Wigram Russian Imperial Stout

Nice packaging! And the bottle itself is a bomber of sorts after all.

Presentation top notch out of the bottle too - looks great, lovely lasting creamy iced coffee coloured head, perfect RIS performance. The nose has a slight bitter edge with a little less fruit sweetness than you might expect from this style - although it could well be in keeping with the relatively restrained 8.5%.

On swigging you can expect a pleasant flat mouthfeel, creamy notes, and coffee the main characteristic here from start to finish and indeed beyond. Slight soy notes mingle with the roasty toasty bitterness. It's got good presence for the abv and while not the most complex in this class, delivers a very smooth and easy drinking experience.

The only hard work in this beer is not drinking it too fast as it telepathically calls you back for another sip seemingly as soon as you've put it down. You're only drinking 20ml at a time of course, but when you pick up the glass 35 times a minute...

Great stuff, would drink again. 8.5

Wigram Ginger Jerry

Interesting idea here, combining a ginger beer and a witbier, but for what result?

Pour immediately comes off as nearly clear, no real head to speak of, and unexpectedly flat. My experiences with ginger beer both homebrewed and commercial had conditioned me to expect a bit of fizz here but it's really rather mellow, and pushes out just 4% abv. Nose is of dry ginger ale, with an edge of something a bit sweeter - maybe the yeast?

Mouthfeel is again quite flat but light. I'd actually prefer a little more carbonation here to make it slightly more refreshing. It's not a very beery beer on the whole, but there is a slight edge of possibly psychosomatic wit if you're investigative.

I found this a little too sweet and a little too flat to really have fun drinking it. Ice cold and with a little more fizz? I'd be there for beach drinking all day. 5.5