Fullers – ESB

Brewery –          Fullers

Beer –                  ESB

Alcohol –           5.9%

Origin –             London, England

Style –                Cooper Ale

Season –           Autumn

ESB stands for Extra Special Beer, and that’s exactly what it is. Champion Beer of Britain on Three Occasions, its pedigree speaks for itself.

Orangey Ruby in colour, the head is creamy white, bright and full; Sweet and fruity on the nose,  

Delightfully flavoursome, Orangeybitter-sweetness dominates, punctuated by cherry notes, with a slight spiciness.

It’s punchy, and robust, with a warming alcohol kick. The finish is thick and syrupy with a hint of bitte chocolate which compliments the orange tang.

Rich, Full-bodied, warm and wonderfully inebriating.

 

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Crouch Vale – Brewers Gold

Brewery –          Crouch Vale

Beer –                  Brewers Gold

Alcohol –           4.6%

Origin –              South Woodham Ferriers, Essex

Style –               Golden Ale

Season –           Spring

The name Brewers Gold conjures up so many fond memories, and hearing it’s on at the local ale house leaves me palpably excited!

Claiming to be a light, thirst quenching beer it doesn’t do itself justice!

The first thing that hits you with this ale is just how much flavour they manage to cram into it. It literally bursts with fruity, citrusy flavours. Sweet, Zesty, but wonderfully balanced, and dangerously easy drinking.

Light, golden and lightly carbonated, it’s wonderfully refreshing, and quaffable.

A dry, bitter-sweet and lingering finish leaves you longing for the next swig.

Good god…    Thanks for BG

 

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Sharp’s – Doom Bar

Brewery –          Sharp’s

Beer –                  Doom Bar

Alcohol –           4%

Origin –              Cornwall, England

Style –                Golden Ale

Season –            Spring

I think the best way to describe this beer is ‘Perfectly Balanced’. I don’t really know why and how, but this the flavour, texture, and finish just seem to go together so well and this makes it an expectionally easy drinking beer, and a beer you’ll go back to again and again.

Dark Amber with an off white head, Doom Bar is fruity, hoppy and delightfully smooth. A nice hoppy nose, with just right bitter finish.

A great beer, and whilst production has increased considerably over the past few years, the level of quality has stayed exceptional.

It may not be the most exciting beer in the world, but it it always satisfying.

 

 

 

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Theakston – Old Peculiar

Brewery –           Theakston

Beer –                   Old Peculiar

Alcohol –            5.6%

Origin –               Ripon, North Yorkshire

Style –                 Strong Ale

Season –             Autumn

Claims it’s ‘ The Legend ‘… Wouldn’t disagree!

Dark Brown, Chestnut in colour this beer is bursting with fruity flavours. Take a sip and think Bananas!

It’s smooth, silky, and has a deep fruity finish. Just try it for the bananas!

Bananas

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Batemans – Combined Harvest

Brewery –          Batemans

Beer –                 Combined Harvest (Multigrain Beer)

Alcohol –         4.7%

Origin –            Lincolnshire, England   

Style –              Golden Ale

Season –         Summer / Early Autumn

I came across this beer on the discount section in Morrisons. I think it must have been delivered with the other Batemans beers they sell (XXXB, Victory Ale, Dark Lord) by mistake.

Down to 99p for the bottle I thought I’d give it a try and wow was I glad I did!

This beer is a true must try. Burnt Amber in colour with an off white head, this beer is beautifully aromatic and fragrant.

Marzipan and almondy on the nose, jammy, honey and resiny notes on the palate, with a hoppy back bone, and leading to a long sweet finish.

Incredibly easy drinking, and wonderfully different, a great accompaniment to warm British deserts like bread & butter pudding, jam roly-poly, and apple crumble!

What a stunner!

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Thornbridge – Jaipur

Brewery –          Thornbridge

Beer –                 Jaipur

Alcohol –          5.9%

Origin –             Bakewell, Derbyshire

Style –               IPA

Season –          Summer

I’m not going to beat around the bush with this beer; this is one of my favourite beers of all time, and I am going to lavish it with all the pomp and ceremony it deserves;

What a beer! A beautifuly IPA, with a clean white head, and a wonderful golden colouring.

Bags of Fruit, and floral notes on the nose, fruity watermelon on the palate.

With it’s higher alcohol content than a lot of golden IPA’s Jaipur is able to deliver intense fruity flavours whilst remaining easy drinking and this makes it, dare I say it a dangerous session ale.

Hence, why people use the term ‘Jaipured’ to describe being intoxicated off a few of these, and Jaipoorly to describe how they feel the next day!

A firm favourite of mine and if you haven’t tried it already I would suggest you get on it!

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G. Schneider & Sohn – Schneider Weisse

Brewery –          G. Schneider & Sohn

Beer –                Schneider Weisse

Alcohol –           5.4%

Origin –            Kelheim, Germany

Style –              Wheat Beer

Season –          Summer

A wonderfully smooth German Wheat Beer, golden and cloudy. Floral and light on the nose, it is smooth and silky on the palate with a hint of bananas and bubble gum and a light fruitiness throughout.

An easy drinking, exciting ale, full of fruity fun flavours. American style IPA’s have attempted to copy the beautifully soft sweet taste but have not mastered the fruity finish. A real must try!

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Wadworth 6X

Brewery –          Wadworth      

Beer –                 6X

Alcohol –            4.3%

Origin –             Wiltshere, England

Style –               Copper Ale

Season –           Autumn

Wadworth 6X is a copper coloured ale with a lively luxurious head

A malty biscuity sweet aroma, is somewhat unexpected and is in contrast to the hoppy tangy flavours.  Fruity on the palate, leading to a dry and bitter finish.

I think that this is a great example of a good classic English cask ale, nothing fancy, just solid strong taste, and a rich malty taste. Most beers tend to lead towards hoppiness at the moment so it’s nice to have them malty notes last from nose to finish.

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Brakspear Bitter

Brewery –          Brakspear

Beer –                 ‘Double Dropped’ Bitter

Alcohol –            3.4%

Origin –              Oxfordshire, England

Style –                Classic Bitter

Season –            Autumn / Winter

Brakspear Bitter is a classic bitter with a dark amber colouring and a creamy off white head.

3.4% Vol make it a quaffable session ale, but it has a lot of complexity for its low strenght.

Fruity and floral on the nose, it has a hoppy underlying quality, that leads to a long and bitter finish.

I’m a big fan of this bitter.

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