Normally a phrase associated with furious spouses or angry dragons, Fire And Brimstone is a brilliant rauchbier that gives an Autumnal vibe even in the depths of summer.
Rauchbier - or smoked beer - is made using smoked hops to give a different dimension to dark beers and Fire and Brimstone uses authentic German smoked malt from Weyermann Maltings in Bamburg.
Lymestone say this is an English take on a traditional rauchbier, combining a deep ruby ale reminiscent of bitter with the smoked malts to create something to soothe even the firiest beast/spouse.
Smokey by name, smokey by nature. It's actually quite startling how strong the smokey aroma is when you pop off this bottle cap, with a maltiness that verges on sweetness coming though also.
It pours like a bitter, looks like a bitter but doesn't really taste like a bitter. It has a maltiness to it and the smoothness is very similar, but there's a rich sweetness to it that makes it almost spiced.
The aftertaste is a little smoky but mainly slightly bitter, which I was surprised by given the strength of the smokey aromas from when I opened the beer.
Lymestone have ventured away from their centre line bottle design by sticking a couple of fire-breathing dragons on the side of the label, which is rather effective and along with the olde worlde font style varies it nicely from their usual style.
The beer bio and usual information is on the bottle as you'd expect, with the black background not pure black, featuring a smokey, hazy effect that hammers home the providence of the beer.
A slab of 12 of these smokey fellas will set you back £27.50, working out about £2.29 a bottle.
