not yet at least). But she did an awesome job.

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The head lasted a while, even though it had some biggish bubbles. I think this is usual for this style of beer. It reminded me a lot of a session IPA with its overly hoppy aromas. I mean, the beer's name is Killer Hop for a reason.

The lacing was also good, but not the best, due to the bigger bubbles. Maybe we did not pour it well enough! But alas, the taste surely made up for all these minor details!

As per usual, the citrus hops dominate. As per all my other reviews, I think the South African style IPA leans towards these citrusy and pine hops. At least, the more modern and "hip" IPAs. (I have had some other good IPAs that do not follow the overly citrus-pine route.) But that is also why I just love these hoppy ales (IPAs, Pale ales, and so on). This beer is included.

I do not want to sound like this, but there is a general trend amongst these beers. It follows the same recipe, not in the literal sense but more metaphorical. It works, that is why so many breweries use these hops. And I love it as well. That is why I always buy these beers! But it can get a bit boring after a while. I probably need to expand my horizons a bit, but experimentation is probably limited to the breweries themselves and not to the beers you buy in the shop! (So this speaks more to me than the breweries themselves.)

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But in the end, the Killer Hop killed, it did not disappoint in any area. I would certainly buy another one! The brewery is on my beer passport list, so I will visit them once I am back in Gauteng!

I even tried to get my girlfriend (photograph below) to take a sip, and she took one for the team! Slowly, I am beginning to get her into the beer-drinking game. Beer is best when cold, but even better when shared with your loved ones! Even if only a small sip.

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Postscriptum, Or Trying Out Something New

Below, I am trying out something new. I call it: Inside the Philosopher's Beer Fridge. It is a list of all the beers that I have tasted and reviewed. The purpose is twofold. Firstly, it is to help me keep track of what beers I have reviewed without writing a second review of the same beer. But secondly, it is also akin to a kind of "trophy case", in which I illustrate all of the beers that I have tasted but also the breweries I have visited. As I have mentioned in many previous posts, there are some breweries that partake in the game of the "Beer passport". You take them the passport, they give you a stamp, and if you are lucky, a free beer. I thus hyperlink two things, the beer linked to the beer review, and the brewery if I have visited them and written a post about the brewery itself.

With each new beer review and brewery visit, I will update my list. It might be interesting to see it grow! (In retrospect, I would have liked to give each beer a score out of ten, that would have been a nice addition to the list. Maybe I should start this list; The Philosopher's Beer List or something.)

Alas. Happy beer drinking and keep well!

All of the photographs used in the post are my own, taken with my Nikon D300. The musings and writings are also my own, albeit inspired by that magical first sip of the beer.


Inside the Philosopher's Beer Fridge


Clarens BreweryBrews (All Brews Reviewed in this post):
🍺 IPA
🍺 Hazelnut Brown Ale: Clarens Goes Nuts
🍺 Stout
🍺 Tondon Pilsner
🍺 Village Lager
🍺 Weiss
🍺 English Ale
🍺 Blonde
🍺 Mulled Apple Cider
🍺 Red Ale
Darling BrewBrews:
🍺 Warlord Imperial IPA
🍺 Arrow Head Russian Imperial Stout
🍺 Long Claw Modern Saison
Devil's Peak Beer CompanyBrews:
🍺 Jucy Lucy Hazy IPA
🍺 King's Blockhouse IPA
Drakensberg BreweryBrews:
🍺 Cathedral Peak Pilsner
🍺 Champagne Castle Blonde Ale
🍺 Giant's Castle Stout
🍺 Amphitheater Red Ale
Mad GiantBrews:
🍺 Capital DIPA (in Collaboration with Capital Craft)
Saggy Stone Brewing CoBrews:
🍺 Bear Jam - Session IPA
That Brewing Co.Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post):
🍺 That Blond Ale
🍺 That Subtropical Ale (Delicious Monster)
🍺 That American Pale Ale (APA)
🍺 'el Juicy IPA
🍺 VESS KISS IPA


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37 comments
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That beer sounds delicious, looks pretty good in photos as well! Love the idea of returnable bottles starting again normally only when pints or quarts were sold, but then have not bought a case of beers in ages!

