Castle Rock - Screech Owl

Whilst looking for something interesting to review I stumbled upon a bargain bin where a big range of beers were going for the low low price of 1 English pound. I don't normally do this because I think it's a shallow and uneducated way of doing things but I picked this beer purely on the fact that the label had a freakin' scary owl on it. So what did I let myself in for?

I let myself in for a decent IPA that tastes of dry, smoky, grapefruit and not like any form of screeching bird of prey, which is a bonus. In retrospect I shouldn't have spent all my time prior to this review eating stuffed peppers and rubbing my eyes because all I can taste is burning and all I can see is obscured by the salty tears. However, even through my idiocy, this beer is pronounced enough and bold enough to leave a lasting effect. Maybe it's something to do with using super aggressive American hops because, although this doesn't have what I would describe as BIG flavour, it sure is as defined as any other beer that you'll find for a measly pound, to be fair it's probably as deliciously defined, refined and rounded as most beers in the 2-3 pound range... Which I imagine isn't too far off what this would normally cost.

There is another beer of note by Castle Rock, the much more popular Harvest Pale, which I found to be wholly forgettable in so much as I can't remember anything about it apart from that it was, almost definitely, beer. Screech owl is tasty and has hints of power lurking in it's depths, certainly worth whatever pocket change you may have and maybe a bit more.

Food suggestion: Nachos! With huge effing jalapeños melted into the cheese like little greasy land mines.

Drink this if you like: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has similarly aggressive hop flavours and a similar smoothness. This is a nice drink to start off an evening, especially if your evening starts at lunch time.