The Civils Side of Life :: Great British Beer

Great British Beer

Black Sheep

Best Bitter — Black Sheep — Holy Grail — Emmerdale — Riggwelter — Golden Sheep

Wychwood

Hobgoblin — Circle Master — Fiddler´s Elbow — Goliath — Shires

Sherpherd Neame

Spitfire — Bishop´s Finger — Master Brew — Best Bitter — Early Bird — Goldings — Late Red — Whitstable Bay

Theakston

Best Bitter — Old Peculiar — XB — Black Bull

Black Sheep – 4.4% – Cask & Bottled

The Black Sheep Brewery was set up by Paul Theakston, who left the family brewery when it was taken over by Scottish & Newcastle, hence the name. The beer has a very hoppy aroma and flavour. There is noticeable fruity malt and caramel in the middle, with perhaps a little burnt oak in the mouth. However, most of the flavour seems to come from its bitterness and hop character. This is a lively beer, surprisingly light on the palate, with a long btter finish - a sound session beer.

Holy Grail – 4.7% – Bottled Only

A light golden colour with a large, well lasting head with moderate lace. The nose is predominantly malt, with a bit of fruit and a slight nuttiness. The taste is quite well balanced hops and malt, with a slight fruity taste and a lasting sweetness. Unfortunately it is quite thin and finishes just as thinly.

Emmerdale – 5.0% – Cask & Bottled

It pours with a big head, a sweet nose, and some dark fruit. The brew has brown sugar added, which, according to the head brewer "adds something extra to the flavour". In the mouth the sugar is apparent, making for a lively mouthful and a toasted honeycomb flavour. It is hoppy as well (goldings), balancing out the sweetness and drying the beer out a little. The aftertaste is cloying, sweet and honeycomby again, with a foamy fizz reminiscent of cream soda. This is a fine ale indeed, though perhaps a little too sweet for a session.

Riggwelter –5.7% – Cask & Bottled

The name of this beer derives from the Norse word for a sheep that´s fallen on its back and can´t get up, an obvious allusion to the beer´s strength. It is a beautiful deep ruby–red/bronze colour with a thin but lasting greyish head, and an aroma of rich, smoky roast malt and maybe a touch of chocolate. On the palate it is also incredibly smoky with lots of rich, bitter, burnt malt flavours, but managing to avoid any residual sweetness. It is extremely nutty, with the taste of hazel and walnut easily discernible over the chocoatey malt, which otherwise coats the palate with a silky, though lively, smoothness. Hops are present, but swamped by the malt flavours - this is in essence a malty beer much like a spritely porter. A smoky malt kick accompanies the finish, which fades into a caramelly, treacley aftertaste. A top quality, full-flavoured offering.

Golden Sheep – 4.7% – Bottled Only

A dark ale with a white high rise head. Nose is of resinous hops. This follows through to the initial taste, which is hoppy, and possibly a touch woody. It´s pleasingly bitter, and roundedly malty. The biggest surprise is at the finish, where a dominant brown sugar taste comes to the fore and remained to the aftertaste. A very pleasant ale, complex, one that could easily be a session ale.

Hobgoblin – 5.5% – Cask & Bottled

This strong ale is Wychwood´s flagship beer. It is a rich, dark reddish brown colour, with a bubbly but rapidly vanishing head. The aroma is of dark chocolate and dry, roast malt. In the mouth it is quite sparkly, with a rich burnt malt flavour and a little fruity sweetness (plums and grapes). Below the surface there is a pleasant hazelnut flavour. Although hops are present, they are manifest only by hint of citrus zest in the mouth. Towards the finish, the dark malt lingers with a touch of treacley sweetness on the tongue hanging on into the aftertaste. This is a very palatable pint from Wychwood, which has the brewery´s characteristic smoky qualities.

Circle Master – 4.7% – Bottled Only

Originally named Circle, this is an organic ale from Oxfordshire brewery Wychwood. It is golden in colour, with a light, flowery, grassy hop aroma. The attack is also very hoppy and quite bitter, mellowing as the malt helps to balance the bitterness in the mouth. A touch of lemon is also present, along with a grainy quality to the malt. It is clean on the palate, leaving a bitter, hoppy aftertaste with a touch of lingering malt. This is a good, well-balanced pint that might work as a session beer, although its strength would soon show through.

