- Luxurious
- Sweet Cherries
- Vegan
- Perhaps too sweet
One brewery that stood out in the alcohol free beer world during 2022 was Mash Gang, not just for the sheer number of beers they produced in a variety of styles but also time and time again surprising us with the quality of those beers.
They finished off 2022 by launching two new stouts, one was Anxiety Saint – their low alcohol coffee stout – the other a collaboration with Amundsen Brewery – Reign in Blood a low alcohol kirschtorte stout – and also the feature of today’s review!
Reign in Blood Initial Review
The moment you open the can, you are hit by the aroma of sweet cherry and chocolate; and as with everything mash gang do you can tell from this alone that they have not held back on anything.
It pours with a dark brown colour with a very noticeable red hue – another sign of those cherry’s.
One thing I also noticed upon opening was how it appears quite carbonated on the pour, a lot more than some other stouts.
The mouth feel on it is excellent though smooth and coats every surface of your mouth. Flavour wise it’s very sweet; you get a roasty chocolate base, and as suggested from the aroma and colour, there’s a big hit of sweet cherries.
You can tell they have gone into this one wanting to make one of those big desert stouts but without the alcohol and in that they have certainly succeeded. For me it’s a great treat beer, that you are not going to be spending the whole evening drinking. One is enough, but that one is one that I will savour and enjoy it’s almost like a Black Forest Gateau in a can.
Due to this being a desert stout it’s quite hard to compare to other alcohol free stouts on the market, as there hasn’t really been another quite like this done before.
It’s a lot sweeter than most other alcohol free stouts and I feel they have gone in big on the adjuncts with lots and lots of cherry, rather than the more subtle flavours you get in some other stouts.
Packaging
The beer comes in a 440ml can and is designed to represent the thrash metal band Slayer – in fact that’s where the name comes from.
The black can with red pentagram and red rain drops catches the eye quite well.
Where to Buy Reign in Blood
I purchased this direct from Mash gang with a 4 pack coming in at £14, but it is also available at lots of independent bottle shops and online retailers.
Reign in Blood Ingredients, Nutritional Information and Calories
Water, Malted Barley, Oats, Wheat, Hops, Sweat and Sour Cherry Juice Concentrate, Cacao Nibs, Tahitian Vanilla Bean
