Light Bulbs are normally boring. Apart from bringing light into a dark room, there's not much to be said about them. But this kind of light bulb is one I can't wait to repurchase.
Luckily, it doesn't explode when it expires but there is a definite sense of disappointment when you get to the bottom of the glass and realise there's no more to be drunk.
Verdant say that this is pale as a 100W light bulb but as juicy as an IPA, with big citrus flavours and dank hops making it a session IPA in disguise as a pale ale.
I'm no expert in light bulbs, and to be completely honest I don't know if 100W is particular dim or bright (apologies to my GCSE science teacher), but they're definitely onto something with the second part of their description.
The aroma is grassy and piney, which ties in with the dankness of the hops that Verdant brings into the description of this beer. It pours light as you'd expect and is very hazy, the body is a lot fizzier than I expected it to be for the lightness which adds an interesting dimension to the flavours.
The flavour itself is resinous and dank, the hops being the main focus at first until it fades into a fresher, fruitier flavour that's similar to citrus but not quite as big a fruity hit as you can get with bigger beers.
The aftertaste is slightly bitter and dry, but there's a subtle malt undercurrent that's slightly biscuity that makes it a very curious beer to drink and one I had to keep sipping to try and pin down all the flavours.
This is a dazzling label design, somehow capturing the exciting electrical nature of the humble lightbulb coupled with a green and yellow theme that is very reminiscent of the dank hops involved.
The unusual font used for 'Light Bulb' stands out nicely against the yellow background with the lightening bolts from the beaming lightbulb bringing some brightness to work well with the yellow label.
The back has all of the relevant information as you'd expect, colour matching the green background with the green detail on the front that i'm not sure if they're supposed to be hop leaves or aromas. Effective, whatever they are.
Available from Hones Brew for the price of £4.19 for non-members and £3.89 for members. That's a lot cheaper than a pack of lightbulbs these days and you'll probably get a lot more enjoyment out of the beer.