Passport a fun way to persuade one to try different, never heard of this but seldom get going out of late.

@tipu curate

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For sure. If smaller breweries did this, I would support them more. Such a shame that the consumer must in the end pay for each new glass bottle but they could have re-used it.

For sure, I love the beer passport! I have seen I think 15 breweries which without it I would never have seen them! But you are right, you need to get out to actually see them haha.

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Everything used to be sold in glass with returnable refund, no plastic clogging up streams and rivers back then either.

I hardly swing in to buy variety with the price of beer at the moment!

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I am so sorry for only responding now, wow what a couple of weeks. I got engaged, and I was thrown under the bus again a bit. But things are better now.

Glass is definitely better, I always save jam and honey jars, so many uses for the glass bottles and jars.

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Old coffee jars with plastic lids I use to scrap oils or fats from bottom of pans into a bottle not to wash into water system, every bit counts. On soak-pit for years I learned long ago to keep fats from entering as much as possible.

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Every little bit helps in the end. We can as individuals only do so much, but we can still do something. Sometimes feels like we cannot change anything, but if we added to the mess we are already in things would be worse.

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A little goes a long way with some thought.

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True. People just need to reflect a bit, thoughts (thinking) is not for everyone but so needed these days.

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End consequence always at the forefront, many simply follow.

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So sorry again (or like always) for only responding now, been under the weather for a couple of days and it does not want to leave me alone! Recovery is a slow process. Hope all is well on that side.

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Hope you feel chirpier soon, some of these gremlins sure do know how to attack and linger of late.... Still going one day at a time here 🙂

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For sure. It has been a couple of days (week even) and still down in the dumps a bit. But will see if it will get better soon.

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When I get sick it normally knocks me sideways, feel well soon....

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I am still young, but the older I get the longer the recovery process becomes. Usually it took me a couple of days, now it feels more like a couple of weeks, reaching toward the month mark!

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Stay as young as you wish, it's all in the head.... 🙃

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For sure, I am at the mental age of 20 or there, since I got my first degree actually! Since then, life seems to just have rolled past me at an incredible pace.

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🤣time passes far too quickly.

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It seems like it is speeding up! No idea why this is the feeling though. Maybe we try to fit too much in one day so days speed past us!

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Aware of much to do with little time most days 🙃

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That is the problem. And with everything happening these days, so much to do. (I have some nice opportunities in academia regarding publications, but you cannot do too much otherwise you will burn out.)

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Yup we have to pace ourselves in keeping balance of burn out takes over.

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The funny thing is, the older you get, the more you want to do. At least, in my case, this is playing out. I have so much I need to do, and want to do. But finding balance is key.

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End of the day it's what you've achieved in positive light toward others I think, how you will be remembered for a short period of time.

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True. And it is about making memories with others, because sometimes lofty ideals of being remembered for what one did never materialises, and if one spent time making memories with people it would have lasted much longer.

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Memories are skin deep, fleeting in a moment.

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In some sense, that is what makes them so precious, and so enduring — the momentariness.

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Move to quickly, so capture as many as you able.

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For sure. Life is all about collecting these memories with loved ones. One day, we will sit on the porch and think back to the life lived!

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A nice quiet laid back evening on a large verandah looking over the veld, ideal!

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Oh yes please. I wish for these slowed down days. I have not yet been part of the rat race for so long, and I am already tired of it.

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This looks absolutely incredible. I want to try this one!

!hiqvote

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It was really delicious! Wish I could share some. Thanks for the visit! Keep well.

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Sounds delicious! Good for your gf to try a sip. When it's "fresh" from the bottle, very cold and enjoyed with good company, that's what makes it best.

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So true right? Nothing as good as that first sip and nothing as sad as the last one. But there is always the new first sip to look forward to.

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