A hopeful look forward to a summer where we can get outside and enjoy each other's company once again, Field Days is like a cold glass of squash on a hot day.
Brewed in collaboration with Honest Brew, Field Days is a mango and pineapple pale ale that's refreshing and juicy: the perfect accompaniment to picnics in the park, BBQs on the beach and hikes up the hills.
It's a delightfully optimistic look ahead to better times. When hugs can be a thing again and people can once more gather safely. Festivals, parties, BBQs will all be back on the cards, and we can have more field days.
The smell is incredible, bursting forth from the can with pineapple and mango sweetness. It smells almost identical to pineapple and mango cordial, with just a touch of something else there too.
It pours like cordial too in colour, with a bright, vibrant orange filling the glass. As well as looking and smelling juicy, it tastes it too. It's a lot sharper than some other big-juice beers, with the initial sweetness really working with the high carbonation.
If it wasn't for the subtle bitterness towards the end of the beer when the initial sweet hit fades, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a can of non-alcoholic fizzy fruit drink rather than a pale ale.
The aftertaste combines a little of this bitterness with more of a rounded sweetness of the tropical fruit, which is less sharp than the pineapple and mango but helps to make it a very balanced beer.
A wonderful beer needs a wonderful can, and this is one of those. Very busy but also a lot of fun, it portrays a scene of what things could be like in the summer of 2021.
In the centre is a pool of what I'm guessing is this beer, with some people bathing in it which is a little odd, but i've felt like bathing in beer at times over the last 12 months too so no judgement here.
Surrounding this pool is a park, with lots of people all doing loads of different things. Everyone having a great time. There's skateboarding, picnics, kite-flyers, cyclists and footballers. There's even a person flying a plane.
The whole scene is very comic-like with a lot of colour and vibrancy; the green grass of the park contrasting well with the bright blue sky and vivid orange beer pool.
The back has a lot of information too about the beer, including the beer bio, style the hops used and even the guy who brewed it, as do all Northern Monk cans.
You can get your hands on this glass of beery sunshine for just £4.49 a can from Honest Brew if you're a member. If you're not a member you can still get one, but will have to pay £4.99.
But hey, small price to pay for refreshment, isn't it?