Fiddler´s Elbow – 5.2% – Cask & Bottled

This is a strong pale ale from the "fiercely independent" Oxfordshire brewery. It has a slightly sweet, tart, burnt aroma with a hint of hops. There is a complex hop bitterness in the mouth, slightly earthy in character, accompanied by an assertive malt body that gives away the strength. It is also quite fruity, with notes of plum jam and a citrusy, orangey touch. Finish is fruity, earthy hops, lingering in a slightly sweet and cloying fruity aftertaste. A decent, reasonably complex strong ale

Spitfire – 4.5% – Cask & Bottled

A very palatable pint, the new–look, streamlined "Premium Spitfire Kentish Ale". It is a full bodied, rounded, clean and maintains a pleasant, hoppy flavour.

Bishop´s Finger – 5.0% – Cask & Bottled

This is Shepherd Neame´s flagship beer, and the one with the high advertising profile. This is pretty well deserved, although Spitfire is arguably a better pint. It has a rich malty nose, with a palate of dark malt, fruit (fig, prune) and nut (pine, hazel). On the tongue it is lively, yet cloying, though this is only to be expected from the malt content. The taste hints at a significant proportion of chocolate malt, and is accompanied by a pleasant hop flower background, adding a balancing bitterness to the flavour. The finish is chiefly of smoky malt, leading to a hoppy, slightly fruity aftertaste. Bishop´s Finger is strong, full, complex and flavoursome; a top-notch session beer.

Whitstable Bay – 4.5% – Bottled Only

It pours a light copper colour, with a white, bubbly and short-lived head that leaves a thin coating on the beer. Nose is of earthy, herby hops (a touch of rosemary, perhaps?) with a hint of oranges. In the mouth it is light and dry, although perhaps a little lively. The bitter, earthy hops are again present, balanced by a gentle malt character. Some zesty lemon–and–lime citrus notes are also present, becoming more pronounced in the finish, which is sharper and leaves a tangy, bitter aftertaste. A clean and refreshing yet flavoursome effort with organic ingredients (unspecified English malt with N2, Gem and Hallertau hops). Very pleasant indeed – makes you wonder what might be possible if Sheps´ effort were bottle conditioned.

Best Bitter – 3.6% – Cask Only

This is a pale, bitter, standard offering from Theakston. The nose is chiefly malty – perhaps a little sweet – and the head is lumpy and sweet on the palate. It has a slight hoppy bitterness in the mouth, though rather subdued - you could say that the hops impart a taste rather than a flavour. A reasonable, though unmemorable, lightly malty session beer – another beer that your Granny could drink all night.

Old Peculiar – 5.7% – Cask & Bottled

This is the best known of Theakston´s beers. It is dark coloured with a tight, fairly long–lasting head. It has a hoppy aroma but with a distinct underlying doughy tinge, very much like partially baked bread. On the palate it is bitter, mostly from the malt content – despite the aroma, hops are quite subdued in the mouth. The bread quality, however, does carry over into the flavour, giving it a cloying texture quite reminiscent of suet pudding. There is some treacley sweetness, becoming more pronounced in the finish. Aftertaste is of sweetish malt, but rapidly fades into nondescript cloying malt. An interesting and distinctive beer.

Golden Champion – 5.0% – Bottled

This is a weird pale ale from the brewery that produces Tanglefoot. The nose is hoppy, but with a slightly sweet, perfumey, flowery smell that can be identified as elderflower (with a little help from the blurb on the label), though it could also be from a lavatory freshener. The palate is along much the same lines – hoppiness without too much associated bitterness, but with strange washing-up liquid/Earl Grey/elderflower overtones stampeding through any subtlety the beer may have had. This is an interesting effort, though definitely not a session beer (unless you really like elderflowers).

Tangle Foot – 5.0% – Cask & Bottled

The bottled version of the Hall & Woodhouse flagship beer, which does the draught version more justice than the can. A pale golden colour with a fairly thin head and a light, elusive appley aroma, with little in the way of hops. There is a sharp, citrus attack, while the taste is very fruity, with apples and lemons being predominant, along with more than a hint of syrup. A light, clean, quite refreshing bitterness is also present, but is more evident in the lingering, slightly syrupy aftertaste. Quite complex, and much lighter than the strength would imply. A very pleasant tipple, but maybe too strong to recommend as a session beer.

Export Ale – 4.8% – Bottled

This has a strongly hoppy nose, to the extent that it becomes slightly socky, with just the faintest touch of caramel. The head is bubbly but thins quickly, though the beer is far livelier on the tongue than the bubbles in the glass would suggest. At the first swig, there is a hoppy, tinny taste, again suggestive of overstewing. The faint maltiness in the nose becomes evident again, but is seriously masked by the hops, which seem to be overstewed aroma hops – Goldings, maybe? Aftertaste is hoppy and tinny, with a touch of malt (by now you're probably getting the idea). Anyway, this is not too dreadful but basically not very well brewed – unbalanced and slightly chemically. It tastes as though it may be quite good if it weren´t for the overstewing – there is the shadow of an English pub pint in there somewhere. Unfortunately, it would be easier to buy a nicer bottle in the first place.

Double Drop – 5.0% – Bottled

Marston´s are, of course, the only remaining brewery in Burton on Trent to use the historic Burton Union system, and their acquisition by regional independent Wolverhampton and Dudley (itself currently for sale), doesn´t seem to have dulled their devotion to unusual brewing techniques. This beer employs what the label claims is the almost forgotten fermentation method of double dropping, where the beer is dropped quickly from one fermenter to another about 24 hours after brewing, helping to ensure only the healthiest yeast cells survive and giving a "clean" taste. The beer loses points for being packed in a clear glass bottle, which might show off the attractive light amber colour but won´t help protect it from light, though this example was fresh and started promisingly. It has a very persistent head and the carbonation is gentle for a brewery–conditioned beer. The nose is initially very firm, a huge bouquet of earthy Goldings hops that soon settles down. Hops are also up front in the initial taste, which is drily citric and indeed very clean, with hessian–like malt (exclusively English Maris Otter) and dessert apple fruitiness. A citric peel bitterness develops towards the finish. However, the beer is perhaps too clean, smooth and rather bland: the taste doesn't have enough subtlety and says all it has to say in the first few swallows.

Firestoker – 5.0% – Bottled

A new beer from Marston. The initial aroma is instantly recognisable as rising from a Marston´s brew – a wisp of sweet malt whisky. Then some tasty and interesting vanilla notes creep in and start to take over. The taste is initially malt again, but as with the aroma that vanilla is going to come along in a minute. Before the vanilla, though, there is caramel and soft, sweet toffee. Mmmm. Tasty brew. Quite soft, and very smooth. And the vanilla... At first it´s quite interesting – creamy and delicious, but when the bitter notes from the hops make themselves felt, and the oakiness comes through, it all clashes in an unpleasant, almost disgusting manner with that vanilla. The finish is very dry and bitter, with a tannic quality that could be cherry skins. This is an interesting brew, and if you had just a few gulps you might find it quite tasty.

Pedigree – 4.5% – Cask & Bottled

The hard Burton water helps to make this fine bitter world famous. Pedigree is a pleasing session pint. The primary aroma is of the Maris Otter malt, with a characteristic sulphurous, eggy hint, though this is less noticeable than in the draught version. The Fuggles and Goldings hops push through powerfully in the flavour and last well into the finish. The flavour is not overpowering, however, and is tempered by a hint of syrupy sweetness, lending a richness to the brew. This is a good session bottle, but make sure you try the draught version too.

Old Empire – 5.7% – Cask & Bottled

Gold coloured with a lively head that soon goes. Malty and bitter with a lovely, slightly sweet aftertaste. Has that unique tanginess that we associate with Marstons. A very pleasant beer.

Burton Bitter – 3.8% – Bottled

Does what it says on the bottle ´...clean tasting bitter with malty flavours...delicate hop character and finish.´ However the finish is so light you have to be quick or you will miss it!

Old Speckled Hen – 5.2% – Cask & Bottled

This is the flagship beer of the Oxfordshire brewery, named after the vintage MG car rather than the popular farmyard animal. The beer is a rich reddish golden–brown colour with a solid, bubbly head, but very little aroma (perhaps a hint of malt). It is remarkably smooth on the palate, with a fairly heavily hopped bitter flavour and a strong element of maltiness. The finish is long and bitter. Altogether, this makes a beautifully balanced, session beer (a little on the strong side for a long session, perhaps), comparing quite favourably to the draught version.

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